Yachting.mt,Malta’s freshest yacht broker and charter service, looks into why every yacht should sail with the Malta flag.
When buying yourself a yacht, one of the most important things is deciding where to register it. Time and time again, Malta has proven to be an ideal home for many large vessels. In fact, Malta’s register is classified as the 6th largest in the world. Due to this, Malta has developed specific legislation that takes into account the distinctive requirements of the yacht and superyacht industry, making registering private and commercial yachts under the Malta Flag an attractive choice.
In an article published on Lloyds list, featuring the top 10 flag states of 2020, Mr. Ivan Sammut from the Malta Ship Registry explained how Malta recorded a 2.1% increase to 82m gt in 2020 versus 2019. This positive result came about despite the challenging times the world has been experiencing. While there was a slight drop in its overall vessel count, Malta saw a rise in the number of superyacht registrations.
The maritime industry in Malta has been blooming ever since the 1973 Merchant Shipping Act was established, opening up the Flag of Malta register. Throughout the years, the Malta Flag has created itself an undented reputation due to being on the whitelist of both the Tokyo and Paris Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).
Apart from all the positive aspects mentioned above, below you will find several advantages of registering your yacht to sail with the Malta Flag.
Transport Malta’s advantages when registering with a Malta Flag
- The Malta Flag Register is reputable and internationally recognised register
- It is a European Flag with a long maritime tradition
- It has a dynamic administration with IMO/EU proactive participation
- It boasts a flat organisation structure with direct access to the decision makers offering a 24/7 service in respect of urgent matters
- Yachts may be registered under the Malta flag by European Union citizens or by legally constituted corporate bodies/entities irrespective of nationality
- Malta has been placed on the White List of the Paris and Tokyo MoU
- It has a well-organised and highly responsive flag Administration that values long term customer relationships
- You can access technical assistance from a team of qualified and experienced mariners
- There are no nationality restrictions for master, officers and crew
- Marriages can be officiated onboard Maltese yachts.
A simple procedure to register your yacht
- Submission of documents
When registering your yacht you need to first submit a series of necessary documents including the declaration of ownership, tonnage certificate if the yacht is longer than 24 meters, all relevant technical information, as well as a radio license application in some cases, among other details that can be found here.
- Provisional Registration
After all the necessary documentation is provided, if the application is to the satisfaction of Transport Malta, you will be issued a non-operational Provisional Certificate of the Malta Registry against the payment of a fee. Transport Malta will then communicate details requesting inspection if there are any issues with the documentation or it is seen as a requirement.
- Permanent Registration
In order to obtain permanent registration, additional documentation will be required after the first month and the sixth month of the provisional registration of the yacht. In case one fails to register the vessel permanently after a year, they would need to start the registration process from scratch.
Once the permanent registration is done, the Certificate of Malta Registry would need to be renewed on an annual basis from the date of initial registration at a fee.
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