Bill Gallagher, President of International Registries, Inc. (IRI), was recognized with two prestigious international awards in the Fall of 2022, honoring his more than 30 years of leadership and commitment to the industry.
In October, Bill received the 2022 SAFETY4SEA Leadership Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership as IRI’s President since 2000. For more than 30 years, he has worked to build a quality registry with an international reputation for fleet safety and compliance. The annual award, which recognizes the industry’s outstanding practices for safety excellence, sustainability, training, technology, initiative, personality, and leadership, was presented virtually.
In his acceptance speech, Bill reflected on his childhood, growing up with a father who worked in the Baltimore shipyard. Bill said, “when it comes to safety, I think back to when I grew up, and my father, who taught me that safety must be a priority. Safety is so important because if we don’t do our job as a registry, then there is no safety for our seafarers onboard; and the crew drives the industry.”
In his tenure at IRI, the RMI-registered fleet has grown from 7 million gross tons (GT) in 2000 to more than 194 million GT as of 31 October 2022 and the global team has grown to more than 465 employees in 28 offices worldwide. Since joining IRI in 1991, Bill has focused on vessel safety, compliance, and customer service, working closely with industry partners, owners and operators, and the IRI team to implement standards for safety and compliance, while remaining adaptable to an innovative industry.
In November, at the Ninth Annual The Maritime Standard (TMS) Awards, in Dubai, Bill received the TMS International Personality of the Year Award. The TMS awards ceremony celebrates and recognizes “the best of the best” in shipping, ports, and related sectors across the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Awards are given in 20 different categories for safety and security, environmental protection, green shipping, technology/innovation, etc. In addition, individual awards are presented by TMS in recognition of the contributions made by selected key industry executives and organizations. Bill was honored for his significant contribution to the shipping and maritime industry, and for his leadership of IRI. Present at the awards ceremony were IRI team members from Dubai, London, Piraeus, and Reston.
Congratulations Bill!
