THE tiny South Seas Republic of Palau (pop 18,000) is finding that its flag is enjoying soaring popularity among shipowners looking for insurance cover before the UN's Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention comes into force on April 14.
"The high number of applications from owners wanting to be compliant before the convention's entry into force is indicative of the increasing confidence in Palau," said Palau International Ship Registry (PISR) manager Marisabel Arauz Park, reports London's Tanker Operator.
The Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention will make shipowners financially liable and require them to take out insurance or provide other financial security to cover the costs of such disasters.
As of January 30, Palau confirmed that it will issue certificates for vessels registered in non-convention states together with the Cook Islands, Denmark, Germany, Liberia, Malta, the Marshall Islands and the United Kingdom.
"Although we are a relatively new register, our fleet is expanding rapidly and we now have regional offices in 15 countries, including the US [Houston], Panama, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Nigeria, Egypt, Romania, Dubai, India Sri Lanka, Singapore and China," he said.
"PISR is now firmly established as one of the leading ship registries using state-of-the-art techniques and service standards. We certainly have the infrastructure in place to deal with the volume of applications," Mr Park said.
In January, the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) issued a "Merchant Marine Circular “informing its members that Palau is one of three PMA-approved administrations authorised to issue WRC [Wreck Removal Convention] certificates on its behalf.
Palau, perhaps the most obscure UN member state, is an island country in the western Pacific spread across 250 islands. Spain, having lost the Spanish-American War in 1897, sold it to Germany in 1899. But it passed into Japanese control in World War I, and was taken by the US in World War II. It was then under US, as a UN mandate until becoming independent in 1994 with much of its social services still paid by the US Department of the Interior.
WORLD SHIPPING
24 March 2015 - 20:54
Palau Republic flag value soars as wreck removal rule comes into force
THE tiny South Seas Republic of Palau (pop 18,000) is finding that its flag is enjoying soaring popularity among shipowners looking for insurance cover before the UN's Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention comes into force on April 14.
WORLD SHIPPING
24 March 2015 - 20:54
Palau Republic flag value soars as wreck removal rule comes into force
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