Oceanskies Early Summer 2020 Update

Oceanskies Early Summer 2020 Update

After close to 3 months of working from our homes the Oceanskies Guernsey office fully re-opened on the 22nd June. At the time of writing the Bailiwick of Guernsey is 75 days without any new cases of Coronavirus (covid-19). Fortunately our Malta office has been able to continue its activities almost unaffected throughout this period. 

Registration

Registration activity understandably dropped as the pandemic surged through Europe in March and April. Now restrictions are easing, and shipyards are fully operational we have seen a huge increase in active registrations with over 150 currently in progress, ranging from small day boats to the largest new-build superyachts. 

The sudden increase in registration activity has taken its toll on most registries with many suffering backlogs and delays due to various factors relating to covid-19. 

We are still unable to travel from Guernsey without being subject to a 14-day self-isolation on our return making it unviable for us to continue performing our usual tonnage survey duties. Under new MCA guidelines we are able to issue remote tonnage certificates which allows us to complete registrations without physical attendance, more information can be found here.

Recently we featured on a bonus segment on Distant Shores TV, we registered their yacht back in 2018. It was great to be involved with this new project and catch up with Paul and Sheryl. We have already received lots of enquiries from viewers and hopefully have been able to provide an insight into various registration possibilities. For the full video on YouTube pleasesee here.

Finally, in addition to our usual registration solutions we are now pleased to offer Swiss Registrations and Polish Registrations which have both already proven popular.

Crew 

Thanks to our in-house web-based crew payroll management system the team has managed to continue working from home throughout lock-down so our service delivery continued as normal.

The pandemic has strengthened our resolve to continue moving away from a paper based to an online service delivery, such as crew intake via our app, digital signature of documents via Adobe Sign and the auto-recognition of qualifications and auto selection of manning requirements through partner apps such as Crewdentials.

As the industry now looks to consolidate costs, we are receiving more and more requests from management companies who are keen to capitalise on the efficiencies we are creating which are reducing costs and improving the service delivery. The team continues to grow in line with the growing customer base and in this quarter, we welcome Monique and Leonie. 

If you’re interested in demonstration access to our crew payroll system, as a crewmember, captain or manager/owner, please do not hesitate to contact us at crew@oceanskies.com 

Aviation 

As the world of commercial aviation faces one of its biggest challenges yet, the private aviation sector has seen relative gains in demand over the previous weeks and months, with regard to both aircraft ownership and charters. As lockdown eases and there is sustained lack of supply in the commercial sector, private aviation has become a go to for otherwise prospective customers who can travel in a safer and more flexible environment, which at this time is more important than ever.

As a result, new and used aircraft purchases are starting to increase. We are seeing this expansion first-hand with new registration, import and closing enquiries, encompassing a wide range of aircraft from helicopters up to large cabin jets. We continue to work closely with local handling agents to ensure that our clients wishing to complete Guernsey closings can do so while following the enforced covid-19 guidelines.

We are soon to release a “Registration Selector” tool on our website which will allow users to gain an insight into which registration would best fit their circumstances. To compliment this new “Registration Selector” we will be publishing more comprehensive guides for different registries on our website. Clients will be able to learn the advantages and disadvantages of the key registries including; Bermuda, Aruba, San Marino, USA and more.

Port Agency

The Guernsey authorities took the decision to close the island's borders at the end of March and the island remains closed to non-essential travel at the time of writing. However, on the 16^thMay new guidelines were issued allowing visiting yachts into our harbours under strict conditions which can be viewed here.

Similar restrictions were in force in Malta although with effect from the 5th June visiting yachts are now allowed subject to certain restrictions that can be viewed here.

Since the new legislation took effect, we have welcomed over 10 yachts to both Guernsey and Malta, providing everything from customs clearance to provisioning.

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