The Liberian Registry has expanded its footprint in South Korea, opening an office in Busan.
LISCR Busan, which is in the same building as the Korean Shipowners’ Association, is its second office in the country after Seoul.
“The opening of our Busan office achieves a strategic objective of our growth in the very important Korean market,” said Alfonso Castillero, chief operating officer of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR).
“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.”
With the tonnage coming to LISCR from South Korean owners this year and next, it will be a “very busy office”, he said.
JS Kim, managing director of LISCR in South Korea, described the move as a “very big and important step”.
“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.”
The Liberian Register has recruited 30-year Korean Register of Shipping veteran JD Shin to head the Busan office.
Also joining the team is Florie Kim, formerly with Class NK, as well as TP Shipmanagement.
With a fleet of more than 4,300 vessels and 160m gt, the Liberian Registry is the world's second-largest registry, representing 12% of the world's oceangoing fleet.
It has been building up its network of full-service offices and representatives in Asia due to its continued growth there.
In late 2019, it opened a full-service office in Imabari, Japan’s traditional shipowning heartland.
While Japanese shipping is generally centred in Tokyo, most of the tonnage is supplied to the major operating companies by family-owned shipowners in Imabari city.
