Boat country of registration flags / size etc

Lisa&Paul

Lisa&Paul

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Hi , help needed for newbie's . Both the flags need replacing on our newly purchased boat ……...
1/ Have researched in the UK and the size listed seem to be too large i.e. 30cm x 45 cm .
2/ Are they called courtesy flags ?
3/ Need a USA flag for registration domain and a North Cyprus flag as place of residence ……….

Popeye and Olive
 
Portofino said:
Is a USA flag sensible given the geopolitical situation nearby ?
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Given the boat is registered in Delaware USA, it is a legal requirement to fly a USA flag...the questions are functional rather than political. and I am sure that all the USA flagged boat owners in the med are not racing around to remove their flags :)
 
I'm not entirely sure, but I thought you had to a US citizen to own a US registered boat and fly the US flag.
You may have to re-register to be strictly legal.
 
Portland Billy said:
I'm not entirely sure, but I thought you had to a US citizen to own a US registered boat and fly the US flag.
You may have to re-register to be strictly legal.
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The courtesy flag is the flag of the country you are visiting (Cyprus).

Do you not have a flagstaff on the stern to enable you to fly a decent sized flag?

As others have pointed out, unless you're an American resident the boat should be reregistered to a Cyprus flag (with payment of Vat etc).

I'd have thought that a US flag will draw a LOT of attention from the Cyprus authorities.
 
To clarify, Cyprus is a divided island, due to the troubles dating from 1959-1974, when Turkey intervened to bring about the end of the atrocities and to bring peace to the island on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots. The island became partitioned, with 62% Greek Cypriot and the remainder Turkish Cypriot, with a green line border that now allows free and easy passage from North to South and vice versa. A few years ago the south side applied for entry into the EU, on the understanding that the island would be unified in a referendum. The application was accepted, however, the Greek Cypriot side voted overwhelmingly against reunification. Thus enabling a divided country to be admitted into the EU against the EU regulations....therefore the membership into the EU of North Cyprus (TRNC) is currently suspended under the acquis.

So, the situation is this; our boat is berthed and kept in North Cyprus, currently not part of the EU, in a marina that is a legal port of entry. She is a legally registered boat, so long as she remains outside of EU waters, which is our intention...there is some subtext to this with Brexit, buts let not muddy the waters....

There are several other USA flagged boats in the Marina which do not attract any attention from the North Cyprus authorities.

Hopefully we have cleared up any misunderstanding, and would ask to revert back to the original post and hope to achieve some relevant answers.

Popeye & Olive
 
Lisa&Paul said:
To clarify, Cyprus is a divided island, due to the troubles dating from 1959-1974, when Turkey intervened to bring about the end of the atrocities and to bring peace to the island on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots. The island became partitioned, with 62% Greek Cypriot and the remainder Turkish Cypriot, with a green line border that now allows free and easy passage from North to South and vice versa. A few years ago the south side applied for entry into the EU, on the understanding that the island would be unified in a referendum. The application was accepted, however, the Greek Cypriot side voted overwhelmingly against reunification. Thus enabling a divided country to be admitted into the EU against the EU regulations....therefore the membership into the EU of North Cyprus (TRNC) is currently suspended under the acquis.

So, the situation is this; our boat is berthed and kept in North Cyprus, currently not part of the EU, in a marina that is a legal port of entry. She is a legally registered boat, so long as she remains outside of EU waters, which is our intention...there is some subtext to this with Brexit, buts let not muddy the waters....

There are several other USA flagged boats in the Marina which do not attract any attention from the North Cyprus authorities.

Hopefully we have cleared up any misunderstanding, and would ask to revert back to the original post and hope to achieve some relevant answers.

Popeye & Olive
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Do you have time limitation on being in their waters ? Where I am in Latvia (have to check if changed) but it was a rule that foreign non EU boat could not stay more than 6 months ... ( I realise North is not EU) ...
 
Refueler said:
Do you have time limitation on being in their waters ? Where I am in Latvia (have to check if changed) but it was a rule that foreign non EU boat could not stay more than 6 months ... ( I realise North is not EU) ...
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Hi , no limitations , the only restriction we have is we are unable to take the boat by road out of the marina boundary ,then taxes would be due .
 
