Focused on continually improving safe yacht operation, International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry, hosted three important yacht focused meetings in Spring 2025 in Roosendaal. The two-day Yacht Inspector Seminar, Annual Yacht Recognized Organization (RO) Meeting, and meeting with Aviation Inspection Bodies (AIBs) focused on information exchange, training, and sharing of best practices to enhance safety and vessel operation.
Yacht Inspectors from around the world participated in the two-day seminar with more than 24 attendees including contract inspectors and team members from IRI’s offices in Baltimore / Annapolis, Fort Lauderdale, Geneva, Istanbul, London, Piraeus, and Roosendaal. The seminar provided participants with an overview of the current RMI yacht fleet as well as an opportunity to review and discuss related investigation findings.
“This seminar brought together our global inspections team for continuing education and training which are two key areas to enhancing the quality and consistency of compliance verifications and inspections,” said Rene van der Voort, Senior Safety Manager, Yachts based in IRI Roosendaal.
Following the seminar, the RMI Maritime Administrator held its Annual Yacht RO meeting. Aimed at fostering collaboration and communication, topics included an overview of the Registry’s yacht program, amendments to the RMI Yacht Code, and a discussion of registration procedures, statutory conditions, requirements, and communication between the flag State and ROs.
“The Annual Yacht RO meeting fills an important gap for how Classification Societies address yachts over 24 meters in length,” said Marc Verburg, Director, Yacht Operations based in IRI’s Roosendaal office. “Collaboration and information sharing are such a critical part of how we best serve our clients; these meetings are important for the yacht team to help lead a new era of partnership between ROs and flag across the yacht industry,” he concluded.
A subsequent meeting with AIBs, which perform inspections of helicopter landing areas, focused on standard development and information sharing. The May 2025 meeting addressed general topics such as current yacht fleet statistics and compliance types as well as specific aviation topics ranging from training standards to policies, procedures, and the RMI Maritime Administrator’s Yacht Code amendments to Annex 2 regarding helicopter facilities.
The RMI Registry’s yacht team continues to actively pursue and develop opportunities for information sharing and development of best practices to support yacht owners, masters, and crew of RMI-flagged yachts. These seminars and meetings support continual improvement and ensure a uniform and seamless client experience for yacht owners and operators.
