Polish registration

[25931]

As British reg. causes some concern in EU waters some have tried other countries and not always with agreeable results - there was a period when Dutch was tried but it led to problems. I've been told that Polish is possible, does anyone have experience ?

 

[Wansworth]

My yacht agent here inSpain who deals with all things legal to do with yachts has recommended the Polish flag to me

 

[Poignard]

Have you considered re-registration in Ireland?
A couple of friends of mine did it without any great problems and Irish Rover of this forum has.

 

[25931]

Have you considered re-registration in Ireland?
A couple of friends of mine did it without any great problems and Irish Rover of this forum has.

I thought that you needed an Irish address.

 

[Poignard]

I thought that you needed an Irish address.

No.
There's a firm called Irish Boat Registration Services will arrange everything including the tonnage survey (except for the radio licence) or you can arrange it yourself. There's been posts about this recently.

Irish Boat Registration Services - Irish Boat Registration Services

 

[Tranona]

What sort of problems do you think having UK registration leads to? The most recognised and highly regarded register in the world?

Suspect the problem is the difficulty some people experience in registering their boat on the UK register is the problem rather than the flag itself. That is why people seek other registers rather than the lack of acceptance.

 

[25931]

Presunably you are referring to Pt 1. SSR is a different matter.
There are some authorities in the EU who are more likely to look tolerantly at EU reg. vessels re taxes and length of stay.

 

[greeny]

At the risk of creating thread drift, your post has raised an interesting question for me.
As you know, there are dozens if not hundreds of SSR boats down here in Portugal that have not been back to the UK for years and the owners have no intent or plans to ever take them back.
They vary in size from ocean going down to the small speedboat / dinghies and even jetskis.
Assuming they are VAT paid and can meet the requirements to prove this post Brexit, will there / is there any requirement or advantage for them to change registration to Polish or other similar country, or will they be able to continue operating with relative impunity as in the past?

 

[Tranona]

Presunably you are referring to Pt 1. SSR is a different matter.
There are some authorities in the EU who are more likely to look tolerantly at EU reg. vessels re taxes and length of stay.

Why? The rules are exactly the same across the EU. Taxes and length of stay are nothing to do with where the boat is registered - registration has international and national rules, nothing to do with the EU. While the consequences of the UK leaving the EU are working through there have been some states (Greece and Croatia for example) that have misunderstood the rules, but quickly corrected through the Commission in Brussels.

From an international recognition point of view there is no difference between Part1 and Part3.

 

[25931]

At the risk of creating thread drift, your post has raised an interesting question for me.
As you know, there are dozens if not hundreds of SSR boats down here in Portugal that have not been back to the UK for years and the owners have no intent or plans to ever take them back.
They vary in size from ocean going down to the small speedboat / dinghies and even jetskis.
Assuming they are VAT paid and can meet the requirements to prove this post Brexit, will there / is there any requirement or advantage for them to change registration to Polish or other similar country, or will they be able to continue operating with relative impunity as in the past?

Requirement ? no. Advantage ? perhaps, if you come across an official who dislikes brexit

 

[Poignard]

What sort of problems do you think having UK registration leads to? The most recognised and highly regarded register in the world?

Suspect the problem is the difficulty some people experience in registering their boat on the UK register is the problem rather than the flag itself. That is why people seek other registers rather than the lack of acceptance.

One reason I have been considering re-flagging on the Irish registry is that my boat is kept in France and I'm thinking it might be easier to sell her there with an EU registration.

 

[Tranona]

One reason I have been considering re-flagging on the Irish registry is that my boat is kept in France and I'm thinking it might be easier to sell her there with an EU registration.

Why would it make any difference what flag you have? The flag does not belong to the boat but to the owner. When you sell it you remove it from the register (or transfer if the new owner is eligible) and the new owner registers it on whatever register is appropriate for him. The only thing that natters when selling is that you have title to sell. Your boat is currently EU VAT paid so if it stays in the EU there is no VAT payable. If the buyer wants to use it in the UK, then the sensible thing to do is for you to sail it back to UK and it then becomes effectively both EU and UK VAT paid so long as it goes back to EU, even for a day within 18 months.

