Isle of Man Shipping

Isle of Man Ship Registry - Benefits

The Isle of Man Ship Register offers a wide range of potential benefits to ship owners, managers and charterers. The Island has a long established maritime industry and since the first ship registered in 1786 has developed an infrastructure to cater for the shipping industry.

The present-day Ship Registry was established in 1984. Benefits available in the Isle of Man include:

A professional and accessible Ship Registry providing a fast response to queries. This is available 24/7.
The Registry has ISO 9001/2008 accreditation.
A favourable (currently zero) taxation regime designed to encourage business.
A range of professional services designed to support shipping – in particular, accounting, corporate and legal support services
The right to fly the "Red Ensign" – ships are British in terms of rights and protection afforded to owners, e.g. access to the support of British consular services world-wide and Royal Navy protection.
Flexibility in the requirements for registered owners, including acceptance of Limited Partnerships
Flexible approach to manning – simple application process for STCW endorsements for officers.
The availability of Demise registry both "IN" and "OUT".
Low costs and a small fixed annual registration fee
No insurance premium tax.
Full political support for shipping.
The Isle of Man flag is not a Flag of Convenience.
Registry support for ships treated unfairly by Port State Control.
Regular issue of advice bulletins on key issues to assist owners.

Registration

New buildings and vessels under 10 years of age can be surveyed by Class prior to flagging-in. Other vessels are registered after inspection and survey by the Isle of Man Ship Registry’s own Surveyors.

Registration fees are low, and once all registration formalities are completed, no further charges are incurred other than a small fixed annual registration fee and the usual fees for Certification, Inspection and Surveys.

Registration and Survey Fees are fixed under the Merchant Shipping Fees Regulations which are issued annually.

Ships of virtually all types are accepted for registry, including passenger ships, bulk carriers, tankers, gas and chemical carriers, offshore support vessels, FPSO’s (Floating Platform for Storage of Oil), container ships and cargo ships.

However, some ships are not accepted for registry. These are as follows:

Ships which are not classed with one of the seven accepted major Classification Societies.
Ships of under 500 GT unless they are operating locally in and around the Isle of Man
Single hull oil tankers
High Speed Craft operating outside the Irish Sea area
Floating Dry Docks
Harbour and estuarial craft operating outside Manx waters
Pilgrim Ships (Passenger Ships operating to/from Mecca-Hadj)
Ships engaged in the carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel

There are two principal registers, the Main and Demise (Bareboat) Charter Register.

Isle of Man Ship Registry – EU Cabotage Arrangements

The nature of the Isle of Man’s EU affiliation excludes Isle of Man registered ships from cabotage arrangements available to full EU member states. Cabotage is coastal trading into and out of ports within one country, in this case an EU country. A solution can be to register a ship on the Isle of Man

Main Register and then demise charter the ship out to an EU flag, e.g. Gibraltar, Madiera or other EU country.

Demise Charter registration is applied for by the charterer of the ship and enables the charterer, with the consent of the ship-owner and underlying registry, to operate the ship under a different flag, e.g. Ship registered on Isle of Man Main Register can also be registered on Gibraltar Demise

Charter Register – in this case title and any charges would remain registered on the (underlying) Isle of Man Register but the vessel would operate under the Gibraltar Flag.

Demise (Bareboat Charter) Register

Demise Charter Registration is available in the Isle of Man and can provide a flexible option with a number of potential advantages:

The possibility of taking advantage of other national laws which may permit tax advantages.
A renewable five year registry period.
Security of title and charges registered in the Isle of Man with operational jurisdiction elsewhere (Demise OUT). This option allows owners to take advantage of the security of title registration in the Isle of Man while operating the ship under another flag to suit local requirements or specific charter requirements.
The option to retain registry of title and charges in a chosen jurisdiction other than the Isle of Man with the ship flying the Isle of Man flag and certificated as an Isle of Man ship (Demise IN). This allows owners to satisfy any demands from finance lenders as to registry of title and charges but still enjoy the benefits of flying the Isle of Man flag.

Qualified Owners

Manx registered ships are British ships but under the separate jurisdiction of the Isle of Man Ship Registry. As British ships, the Merchant Shipping Act requires that the owner must be a "Qualified Owner". To qualify as a British ship and a qualified owner the majority interest in the ship, that is, at least 33 out of 64 shares must be held by one of the following:

A company incorporated in the Isle of Man and having its principal place of business in the Isle of Man (there are no nationality requirements for ownership of such companies).
A company incorporated in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, or any British Dependent Territory and having its principal place of business in any such territory.
A company incorporated in a member state of the European Union or in a European Economic Area Country or a Relevant Country (see note below) and having its principal place of business in any such country (the company may be incorporated in any of the above territories or member states and have its principal place of business in any other of the above territories or member states).
A Limited Partnership established and registered in the Isle of Man in accordance with the Partnership Act 1909 and the International Business Act 1994, and in certain prescribed countries as detailed in Manx Shipping Notice No. 194.
A British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen (see Table 1), a British overseas citizen, a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981, or a British National (Overseas).
A citizen of a member state of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) Countries.
The remaining minority interest (not more than 31 out of 64 shares) may be held by any other person.
The list of prescribed relevant countries for the purpose of qualified owners has been extended and currently includes the additional countries (effectively allowing for worldwide ownership):- Australia, Bahamas, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Liberia, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, USA.

Commercial Yacht Register

The Isle of Man Yacht Register was introduced by the Isle of Man Government in January 2003 and applies to any vessel over 24 metres used for Sport or Pleasure, whether a new-building or already in Class and which complies with the UK Mega Yacht Code.

Ownership can be by individuals, bodies corporate, and by or on behalf of a members’ club.

Commercial Yachts are registered in exactly the same manner and are subject to the same conditions as Merchant Ships. Each vessel must be seen by an Isle of Man surveyor prior to registry. Vessels are registered if the surveyor is satisfied that the vessel complies with the Code and is a suitable for registry in the Isle of Man. In exactly the same way as with Merchant Ships, the owner must be a "qualified owner", with a Representative Person present in the Isle of Man.

Commercial Yachts are automatically entered in the Alternative Fees Scheme on registry and will be visited by an Isle of Man surveyor at 30 month intervals. The attending surveyor will undertake any necessary surveys that are due. Those subject to the ISM Code (over 500 GT) will receive an ISM audit and vessels subject to the ISPS Code will receive a Security Verification Audit. West Ship Management is a full member of the Isle of Man Shipping Association. This Association was formed in 1995 to represent the Manx shipping industry in its regular and close dialogues with all the relevant departments of Government.

The Isle of Man Shipping Association is a member of the International Shipping Federation.