Gibraltar
Ship Management and Maritime Operations
The Gibraltar Ship Register is a member of the
Category I Red Ensign Group of the United Kingdom
and United Kingdom dependency registers.
With
more than 240 ocean-going vessels on the Register,
amounting to over 1.3 million Gross Tonnes,
nearly every type of commercial vessel is represented
on the Gibraltar Registry.
Gibraltar
recognises Lloyds Register of Shipping and the
British Committees of American Bureau of Shipping,
Bureau Veritas, Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer
Lloyd and Registro Italiano Navale – and
it is to these Classification Societies that
the issuing of certain Convention Certificates
is delegated.
Changes
in Gibraltar legislation now permit a wider
range of individuals or corporate bodies to
be qualified persons eligible to own a registerable
ship.
Gibraltar
has a very competitive fee structure for registration,
and although it is part of the EU the absence
of VAT means that ships or pleasure craft can
be imported without a VAT charge. This has led
to a substantial increase in the registration
of yachts and other private vessels in recent
years.
A
busy yacht sales market has developed in Gibraltar.
A number of brokers, selling new and second
hand craft, are based in the territory while
a stroll around the jetties will normally reveal
several interesting vessels on the market. In
total Gibraltar offers more than 450 yacht berths,
with depths of up to 4.5 metres available. For
larger yachts the full range of wet and dry
stores and chandlery can be supplied. Urgent
spares can be flown in directly to Gibraltar.
Shipping
legislation is modelled on the UK's Merchant
Shipping Act; Gibraltar does not offer a flag
of convenience, and the full panoply of British
safety requirements and crewing regulation applies.
However, the application procedure is relatively
painless.
Provisional
Certificates of British Registry can be issued,
valid for three months, based on proof of title.
