International Registries, Inc. (IRI), which provides administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime and Corporate Registries, kicked off the new year with its Maritime Services Group strategy meeting, which took place at its headquarters in Reston, Virginia. The meeting was attended by 58 members of the Maritime Services Group, including representatives from regional offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Long Beach, London, Piraeus, Roosendaal, Dubai, Mumbai, Zurich, Geneva, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

From Left to Right. First Row: Luiz Freitas (IRI Rio), John Sidérais (IRI Piraeus), Ozgur Azik (IRI Istanbul), and Jasbir Jaspal (IRI Reston). Second Row: Joe McKeown (IRI Ft. Lauderdale), Jason Clifton-Samuel (IRI London), Vangelis Moutafis (IRI Piraeus), Michael Manning (IRI Houston), Patrick Horan (IRI Baltimore), and John Taverner (IRI London). Third Row: Marc Verburg (IRI Roosendaal), Brian Bubar (IRI Houston), Simon Bonnett (IRI London), Richard Dias (IRI Hong Kong), and Davis Kong (IRI Ft. Lauderdale). Fourth Row: Brian Poskaitis (IRI Baltimore), Hans Krijger (IRI Roosendaal), Charles McHardy (IRI Houston), Hans Molver (IRI Reston), Dave Wamsley (IRI New York - Downtown), and Jon Maiorine (IRI Baltimore).
From Left to Right. First Row: Luiz Freitas (IRI Rio), John Sidérais (IRI Piraeus), Ozgur Azik (IRI Istanbul), and Jasbir Jaspal (IRI Reston). Second Row: Joe McKeown (IRI Ft. Lauderdale), Jason Clifton-Samuel (IRI London), Vangelis Moutafis (IRI Piraeus), Michael Manning (IRI Houston), Patrick Horan (IRI Baltimore), and John Taverner (IRI London). Third Row: Marc Verburg (IRI Roosendaal), Brian Bubar (IRI Houston), Simon Bonnett (IRI London), Richard Dias (IRI Hong Kong), and Davis Kong (IRI Ft. Lauderdale). Fourth Row: Brian Poskaitis (IRI Baltimore), Hans Krijger (IRI Roosendaal), Charles McHardy (IRI Houston), Hans Molver (IRI Reston), Dave Wamsley (IRI New York - Downtown), and Jon Maiorine (IRI Baltimore).
Commenting on prospects for 2018, Bill Gallagher, President, IRI said, "we anticipate continued future growth for the RMI Registry, but this growth needs to be supported by an investment in our processes and people. We remain dedicated to preserving the quality that our customers have come to expect, while evolving our services in line with a changing industry."

A number of internal changes to management were announced during the meeting, including changes to the head of the Investigations and Technical departments. Rob Lorigan, who has been responsible for both the Quality Management System (QMS) and Investigations, will now focus his attention just on the QMS.

"We are working towards a new ISO standard which includes ISO certification for all of our 28 worldwide offices," said Bill Gallagher. "Rob has done a tremendous job working as the head of both departments, but in order to ensure all of our offices are able to meet the new ISO standard, his audit schedule has intensified and it is important for him to focus in on just the QMS now," he continued.

Hans Molver has agreed to take on the lead of the Investigations group. With more than 10 years co-leading the worldwide Technical team with Charles McHardy, Hans is in a good position to continue to support the Registry in this new role. Simon Bonnett, who is based in London, will take on the role of head of worldwide Technical on the blue water side. He has a background in naval architecture, with over nine years of involvement in shipbuilding with Lloyd's Register based in Korea, and over seven years of experience with IRI in a technical role. Simon will be working in coordination with Charles McHardy, who will continue in his capacity as head of Technical for the offshore side.

John Ramage, Chief Operating Officer, IRI said, "Rob, Hans and Simon have all shown their dedication to IRI and to the customers that we serve, proving time and again their commitment to the responsibilities of investigation, quality management systems, and technical services. These changes ensure our worldwide team is able to serve industry stakeholders and fulfill our obligations as the Registry continues to grow."

These changes come at a time of shifting QMSs, with significant amendments to the internationally recognized ISO 9001 certification. As ISO 9001:2008 will be obsolete from September 2018 and replaced by ISO 9001:2015, IRI is committed to strengthening its QMSs and meeting these new requirements.

​In addition to personnel changes, IRI continues to make improvements to the services offered through its growing number of worldwide offices. The industry is always evolving and IRI is looking towards the future to better understand the challenges faced by owners and operators and develop innovative solutions to the issues they face.