Dec 3rd, 2017
"Never chase a lie. Let it alone, and it will run itself to death". Lyman Beecher - 1865
On Thursday November 30th 2017, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) in the USA issued a citation to the Dominica Maritime Registry Inc. (DMRI) for violating the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions. Many Dominicans who read about the finding of violation would not be surprised by the decision. Many may still remember the hot debate that occurred earlier this year when Mr. Monfared was arrested; during that time the issue of "reflagging" of oil tankers in the Middle East was being debated and refuted by the Dominica Labor Party Administration and its sympathizers. Who can forget Mr. Skerrit's confused speech from Greece at 1 am on January 28th of the current year, when he denied reports of any investigation of himself by the US Feds. In that speech he made this prophetic statement: "How one can create a link between the regular issuance of a diplomatic passport to an alleged violation of international sanctions is certainly incredible to behold". Well, it seems that this "incredible matter" has been put to rest by OFAC. The Labor Administration has yet to comment on the citation.
As a result, many Dominicans may be wondering about the DMRI and why is the US involved? There are many nuances, but here are the bare bones. It seems that in 1999 Dominica wanted to improve its presence in the International world, so a contract was signed with an American, Mr. Eric Dawicki who won the bid to run the Dominica Maritime Registry as a Company for 20 years . (Recently it appears the length of the contract is disputed. Correction will be made when facts come to light). Mr. Dawicki is the Deputy Administrator of DMRI. He is also the President of Northeast Marine Institute located in Fairhaven Massachusetts and runs the DMRI from the same location as the college. Some Dominicans may have first heard about Mr. Dawicki in July 2013 after the incident concerning the "Danny Rose" a Dominican flagged oil tanker which created an oil spill in the Port of Brisbane Australia. Dominicans then learnt that DMRI was not making a profit.
Well, by 2015 things had changed. Dominica was making a booming business in Asia reflagging oil tankers and it looked like their Regional Office in Greece was getting all the business. You may recall that this was at the peak of the "My Dominica Trade House Saga". However there was always the the question as to why the Greece Regional Office made so many sales? Well it seems that the DMRI Regional office in Greece has morphed, or has become Two. Who knows when that happened. It is now the Dominica Maritime Registry (Greece) LLC . It is the International Business Unit of the DMRI! No other Regional Offices have this designation. It seems that the Regional Maritime Office in Greece has decapitated the parent Organisation in Massachusetts; in essence the "tail is now wagging the dog". Were Dominicans informed of that change? When did it occur? Did the Minister of Ports say anything? According to information written in the Official Guide to Ship and Yacht Registries (OGSR) that Unit appears to be under the Ministry of Finance, and it's purpose is to "help fund diversification of the Economy, expand the economic base and to generate employment" in Dominica. Really! Shouldn't Dominicans be made aware that they have this Business Venture working on their behalf? How much money has this Company generated? Who are the Partners? Where is the money?
This is a critical time for Dominica. It needs alot money to rebuild and cannot afford to "leave money on the table" anywhere. The DMRI is an Open Maritime Registry which means that any foreign owned vessels can be registered under Dominica's Flag without their owners ever setting foot in Dominica. That system is coined "Flag of Convenience". (FOC) and this is Big Business. Dominica has DMRI Sales Offices in Chile, Lebanon, Scandinavia, Turkey, Ukraine just to name a few. Indeed, there are many small States operating Open Maritime Registries; it is a source of Income for their countries. However, in the case of Dominica, no one one knows how much revenue is being generated. This appears to be a black hole. The way it stands , Dominica should be in a better position than the other states because it has its own business unit, the Dominica Maritime Registry (Greece) LLC. They have even joined the Global Money Consultants Group (GMC) to generate more revenue. The GMC Group comprises of:
- Global Money Consultants SA,
- International Ship Registries Worldwide LLC
- Dominica Maritime Registry (Greece) LLC and
- Aircraft Registrations Worldwide LLC.
This Group does it all. They register Companies, Trusts, Banking, Online credit card , Dual citizenship, Licenses for Online Gaming. Name it they do it. On the other hand, they could all be "One" Company, because they share the same address. Who knows? Nevertheless, it seems that it would be possible for the Dominica Maritime Registry in Greece to make extra money for Dominica. With all these money making opportunities available, how much revenue has been transferred to Dominica to accomplish the goals they set out in the Official Guide (OGSR)? Are their any plans to inform Dominicans of this Venture which was established on their behalf? These are some of the questions that the Labor Administration must answer.
As you can see, previously disparate, seemingly unrelated and unconnected events (Monfared's arrest, Dominican-flagged Iranian Oil Tankers plying Malaysian waters, Skerrit's hastily arranged "working visit" to Greece) appear to be coming together and making sense to observers of the Labor Administration machinations. How much more is out there in the International sphere? Where will the 'next shoe' drop?
Here are a few links just in case you want to check out the information.
Global Money-Ship & Aircraft Registrations
DMRI Head Office
Dominica Maritime Registry(Greece)LLC
Global Money Consultants Group
