Despite the global economic downturn due to COVID-19, yacht construction continues, and the Marshall Islands Registry is receiving weekly yard inquiries about new projects.
There is a steady increase of yachts being built to the RMI Code standard, which is a healthy pipeline of new business. Production has resumed in northern Europe and Italy, and designers at the speculative/initial stages of a project are reporting customer inquiries.
“We see more and more owners interested in building to the RMI standards, with yards around the world following suit,” said Alexander von Stein, Yachting Advisor to the RMI Registry. “These owners and yards find our methodology better than what was used in the past and they like our processes and our way of communicating,” he continued.
Many of the members of IRI’s yacht team have previously worked at yards, management companies, and brokerages. They have been in the client’s shoes and can draw on the expertise of a flag that is one of the largest in the world for commercial shipping. “Desire and a passion to solve problems motivates us,” said von Stein.
IRI works with the many parties involved with a newbuild at all stages of the project. Every party, from the owner’s representative to the yard itself, needs to work with the flag, and it is vital that the flag takes a proactive approach to communicating with all parties throughout the duration of the multi-year project.
The newbuild process starts with a kick-off meeting with the yard, the Classification Society (Class), the owner’s team, and the flag. At the initial stage, IRI collaborates to create the roadmap going forward and delegates authority to the Class. The yacht technical team sits in the background and gives guidance to Class. The RMI has very strong relationships with International Association of Class Societies (IACS) members.
To find out more about our yacht services, please visit www.register-iri.com/yacht/.
