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A flag is a strategic decision, not a default. Different owners, trades and financiers call for different registries, and Gerli & Co. has built substantial practice across the world's most respected flags. We advise candidly on which flag best fits the vessel, the trade, the bank and the owner — and then we execute the registration end to end.
For shipowners, investment funds and megayacht operators seeking an exceptionally efficient, technologically advanced and white-listed flag, the Republic of the Marshall Islands is a gold standard. The RMI registry is administered worldwide through International Registries, Inc. (IRI), and it sits on the white lists of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding — a reputational asset that matters at Port State Control and with financiers alike.
Gerli & Co. structures the underlying corporate vehicles — Marshall Islands business corporations, LLCs and partnerships — that hold and register the tonnage, and coordinates directly with the registry to obtain rapid provisional and permanent documentation. The RMI framework is particularly attractive for U.S.-linked ownership, for finance structures requiring a familiar common-law foundation, and for private yachts operating commercially, where the registry offers practical, responsive administration and 24-hour support.
Vehicle first. Marshall Islands corporate formation (BC, LLC, LP) as the ownership vehicle.
Fast issuance. Provisional and permanent vessel and yacht registration via IRI.
Finance-ready. Recording of RMI preferred ship mortgages for lenders.
Full lifecycle. Statutory certification, radio, and ongoing flag administration.
The Marshall Islands is a quality open registry, but ownership must run through a "qualified" owner. In practice that means the vessel is owned by a Marshall Islands entity — a business corporation, LLC or partnership — or by a foreign maritime entity that we qualify (register) in the RMI. Forming or qualifying that owning entity is the first step, and we handle it together with the vessel registration so the two complete in lock-step.
Provisional registration through IRI can be completed very quickly — often within twenty-four hours of a complete file — anywhere in the world, which is one of the registry's signature advantages. The RMI does not impose an arbitrary age cap, but every vessel must satisfy the relevant international conventions and maintain class in good standing.
Beyond Panama and the Marshall Islands, Gerli & Co. registers vessels and yachts under a range of prestigious flags, matching each owner to the registry that best serves their commercial and financing needs:
A long-established open registry, white-listed and strongly accepted by international banks and oil majors.
A respected registry popular with private and commercial yachts and with quality tonnage.
A British Overseas Territory registry favoured by the superyacht market and finance houses.
Cost-effective, efficient registries well suited to a broad range of vessels.
Whichever flag you choose, our role is identical: to make the registration seamless, the documentation impeccable, and the vessel compliant from day one.