Liberian Registry expands footprint in South Korea

The Liberian Registry, the world’s second-largest ship registry, has decided to expand its presence in South Korea with the opening of its Busan branch office.

Over the past several years, the Liberian Registry has been winning over tonnage from Korean shipowners. The registry said it has met the demand of its increasing Korean fleet with this additional technical and operational office in the heart of Korea’s maritime city.

“The opening of our Busan office achieves a strategic objective of our growth in the very important Korean market,” Alfonso Castillero, Chief Operating Officer of the Liberian Ship and International Corporate Registry (LISCR), commented.

“The majority of Korean owners will have their management companies located in Busan so this will be a dual office in the sense that it will support our growing client base in Korea on technical and operational matters, and it will also be a key in our business development efforts in Korea.”

“We have seen such an increase in Korean shipowners deciding to adopt the Liberian flag, and this will be a direct benefit to them to have this technical, operational, and safety-focused office locally,” J. S. Kim, Managing Director of LISCR in Korea, said.

LISCR Busan, which is located within the same building as the Korean Shipowners’ Association, joins Oslo, Imabari, Houston, and Manila as the newest additions to the global network of full-service offices for the Liberian Registry.

The largest ship registry in the world remains Panama, with around 7,000 registered vessels, followed by Liberia with more than 4,000 ships flying the country’s flag, data provided by VesselsValue shows.

According to Clarkson’s World Fleet Monitor from mid-December 2020, Liberia has outpaced all other open registries having grown at 8.06% and 13.8 million gross tons since January 2020 and is currently the fastest growing flag state.