The Liberian Registry is now the world’s largest tanker flag in terms of gross tonnage given the latest tonnage added to its fleet.
With the recent addition of 2.7 million gross tons (gt) of new tankers, the Liberian tanker fleet now stands at 57.4 million gt, according to Clarkson’s, making Liberia the world’s leading tanker flag in terms of gross tonnage.
The Liberian Registry, with a total fleet size of 205 million gt has also maintained its position as the world’s leading containership flag with 18% of global container vessel market share; and is the fastest-growing major registry in the world with a 6.6% growth rate year–to-date.
This has been a year of milestones for the Liberian Registry, which just recently passed the 200 million gt mark. This overall fleet growth has largely been due to an increase in newbuilding orders recently delivered, especially with larger modern dual-fuel vessels, oil tankers, LNG carriers, and mega-containerships.
“I am very pleased to see the Liberian Registry move into the leading position to be the preferred flag State for tanker owners and operators around the world. This is no accident. Our commitment to safety, compliance, and bringing cost-savings to the Liberian flagged fleet are huge contributing factors,” said Alfonso Castillero, Chief Operating Officer of the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR)
“This is a great development for the Liberian Registry globally, and especially here in Greece where Liberia is the top flag for Greek shipowners. Most of this new tanker tonnage we have registered in Liberia is directly from Greek shipowners, and I am very happy that their trust and support of the Liberian Registry continues,” stated Michalis Pantazopoulos head of LISCR’s Greek office.
“We have been able to appeal to tanker owners specifically, not just due to our cost-advantages, but thanks in large part to our continuously improving safety rankings; our detention prevention programme; and our global network of 24/7 localised support. What is also so encouraging about this development is in the type of technologically advanced and fuel-efficient vessels we have been registering,” added Benson Peretti, Executive Vice President at LISCR.