San Marino, a landlocked microstate on the Italian peninsula, became the latest shipping registry to actively look for clients in an increasingly competitive vessel registration market.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, Posidonia organisers described the San Marino Registry as a “brand-new player, which chose Posidonia 2024 as the launching pad for its merchant vessel offering”.
Shipping data suggest the registry has been around for more than a year but that it has considerably stepped up its marketing over the past few weeks.
S&P Global shows 20 ships are currently flying the San Marino flag. Most are bulkers, but they also include fish farm support and utility vessels, as well as the odd vintage tanker.
As a republic within the European Union, San Marino may be hoping to benefit from EU rules forcing ship owners resident in the bloc to put an increasing number of their ships under European flags.
The rule has played into the hands of European flags that have digitalised much of their services, like Portugal’s international registry of Madeira, which has indeed seen its registration numbers soar lately.
However, European registries that have failed to catch up with digital developments are still losing ships. Greece is the most notable example.
Flag states have come under increasing scrutiny, as calls multiply at International Maritime Organization level and elsewhere to take measures against flag states believed to be facilitating or not to be cracking down hard enough on vessels that engage in trades sanctioned by the West.
The San Marino registry’s general director Gianluca Tucci was among several flag representatives present at Posidonia who vowed to be playing by the rules.
“Sanctions compliance, fleet monitoring, and enforcement of all the IMO instruments are the main challenges we are currently facing,” Tucci said in the Posidonia press release.
Leading flag states Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands have agreed to exchange information to avoid “flag hopping and other deceitful practices”, the release said.