I would still be interested to know if it is OK to own a US registered vessel and fly the flag if you are not a US national.
I always thought the cousins were strict on this, but could be wrong.
 
Portland Billy said:
I would still be interested to know if it is OK to own a US registered vessel and fly the flag if you are not a US national.
I always thought the cousins were strict on this, but could be wrong.
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I think the factor that allows this ... is registered in Delaware

Delaware is basically an 'onshore' version of example UK's Cayman Islands to the USA. I can register all sorts in Delaware - I don't because I would be penalised heavily any business transacted through my Latvian Companys as Delaware is black listed.
 
Luckily we don't have any Latvian companies , just a boat registered legally by a well known and respected broker based in the UK …….

We are based in a country that at the moment due to ' political and blinkered influences ' instigated by certain propaganda mongers ' that has hoodwinked the outside world for years and is currently not recognised by anyone else except Turkey and Azerbaijan !!!

Tax avoidance is legal , tax evasion isn't ……We left the legalities and paperwork to people in the know i.e. our solicitor and broker

We joined this forum as new boat owners ….for help and information not to be interrogated !!!!

Strike 3 …….please revert back to original post !!
 
Lisa&Paul said:
Luckily we don't have any Latvian companies , just a boat registered legally by a well known and respected broker based in the UK …….

We are based in a country that at the moment due to ' political and blinkered influences ' instigated by certain propaganda mongers ' that has hoodwinked the outside world for years and is currently not recognised by anyone else except Turkey and Azerbaijan !!!

Tax avoidance is legal , tax evasion isn't ……We left the legalities and paperwork to people in the know i.e. our solicitor and broker

We joined this forum as new boat owners ….for help and information not to be interrogated !!!!

Strike 3 …….please revert back to original post !!
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I was not intended to interrogate ... please accept my apology if so felt.

I was answering another who questioned your use of Delaware .. (my comment about Latvia - was just to support the 'onshore' haven status of Delaware ...
 
Refueler said:
I was not intended to interrogate ... please accept my apology if so felt.

I was answering another who questioned your use of Delaware .. (my comment about Latvia - was just to support the 'onshore' haven status of Delaware ...
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Hi Refueler , was beginning to feel like that as of the 7 replies to our post only one was informative the other 6 questioning the legality of our paperwork and our situation , without actually doing any research into the North Cyprus predicament , hopefully we have addressed the point raised and look forward to a few helpful answers to the original posting …….maybe :)
 
I always felt it was good to fly the largest ensign (your US one) that your flagstaff would take (within the bounds of common sense) - looks much classier. There seems to be a standard size for courtesy flags - the N Turkish one - 30-40 cm from memory.
 
PlanB said:
I always felt it was good to fly the largest ensign (your US one) that your flagstaff would take (within the bounds of common sense) - looks much classier. There seems to be a standard size for courtesy flags - the N Turkish one - 30-40 cm from memory.
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Hi PlanB, thanks for your response, our Plan A is to locate somewhere in the UK to purchase both flags as they are in need of replacement and yes 30-40 cm seems the correct size but all we seem to be able to locate at present are courtesy flags at 30 x 45cm which are too big for our flagstaff.
 
As a long term resident of Turkey you'll get no arguments from me on your views about the political situation of Northern Cyprus but I'm sure someone will be along soon to take issue [thread drift is mandatory on here]. As regards your Delaware registration I'm assuming your boat is owned through a company structure. Strictly speaking it's not a legal registration internationally. Only USCG registration is legal internationally. I believe there's actually some condition on the Delaware reg that says the boat has to be kept in Delaware for a minimum period each year. However, in practice, Delaware registration appears to be accepted in many countries.
As regards flags I can get almost any nationality flag in a wide range of sizes in one of the local stationary shops here in Turkey. I have no idea if there's a prescribed size for my boat - I've always just bought flags that fit where I want to put them and It's not always the same place.
Happy boating and welcome to the forum.
 
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