Tokyo: International Registries, Inc. (IRI), which looks after the Marshall Islands flag, will see 35 Japanese ships totalling 1.5m grt by the end of 2009. IRI President Bill Gallagher said at a recent press conference in Tokyo that IRI is aiming for a "local registry" system in which ship registry procedures can be finalized at a local office. A Japanese IRI website will go live at the end of the month. The wave of Japanese tonnage coming to IRI came after years of trying, with the big breathrough taking place a couple of years ago when MOL, Japan's largest and most conservative shipping line, decided to flag a vessel with IRI. After that the dam broke for IRI and Japan is now one of the most important sources for new tonnage for the flag, currently the world's fourth largest shipping register. [19/05/09]
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