The Isle of Man Ship Registry has strengthened its presence in Asia with the appointment of Aga Nagarajan as its representative in Hong Kong.

The key appointment comes as IOMSR, one of the world’s leading and most progressive flag states, continues to expand its reach in the region. It also highlights the registry’s commitment to serving clients in one of the most important global maritime hubs.

Aga Nagarajan has extensive maritime sector experience and knowledge, gained in a career that includes the role of executive director at Hong Kong headquartered Fleet Management Limited – one of the world’s leading providers of ship management services.

Aga joins IOMSR’s network of overseas representatives in Singapore, Norway, Japan, Dubai and Greece.

Isle of Man Ship Registry Director Cameron-Mitchell said: “We are delighted to welcome Aga to our global team. He has a deep understanding of the operational challenges facing ship owners and operators.

“His industry knowledge, leadership experience and strong connections in Asia will be invaluable and will further strengthen our presence in the region. Having a strong presence in Hong Kong, a premier international maritime hub, is an important part of our strategy.”

Speaking about his new role, Aga said: “The Isle of Man Ship Registry is totally focused on supporting clients, investing in innovation and sustainability, and delivering services that genuinely add value to shipowners and operators.

“I’m excited to be delivering that message and to help more companies to benefit from the registry’s client-focused approach.

“The registry offers clients an easy, efficient and competitive service. This includes low fees with one annual payment and no stealth charges, while some open registries charge for almost all additional services and endorsements.

“At the Isle of Man Ship Registry there is no annual tonnage tax based on ship size, no inspection fees, no consular fees, no casualty investigation fees and we offer a discount for multi ship fleets as well as fee incentives for environmentally friendly ships.”

A key message he will be taking to the market is IOMSR’s ability to offer indefinite ‘favoured nation status’ to ship-owners, offering preferential Tonnage Dues when calling in Chinese ports, which equates to a 28% saving.

IOMSR, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, also offers reduced registration fees for ships deploying green technology.

This ground breaking measure gives ship owners a 15 per cent reduction on their annual registration fee. IOMSR was the first flag state in the world to introduce the incentive.

The reduction is available to operators of cargo ships, commercial yachts or passenger ships investing in biofuel, alternative fuels, wind, or shore-side energy technology, carbon capture and air lubrication systems.

Today IOMSR is one of the world’s leading flag states with around 300 ships and 12.5m GT sailing under its flag and is ranked 18 in the world by Clarkson’s.

It is also a Category 1 member of the Red Ensign group. The Red Ensign is synonymous with the highest standards of safety, engineering and navigation in the global maritime industry.

IOMSR has held top spot on the Paris MoU Port State Control whitelist and is firmly on the whitelist in the Tokyo MoU rankings. It is one of the high-performing flags on the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 scheme.