St.Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry opens Hong Kong office

The HK office is headed by Maritime Registrar (MR) Tagmeet Makkar, a former director of Noble Group. He is one of three new MRs that Mazumdar has added since taking charge of SKANReg one year ago, bringing the flag’s worldwide network of MRs to 47.

Official launch of the HK office took place last week in front of some 100 guests assembled at the Mariners Club in that city, Makkar having received his MR appointment from Mazumdar earlier this year in London (pictured)

Other SKANReg, MRs have been appointed recently in Mumbai – supplementing the flag’s existing Indian offices in Cochin and Kolkata – and Istanbul.

Expanding SKANReg’s global network is just one of the restructuring moves that Mazumdar has introduced since taking over, the former head of the UK Ship Register explained to Seatrade Maritime News during the SMME event in Dubai this week.

Some £40,000 has been spent installing a new IT system at the flag’s head office in Romford, London, where the flag has moved into a new building belonging to shipping company Stolt-Nielsen and added more new, well-qualified staff.

The format of the flag’s Seamen’s Book has also been changed - now in a maroon cover and printed by the same company that handles UK passports - in order to make it more difficult to replicate.

In addition, Mazumdar now makes regular visits to St Kitts and Nevis at least once every six months, where he enjoys excellent relations with government ministers - although SKANReg has been granted full autonomy to manage the flag, he adds.

Net result is that the number of vessels under the flag has risen from around 700 a year ago to the current 720 totalling around 3m gt, with another 18 small tug and crane vessel newbuildings due to join over the next six months. SKANReg’s profitability has also shown a 16% increase, Mazumdar adds, due to the greater number of ship registrations and other diversification of income.

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