The Malta Flag.
A Flag of Confidence.

Over the past decades Malta has developed a very strong legal and regulatory platform that has enabled the Malta Flag to become a reputable international ship register which is now established as one of the largest in the world. More recently, Malta has developed specific legislation that takes into account the distinctive requirements of the yacht and superyacht industry. This has made registering Private and Commercial Yachts under the Malta Flag an increasingly more attractive proposition which has already been chosen by a large number of yacht and superyacht Owners and Managers.

Malta’s offering to the yacht and superyacht industry goes well beyond the possibilities of Flag registration. The island, located at the centre of the Mediterreanean, has for many years also established itself as one of the leading maritime service centres which is committed to continue developing further and to reinforce it’s reputation as an international centre of excellence in the maritime industry.

Registration

Under the Malta Flag a yacht may be registered as a Private yacht or a Commercial yacht.

Private Registration

The Merchant Shipping Directorate  considers a private registered yacht to be any pleasure yacht, of 6 metres in length or more, which does not carry passengers for reward and is not engaged in trade but is used for the sole purpose of the owner.

Commercial Registration

A commercially registered yacht is considered to be a yacht, of 15 metres in length or more but not more than 3000 gross tonnes, which do not carry cargo, carries not more than 12 passengers and operated by the owner or body corporate owning the yacht for commercial use.

The following classes of yachts will be considered for commercial registration:

• Yachts in commercial use of not less than 15 metres in length and not more than 24 metres.
• Superyachts in commercial use of more than 24 metres in length and less than 500 gross tonnes.
• Superyachts in commercial use of more than 24 metres in length and 500 gross tonnes and over but less than 3000 gross tonnes.

A commercial Yacht Code setting the required standards of safety and pollution prevention is in force and our technical advisors will be more than pleased to discuss the implications of the code on your new build or already existing superyacht.

Yacht registration whether private or commercial is a very simple and straight forward process  subject that all documentation is in order. Yachts are first registered provisionally under the Malta Flag for six months (extendible for a further period, or periods not exceeding in the aggregate six months) during which period all documentation will be handles and finalised by our team.

Our Team is always at hand to simplify an explain the process of registering your superyacht under the Malta Flag.