Yacht registration in Gibraltar

GIBRALTAR has historically been a popular port due to its strategic location at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula between Europe and Africa. Over the years it has played host to Phoenician ships, Carthaginian ships, Roman ships, Moorish ships, British ships and so on. Today, it is one of the busiest bunkering ports in the area.

With the passing of the Gibraltar Merchant Shipping (Registration) and (Safety) Ordinances and Regulations, (the Gibraltar Merchant Shipping (Registration) Ordinance 1993 and Merchant Shipping (Pleasure Yachts) Regulations 1997), Gibraltar forms part of the Category 1 Red English Group Register and is an attractive port of registry for yachts. The flying of the Red Ensign (British Flag) is associated with prestige and is internationally recognised plus the fact that British vessels seek assistance from any British Consulates or Embassies throughout the world.

Corporate ownership and registration on the British Register of Shipping offers security as well as dependability. The registration procedure provides proof of ownership of the vessel so proving legal title on transfer is relatively easy.

The registration legislation makes provision for registering vessels which are bareboat chartered and/or registering ships under construction. A pleasure yacht is defined as a ship which is less than 24 metres in length and is mainly used for sport or recreation. Vessels in excess of the above length have to register at the Gibraltar Ship Registry. Pleasure yachts may, therefore, be let out on charter whilst yachts which are used for fishing purposes are not eligible for registration as pleasure yachts. At present, there are approximately 800 yachts registered in the Part 1 Register (Pleasure or Commercial). On average there are 130 vessels registrations (Part 1 Register) every year.

Usually, registration of a vessel is undertaken via a Gibraltar Tax Exempt Company. This type of company has several advantages, primarily that of tax savings as well as a means of passing of the yacht, through inheritance, to family/heirs with great efficiency.

Requirements for the registration of a pleasure yacht

This is a fairly simple procedure:

  1. In order to register a yacht, you must ensure that you are eligible to do so, as only ‘Qualified Persons’ may register vessels. These being British citizens; EU nationals who are established in Gibraltar (making an economic contribution to Gibraltar); corporate bodies incorporated in the EU and have a place of business in Gibraltar.
  2. If the yacht is newly built and has not been registered before in any port the original builders certificate duly executed by the builder. In the case where the yacht has been re-sold (and therefore holds registration document from another port) the following is to be provided:

    ? Original bill of sale(s) duly signed by the vendor(s). This must be authenticated by a notary public, and
    ? Original or certified true copy of the deletion certificate from the previous registry.

  3. A tonnage measurement survey must be done in order for a tonnage certificate to be issued and forwarded on for the purposes of registering the vessel. The survey is dependent on the size and location of the vessel and therefore the fee will be given by one of the recognised classification societies. We can arrange for the nearest classification society to where your yacht is berthed to perform the measurement survey. They can also be undertaken by the port department in Gibraltar.
  4. There are certain documents to be submitted to the Yacht Registry for the purposes of registration;
    1. Notice of the proposed name
    2. Application to register a pleasure yacht
    3. Declaration of ownership by a body corporate (needs signature by an authorised officer and director of the company)
    4. Copy of the certificate of incorporation of the corporate body
    5. Application for allotment of international code signal letters
    6. Application for radio licence (renewable annually)
    7. Application for ship station licence (renewable annually)
    8. Bill of sale or builder’s certificate
    9. Deletion certificate from previous registry (if relevant)
  5. Once the documents have been collated they are sent to the registry with the registration fee. The Yacht Registry provides us with the carving & marking note, stating the official number and register tonnage to be stated into the main beam of the yacht.

As soon as point 5 is completed and confirmed by the registered agent, the certificate of British registry in the form of the Blue Book is issued.

Value Added Tax

A VAT paid yacht will not come across any problems in EU waters as long as the yacht is not chartered. Importation relief from VAT is available to yachts beneficially owned and used by non EU residents provided that such non EU residents do not become ordinarily resident in the EU. Importation relief allows a yacht to be used within EU waters for up to six months in total in any twelve month period.