As Dick Welsh, director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, prepares for his retirement he celebrated the success of the registry with the Isle of Man Wealth and Fund Services Association.

From listening to what he was saying, Mr Welsh has certainly been more than instrumental in the success of the registry, with its positioning and recognition as an award-winning global leader.

Speaking at the association’s ’Morning Chatter’ event at the Eagle Lab, Douglas, Mr Welsh proudly spoke about the registry saying: ’The Isle of Man is now home to the world’s best shipping registry and one of the world’s best international maritime centres.

’It is the flag of choice for many of the world’s blue-chip shipping companies and owners of prestigious super yachts.’

As director of Isle of Man Ship Registry, Mr Welsh’s role has been involved in the regulation and promotion of what is now one of the world’s leading international ship and yacht registries.

The registry is consistently placed as one of the top registers in the industry’s flag state performance table and has continued to deliver on its reputation for providing a client-focused approach to regulation with exceptional levels of service.

Mr Welsh considers himself fortunate to have led a team of dedicated professionals who have always gone the extra mile to assist ship owners and operators in keeping their vessels operating commercially.

Nonetheless, he feels that it is this approach by all those he has worked with that continually sets the Isle of Man apart from the competition and drives the success of the registry.

And although he is proud to leave behind him this legacy, he won’t be that far away from the registry as in his retirement Dick is looking to enjoy the freedom of having a boat himself, registered in the Isle of Man of course.

Carly Stratton, chairman of the IOMWFSA said: ’It is this success which helps spread the word about the Isle of Man as a centre of excellence for maritime business and those businesses associated with the wealth management, tax advice, legal and administrative support of all those involved.

’While we champion the unrivalled success of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, by association we are celebrating success of the island as a whole’.