EU Yacht Owners - UK Yacht Registration & Brexit

On 23rd June 2016, a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the EU took place which concluded in a vote to leave the EU.The UK Government’s intention is that the UK will cease to be a Member State of the EU on 29th March 2019, (‘Brexit’).As part of a series of UK legislative changes precipitated by Brexit the UK Government have published a statutory instrument titled ‘The Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendments Etc.) (Eu Exit) Regulations 2018’.This instrument is hugely important from a yacht registration perspective as Part I of the UK Register of Ships is the number one EU flag for the registration of yachts and the instrument addresses uncertainty surrounding the continued ability of EU citizens and EU companies to own and operate UK registered vessels following Brexit.Current UK ship registration regulations (the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993) allow EU citizens to access Part I of the UK Register of Ships by exercising freedom of movement rights enshrined in EU law with EU companies also allowed to access the register directly.There was concern that EU citizens and companies might no longer qualify as owners of UK registered vessels following Brexit meaning that they would have to re-register their vessels in other jurisdictions.The instrument clarifies the position and addresses any such concerns by confirming that the same persons (both individuals and legal entities) who currently qualify for vessel registration in the UK will be able to do so after the UK leaves the EU.Oceanskies would be pleased to answer any questions or queries that yacht owners may have concerning the impact of Brexit on the UK Register of Ships.We also provide a turn-key yacht cost effective registration service for owners wishing to take advantage of the many benefits of the UK Register of Ships for their yachts – please click on the following link for further information:UK Yacht Registration - Pricing

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