Our Maritime Law Unit specialises in the registration of ships, yachts and other marine vessels under the Maltese Flag.  Upon providing us with a power of attorney for the formation of a shipping company and for the registration of your ship or yacht, our firm can assist at all stages and from all aspects and registration is usually a speedy procedure.

Registration of ships and yachts under the Maltese flag offers several advantages:

• low company formation and ship registration costs;

• no restrictions on the nationality of the ship owner;

• complete tax exemption for private yachts and ships over 1000 Gross Tons;

• effective tax rate of 5% and VAT exemption for chartering of commercial yachts;

• no restrictions on the nationality of the master, officers and crew;

• no restrictions or taxation on the sale or transfer of shares of a company owning Maltese registered ships;

• no restrictions or taxation on the sale and mortgaging of Maltese registered ships;

• no trading restrictions and preferential treatment to Maltese ships in certain ports;

Any vessel can be registered under the Maltese flag provided it is owned by a Maltese registered company or by a person habitually resident in Malta.

The formation of a Maltese company is a straightforward operation and can be taken care of by this firm, usually within a few hours. There are no nationality requirements as to both the shareholders and directors and usually the real ship or yacht owner will be the shareholder and director of the company. The company will have its registered office at our own address, unless you have another preference and we will be the company's authorized representative in Malta so that we will take care of all the company's administration in Malta.

Malta reduces VAT rate on Maltese registered yachts to 5.4%