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 yacht, our firm can assist at all stages and from all aspects and
registration is usually a speedy procedure.
Private
Yacht registration
The
provisional registration is valid for six months. In order to register
your yacht permanently under the Maltese flag, you must provide the
following documents within six months from provisional registration:
-
yacht
survey certificate from an authorized surveyor in the port where the
yacht lies attesting the yacht's seaworthiness; should your surveyor
have difficulty in obtaining the official Malta Maritime Authority
form
-
then a
survey certificate form can be provided
-
only if
your yacht is more than 24 metres in length, we will need an
International Tonnage Certificate
-
a bill
of sale showing that your Maltese company has bought the yacht; or a
builder's certificate in the name of the Maltese company if the
yacht is new or has never been registered anywhere previously
-
a radio
installation form and a radio licence application which we will
provide to you after provisional
-
registration which must be filled in by an authorized surveyor in
the port where the yacht lies.
-
a
Carving and Marking note from an authorized surveyor in the port
where the yacht lies; this is a form which we will provide after
provisional registration
-
if the
yacht has been registered previously outside of Malta, a certificate
showing cancellation of registry from that last country of registry
(deletion certificate)
Commercial Yacht registration
To register
your yacht provisionally under the Maltese flag we will need from you:
-
an MCA
Certificate of Survey issued by a classification society
-
if your
yacht is more than 24 metres in length, we will need an
International Tonnage Certificate and a Load Line Certificate also
issued by a classification society
The
provisional registration is valid for six months. In order to register
your yacht permanently under the Maltese flag, you must provide the
following documents within six months from provisional registration:
-
yacht
survey certificate from an authorized surveyor in the port where the
yacht lies attesting the yacht's seaworthiness; should your surveyor
have difficulty in obtaining the official Malta Maritime Authority
form then a survey certificate form can be provided
-
a bill
of sale showing that your Maltese company has bought the yacht; or a
builder's certificate in the name of the Maltese company if the
yacht is new or has never been registered anywhere previously
-
a radio
installation form and a radio licence application which we will
provide to you after provisional registration which must be filled
in by an authorized surveyor in the port where the yacht lies.
-
a
Carving and Marking note from an authorized surveyor in the port
where the yacht lies; this is a form which we will provide after
provisional registration
-
if the
yacht has been registered previously outside of Malta, a certificate
showing cancellation of registry from that last country of registry
(deletion certificate).
The
operation of commercially registered yachts for chartering purposes
using a Maltese company (using a
Maltese International Trading Company) is very tax
advantageous. Profits from chartering are taxed at 4.17%, there is no
VAT on chartering contracts and VAT paid on purchases by the Maltese
company can be reclaimed.
.
