Transportation: ADAM COHEN and ELAN COHEN
CO-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMEN, LIBERIAN INTERNATIONAL SHIP & CORPORATE REGISTRY (LISCR), DULLES
Published
The body that oversees ships flagged from the west African nation of Liberia is not the country’s government, but a company based in Virginia.
Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry, founded by Yoram Cohen and run by his sons, totals more than 5,000 vessels, comprising more than 200 million gross tons, and represents 14% of the world’s oceangoing fleet, according to the company. That’s up from 2021, when the company said it totaled more than 4,800 vessels and represented 13% of the world’s shipping fleet.
In March, LISCR announced it had received QUALSHIP21 status from the U.S. Coast Guard for 2022-2023. The status recognizes vessels and flag states that meet specific safety and quality requirements and regulations when calling on U.S. ports. The registry’s CEO, Alfonso Castillero, says the firm was “honored and humbled” by the status.
“This is a major metric of which quality and performance is measured by the maritime industry,” he said in a statement.
LISCR was a controversial source of revenue for Liberia under the regime of former President Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes in 2012.