You have far more options than many people when it comes to selling - just don't worry about your registration!

 

[Graham376]

Polish ensign being used by some we know to avoid local regulations or taxes on ill gotten gains so, far more likely to be pulled than UK ensign. A friend is applying for Polish because he foolishly admitted to no longer being UK resident and can't obtain SSR. He's stuck at the moment trying to obtain documentary proof Spanish registration has been cancelled by previous owner and broker not answering emails. Anyone know how to contact Spanish registry?

 

[Wansworth]

Apparently the Polish flag is replacing the Belgium flag to register Spanish yachts under cost about 400euros.Avoids Spanish regulations concerning Equipment carried and limits of navigation and five year compulsory inspection

 

[neil1967]

Apparently the Polish flag is replacing the Belgium flag to register Spanish yachts under cost about 400euros.Avoids Spanish regulations concerning Equipment carried and limits of navigation and five year compulsory inspection

There are an increasing number of Portuguese owned yachts appearing in Cascais with Polish registrations, precisely for the reasons you mention - avoiding the Portuguese registration requirements and regulations. I will become Portuguese resident at some point and everyone I have spoken to has said to try to avoid Portuguese registration, so if I cannot legally maintain UK registration, then I can see the advantages of Polish or Irish registration. Furthermore, I suspect that - whether you agree with BREXIT or not - UK flagged yachts in the med may attract more attention from officialdom than EU registered.

 

[Tranona]

There are an increasing number of Portuguese owned yachts appearing in Cascais with Polish registrations, precisely for the reasons you mention - avoiding the Portuguese registration requirements and regulations. I will become Portuguese resident at some point and everyone I have spoken to has said to try to avoid Portuguese registration, so if I cannot legally maintain UK registration, then I can see the advantages of Polish or Irish registration. Furthermore, I suspect that - whether you agree with BREXIT or not - UK flagged yachts in the med may attract more attention from officialdom than EU registered.

You can maintain your British registration but putting the boat on Part 1. while there may be some initial confusion among some officials (as there has been in some EU states) unlikely that UK registered boats will attract more attention in the long run. More likely that "convenience" flags such as Polish will attract attention for the very reason people are using them!

 

[Fascadale]

I was advised by my UK based boat insurance company that there can be “issues/extra expense” insuring an EU flagged vessel……..don’t know how true that is but worth checking

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

No.
There's a firm called Irish Boat Registration Services will arrange everything including the tonnage survey (except for the radio licence) or you can arrange it yourself. There's been posts about this recently.

Irish Boat Registration Services - Irish Boat Registration Services

It's the weirdest thing, but out of curiosity, I have just checked Irish Boat Registration Services on Google Maps, and it appears that the business is situated at a property at Toe Head, belonging to a friend of mine, also a former Glenans instructor, who has absolutely no connection with this business.

 

[WindyWindyWindy]

We're polish flagged. It simple, quick and cheap. If you don't speak polish then you might have to pay for help otherwise I think it's all online forms. We used Nave Magna who are very good if a little expensive.

You'll also need a polish ship radio licence.

In general it's much easier to deal with the Poles than the med states as they're very efficient and no nonsense.

The red ensign is another thing that's gone in the Brexit bin.

 

[Poignard]

We're polish flagged. It simple, quick and cheap. If you don't speak polish then you might have to pay for help otherwise I think it's all online forms. We used Nave Magna who are very good if a little expensive.

You'll also need a polish ship radio licence.

In general it's much easier to deal with the Poles than the med states as they're very efficient and no nonsense.

The red ensign is another thing that's gone in the Brexit bin.

That's very interesting.

Have you had any problems getting :

a. Insurance

b. VHF Operator's Licence?