With the Paris Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU), the RMI had its best performance year, the 16th consecutive year with the Qualship 21 program of the United States Coast Guard, remained one of the highest performing flags on the Tokyo MoU, and strengthened its status with the Australian Maritime Safety Administration (AMSA).

“COVID-19 restrictions have made it difficult to perform onboard inspections and this year will look very different for both port and flag States boarding ships worldwide. The Administrator was well-positioned to adapt to these challenges,” said Poskaitis. “Our technical and marine safety experts are spread across the world, and today provide more value to our clients than ever before," said Brian Poskaitis, Senior Vice President, Fleet Operations for International Registries.

Due to COVID-19 limitations and regulatory and compliance adjustments, the Administrator was unable to sustain regular shipboard operations and inspection schedules, trying to proactively improve resources to maintain its outstanding standards of quality and safety.

Guidance on remote checks, virtual closings, and crew protection was quickly enforced by the RMI Registry, thus transitioning operations smoothly between its 28 worldwide offices.

The Administrator has concentrated on improving and extending technological capabilities worldwide to improve local expertise with the aim of providing real value to the fleet.

In 2018, when Captain Sascha Dyker was promoted to Fleet Operations Manager, the emphasis on providing local expertise throughout Australasia began. Since then, an emphasis within the region has been put on increasing capacity and efficiency.

In October 2020, the hiring of Alexander Schultz-Altmann took another step forward in improving capital in the field.

Schultz-Altmann, as former Chairman of the Tokyo MoU Committee on PSC, also brings a wealth of information about PSC procedures and is actively involved in advising on training programs, technical operations and arrangements for the upcoming virtual meeting of the Tokyo MoU.

“The Administrator continues to invest in technical resources worldwide, providing enhanced benefits to the RMI fleet which means there’s not a time of the day when an RMI-flagged vessel cannot reach someone from our team,” added Brian Poskaitis.

“This year is unique, but nothing has deterred us from maintaining our high-quality standards fleetwide. The Registry continues to be pro-active in ensuring global resources are available to our owners and operators; having additional resources in Australia has already produced benefits to the RMI-flagged feet,” said Captain Sascha Dyker.

Maritime Business World