The Marshall Islands Quality Council (MIQC) is a consultative group of shipowners, managers, industry experts, and leaders that gathers biannually for open dialogue and discussion to enhance Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry operations. The November 2025 MIQC meeting in London included MIQC members, guest speakers, and RMI Registry personnel. Rear Admiral (RADM) Kevin S. Cook, United States Coast Guard (USCG) (Retired) chairs the MIQC. RADM Cook welcomed participants and thanked them for their support of the Registry. He expressed his gratitude to the distinguished guests and Registry representatives in attendance.
The MIQC meeting included three sessions related to current events. First, Evan Curt, Vice President, Maritime Security (Reston) and Brian Green, Vice President, Maritime (Ft. Lauderdale) joined Brian Raymond, Executive Vice President, Client Risk Management, Global Guardian to provide an update on maritime security. Then, guest speaker Matthew Thomas, Partner, Blank Rome LLP presented on United States Trade Representative 301 and proposed governmental actions impacting trade. Finally, a guest panel on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Net Zero Framework, with speakers Sveinung Oftedal, Chair of the IMO Greenhouse Gas Working Group and Norway’s Chief Negotiator – Green Shipping; and Alastair Stevenson, Head of Digital Analytics, SSY touched on the potential regulatory and economic impacts of the Net Zero framework. Moderated by Nicholas Makar, Senior Vice President, Maritime Administration/ Regulatory Affairs (Reston), the panel also addressed recent discussions at IMO since the extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in October 2025. These timely and relevant topics were of particular interest to the MIQC members.
During the meeting, International Registries, Inc.’s (IRI’s) President Bill Gallagher (Reston) asked members for a moment of silence to honor the legacy and memory of Jack Enright. Jack, who joined the organization in 1971, retired as Executive Vice President, Vessel Administration at the end of 2011 and passed away on 11 November 2025. Bill shared a personal story about his early experiences with Jack noting that Jack was a free spirit and a friend and mentor to many. Bill also mentioned recent senior personnel changes, notably the retirement of Laura Butler, who ran the seafarers’ production operations, and the upcoming retirement of Alan Blume, who will retire from his role with the investigations team in January 2026. Bill also introduced Conor Mowlds, based in Cork, Ireland, who recently joined the Registry and has been working out of the Piraeus office while training.
The November MIQC meeting also included updates from various departments within IRI. Meredith Kirby, General Counsel (Reston), Alison Wilson, Senior International Counsel, Head of Office (Long Beach), and Ryan Gibson, Deputy General Counsel (Reston), provided updates from the legal department, while Chief Commercial Officer Theo Xenakoudis (Piraeus) presented updates on the RMI Fleet and Registry. Nicholas Makar, Senior Vice President, Maritime Administration/ Regulatory Affairs (Reston) highlighted recent IMO activity since the Spring meeting of the MIQC. Brian Poskaitis, Senior Vice President, Fleet Operations (Baltimore / Annapolis) and Hans Krijger, General Manager (Hamburg and Roosendaal) provided an update on port State control trends. The meeting closed with an update on investigation trends from Tom Jenkins, Senior Vice President, Investigations (Long Beach).
The MIQC meets on the premise that informed decision making is critical in today’s complex maritime environment. The biannual meetings support relationship building and create opportunities for open discussion and information sharing between industry stakeholders and the RMI Registry’s team of professionals.
