The ADOMS Busan Office, covering Korea and Japan

Published by SolarisTech Inc., operator of the ADOMS Busan Office.

The Antigua & Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS) has established the ADOMS Busan Office, covering the Republic of Korea and Japan, in one of the world's leading maritime centres. On 21 August 2026 the Government of Antigua & Barbuda and ADOMS formalized the partnership with Mr. Thomas Blenk, President and CEO of SolarisTech Inc., at a signing ceremony with the Rt. Hon. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda. Mr. Blenk holds the Deputy Registrar appointment for the Republic of Korea and Japan. The ADOMS Busan Office is operated by SolarisTech Inc.

Announcement: Antigua News Room, 21 August 2026, ADOMS builds on Mediterranean success by establishing presence in Asia

The initiative builds on ADOMS' regional operations in Piraeus, Greece, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which have strengthened the Administration's ability to support shipowners, operators and maritime stakeholders directly in key international markets. The ADOMS Busan Office works alongside the owners, managers, yards and classification societies that build and operate in the region. ADOMS maintains regulatory oversight and flag State responsibility from its headquarters in Antigua & Barbuda.

The Antigua & Barbuda flag, now present in Asia

Owners in Korea and Japan now have a full service ADOMS office in the region. Registration and change of flag, mortgages, certificates, seafarer documents, flag State inspections, ISM, ISPS and MLC audits, newbuilding work and technical support are handled through the ADOMS Busan Office, for the Administration.

Why owners choose this flag

Preferential treatment in Chinese ports

Antigua & Barbuda and the People's Republic of China signed an Agreement on Maritime Transport on 24 January 2024, executed by the Honourable E. P. Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, and Li Xiaopeng, Minister of Transport of the People's Republic of China, in the presence of Prime Minister the Honourable Gaston Browne and PRC Premier Li Qiang. Under the Agreement, Antigua & Barbuda flagged vessels calling at Chinese ports are charged the preferential rate for ship tonnage dues rather than the general rate, a saving of approximately 28 percent.

The PRC Ministry of Finance gave effect to the preferential rate in Notice Cai Guan Shui [2024] No. 24, which applies the preferential rate from 8 June 2024 to 7 June 2029.

The Agreement further provides for customs and other port formalities to be expedited as far as possible to avoid unnecessary delay to vessels, recognition of Certificates of Registry and other ship's documents, and confirmation that vessels holding valid tonnage certificates will not be re-measured in PRC ports. On the crew side, the Antigua & Barbuda Seafarer's Book is recognized, with provision for shore leave, entry and transit for joining or repatriation, and the right of any crew member admitted to hospital in the PRC to remain as long as is deemed necessary for in-patient treatment.

Top tier on both port State control performance lists

Antigua & Barbuda is on the Paris MoU White List and on the Tokyo MoU High Performance List, the top tier of both regimes, assessed on inspection data from 2023 to 2025. For an owner trading between Europe and the Far East, that is the flag's standing in the two regions where the ship is actually inspected. All six MARPOL Annexes, the Ballast Water Management Convention and MLC 2006 are in force for Antigua & Barbuda, and the register has grown in gross tonnage and in number of ships in each of the last three years.

Paris MoU performance list valid to 6 July 2027. Tokyo MoU performance list valid to 30 June 2027. Register growth: UNCTADstat, merchant fleet by flag of registration, 1 January 2023 to 1 January 2026.

Sanctions compliance written into the register

ADOMS Miscellaneous Circular 2025-001 of 14 January 2025 requires Antigua & Barbuda flagged vessels to comply with United Nations and G7 sanctions programmes. It identifies the activities that must be avoided, including concealing a vessel's location or voyage by disabling AIS and LRIT and conducting ship-to-ship transfers in areas known for lax oversight, and it provides that a vessel or its ownership included in the sanctions databases maintained by the UN, the USA and G7 countries will be deleted from the register.

What the ADOMS Busan Office does

Flag State inspections and audits

Flag State inspections and ISM, ISPS and MLC audits for Antigua & Barbuda vessels in Korea and Japan are arranged through the ADOMS Busan Office, around the vessel's trading pattern.

Newbuilding work in Korea and Japan

The ADOMS Busan Office sits in one of the world's leading shipbuilding regions. For vessels building in Korea and Japan for the Antigua & Barbuda flag, including gas carriers and gas-fuelled tonnage, the office works with the owner, the yard and the Recognized Organization through the build cycle. Technical policy decisions, including questions of convention interpretation, are made by ADOMS, and equivalents, alternative arrangements and approvals under the IGC and IGF Codes are granted by the Administration.

Seafarer services

Endorsements, Seafarer's Books and other seafarer documents are handled in Busan for owners, managers and manning agents across Korea and Japan.

The Antigua News Room announcement states that ADOMS "remains committed to maintaining high standards of safety, security, environmental protection, seafarer welfare and Flag State administration as it expands its international reach."