SSR concern ?

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squidge

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Seeking advice please. A colleague has had a yacht registered (SSR)to his home address (UK)
on behalf of a relative who no longer has a residency in the UK(live aboard Spain).
The yacht was purchased by the owner within the last 3 months.
My Colleague is concerned that should anything happed to the yacht or if the yacht is used as collateral against a loan or agreement then he would somehow be liable.
Any thoughts ?

Best regards

Squidge

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A concern would be the (il)legality of the registration in the first place - the relative should register the boat in Spain if they no longer qualify for the UK. As the 'registered owner' your colleague is liable for everything.

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Thanks , my worries are confirmed.
He did say that he had his doubts , but as these people are his inlaws (sound like outlaws!) and His SWMBO had already completed the registration before telling him ,so he let it go.Until now.

What should he do ?
Any idears that will not cause a divorce please.

By the way i now how this sounds and it has nothing to do with me.

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Surely as a british subject the real owner is entitled to have it registered as British Boat, where ever he is. Surely thats what he should do.

If he continued with the current registration - he would not be able to go to Greece as it would be considered a charter arrangement, and the "owner" would be required to register under the Greek flag.

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Ok makes sence but i thought you have to live here to register, in this case they have sold up, moved to Spain and bought a boat to live on.?

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I think you will find they have to live (which refers to where they sleep each night) for more than 6 months in a year to register under the SSR. This is something I think tyou confirm on the form.

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Suggest you give the legal guy's @ RYA a ring, but my understanding of SSR is that it has no bearing on matters fiscal. Unlike Brit. Ships Register, where financial interests can be shown. SSR is just a register of names & addresses.

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.
 
the ssr is a very poorly drafted document , there is almost info on it relating to the vessel.
my boat was formerly german owned & registered under a similar scheme as ours (the rya)
it contained>
discription of vessel,year built & by whom
engine make, model, serial No, hp
owners name, address
in other words a proper document & quite important looking
i dont know if there was a renewal period ( tax) like ours or not, perhaps peter in steenbergen could enlighten us ( happy new year Peter)


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Hi, thanks His is contacting the MCA regarding removing his address from the boats registration .But its a good idear to call RYA.I have been looking at the MCA 's web site to see what the implications are.They do say on the registration form that it is an offence to supply incorrect details so he will need to explain the address and one of his wifes "Blonde moments".
Please note this is not a sexist comment .
Just a fact of life.

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It is worth noting that any debts owing on the boat, remain with the boat. Careful you don't get saddled with an unpaid engine service, or unpaid moorings.


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Re: SSR concern - The bottom line . . .

From the SSR Notes:

3. Who may register a small ship?

A small ship may be registered if it is owned by one or more of the following persons who are ordinarily resident in the UK:-
(a) British Citizens
(b) Persons who are nationals of a European Union or Economic Area country other than the United Kingdom and are established* in the UK
(c) British Dependant Territories citizens; British Overseas citizens; persons who under the British Nationality Act 1991 and are British subjects; persons who under the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order are British Nationals Overseas, and
(d) Commonwealth citizens not falling within those paragraphs.

* Established – It is not sufficient to live in the UK to be ‘established’ in accordance with Articles 48 and 52 of the EU Treaty. To be ‘established’ a person must make an economic contribution to the UK by being the proprietor of a business, being employed, or having very recently retired from such employment, ie within the last 6 months. If you have any doubts about your ‘establishment’ you should consult the Registry.

4. What does ‘ordinarily resident’ mean?

For the purposes of registering a ship it means living and sleeping in the UK for a significant part of the year. A person may be considered to be ordinarily resident in the country in which they live for a period of, or periods which collectively amount to 185 days or more in a twelve month period. If you are resident in the UK for tax purposes, you will generally be regarded as resident for the purpose of registration.

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three questions need to be answered.
1.Who's name is it registered in. Is it registered in the name of the person who is living on the boat, but using your address or is it registered in your name?
2.If registered in the name of the person living on the boat where do they normally pay taxes, or did they pay taxes?
3. Do they own any residential properties in Spain?Are they 'established' as Spanish residents?
If the boat is registered in their name and they are simply using your address as a mailing point while they fulfill their livaboard sailing dream, then there is no problem.The boat is their home and it is British. There is only a problem if they are not British citizens, or have now gained residential status in another country ie Spain. Living aboard a British registered yacht in Spanish waters does not make you a resident of Spain. If the boat was purchased in the EU it will presumably have VAT paid status. If you are not the registered owner, then you cannot be held responsible for any debts incurred against the boat, he has simply used your address as as mailing contact point which is quite normal if he has no other residence other than the boat. This is necessary sometimes as if your boat is your home and you are sailing around you have to have some address to which mail can be sent. It is only a problem to you if the person who's address has been given has also been registered as an owner.

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lizzie_b, hi . Your comments are interesting as the owner is the registered keeper on the SSR but has put my colleague's address as his own on the application.Which is not correct , and from what i understand from the application form an offence.This must be a problem encountered by any live aboard who changes boats.

Another twist to this tail , they have also asked that the same address is used for a UK driving licence application.

Thanks all.

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If the true owner is simply using your address I cannot see the problem. This is like an accomodation address and is no different to a P.O. Box. The SSR has no legal status against debts anyway and is not proof of ownership (unlike Part 1)

HOWEVER

If the owner has used the address to finance a loan and he defaults, then any subsequent court judgement will be registered to his address and any credit search against you will pull it up, and may result in problems. In practice, any Boat mortgage will be secured against the boat and the Lender will insist on Part 1. Any other loan is unsecured and just like a Bank loan or HP agreement

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If the owner is a British Citizen or has other right of abode in britain then it shouldn't be a problem as long as he prefixes the address with c/o (care of). It shouldn't cause any problems with credit search as long as his name is not the same as yours. If he has British Resident status, which electoral role does the owner appear on? Presumably he will want to make some arrangement for postal or proxy vote (or did he go sailing to get away from all that). I had a friend who went sailing for two years (lucky devil) and gave his mailing address as mine so that I could forward stuff on to him. It was not a problem. It's not really any different from having an adult kid travelling for a gap year and leaving a parent's address for mailing purposes, espescially as you seem to be saying that they are a relative of your colleagues wife and she has given her consent. It would only be a problem if the owner had no residential status within the UK.....if they are on an electoral role here or are liable to pay tax here, then there should be no problem. I don't know if they still do it, but not so long ago, people who's work caused them to spend a lot of their time travelling around the world would give the name of their club as their UK mailing address. I think there are agencies that provide these sorts of services for liveaboard sailors.

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Many thanks to all who have contributed to this post.
It is the decision of my colleague and his wife to transfer the registered address to a UK PO box or give the owner the responsibility of finding a PO Box in Spain.

This decision has been based on the information recieved from the MCA , RYA , your posts and the knowledge they have of the owner who left the UK under what can only be discribed as dubious circumstances.My colleague and his wife will sleep better knowing that this yacht has no relationship with their residence .

Interestingly the reply from the MCA was something along the lines that should the yacht be involved in an accident or incident, the address on the registration is where intrested parties would come for recompense.

Thank you all again.

Best regards

Squidge

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Spanish customs?

I understand that there have been problems with British registered boats which stay in Spain for more than six months. Some owners have found themselves fined for not having paid the Spanish wealth tax, in some cases they have been required to re-register the boat as Spanish and have then been required to obtain Spanish qualifications. Notification of the fines has been sent (by registered post) to the UK address. I suggest your colleague talks to the RYA or to the CA.

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