SSR query

[jneale]

I have a friend who has to renew his SSR registration for his boat in Greece. He is the part owner having 40 percent of the shares. His previous uk resident partners have now passed their shares to a couple of Norwegians.

He has been led to believe (by cardiff) that as 'foreigners who do not reside in the uk' own a percentage of the vessel, that he cannot renew his SSR

I think there was a post on this some time ago. Can anyone help

 

[macd]

There have been a couple of threads about the tightening up of SSR qualification, but not in quite the way you describe. Being UK resident, as long stated on the SSR website, now seems actively to be required whereas until recently it was regarded fairly casually by applicants and issuers alike. Sorry this doesn't help with your friend's specific situation, although the general tightening of SSR rules may be related.

 

[25931]

I have a friend who has to renew his SSR registration for his boat in Greece. He is the part owner having 40 percent of the shares. His previous uk resident partners have now passed their shares to a couple of Norwegians.

He has been led to believe (by cardiff) that as 'foreigners who do not reside in the uk' own a percentage of the vessel, that he cannot renew his SSR

I think there was a post on this some time ago. Can anyone help

They told me the same.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Can you use UK addresses? That seems to satisfy Cardiff.

 

[BrianH]

I have a friend who has to renew his SSR registration for his boat in Greece. He is the part owner having 40 percent of the shares. His previous uk resident partners have now passed their shares to a couple of Norwegians.
He has been led to believe (by cardiff) that as 'foreigners who do not reside in the uk' own a percentage of the vessel, that he cannot renew his SSR
I think there was a post on this some time ago. Can anyone help

As the SSR (MCA Part III) registration has no validity for ownership it would be expedient to only show the UK resident as owner, if the other partners agree.

However, as the MCA is attempting to clean up the abuse of non-UK resident, foreign owners registering their yacht as British, this is a classic case where Part I would be appropriate with the UK resident acting as the required UK contact agency. The official registration document would, of course, then show all partners with their relevant 64th shares. The cost, split three ways, would not be onerous, even with the necessary tonnage survey.

 

[ukmctc]

you would need to be 51% owner to register on SSR as UK ownership I was told. just register in Norway.

 

[jimbaerselman]

If all three will be using the boat, often with the others not aboard, all three should be registered owners. Otherwise, others would be "nominated skippers", and you'd have the boring job of explaining this arrangement to the port police from time to time . . .

 

[macd]

It's an oddly thorny question. For Part 1 the two Norwegian part owners would not qualify unless 'established' in the UK. In this case the vessel could be accepted on Part 1 only if the OP's friend owned a majority share in the boat (the Part 1 equivalent of ukmctc's 51%), which I suppose could be contrived. Unlike SSR, for Part 1 a British citizen qualifies, regardless of place of residence, as per Barnac1e's post. But to do it legitimately and show the actual ownership of the vessel would probably require ownership by a company. Oddly enough it's not possible for three owners to register one-third apiece, since 64 shares isn't divisible by three.

Further info here: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/registering-your-pleasure-craft

And (from RYA) here: http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...ion in the UK/BOAT REGISTRATION IN THE UK.pdf

The site includes this information: "an unqualified person may be one of the owners of a registered ship if a majority interest in the ship is owned by qualified persons."

 

[nimbusgb]

It's an oddly thorny question. For Part 1 the two Norwegian part owners would not qualify unless 'established' in the UK. In this case the vessel could be accepted on Part 1 only if the OP's friend owned a majority share in the boat (the Part 1 equivalent of ukmctc's 51%), which I suppose could be contrived. Unlike SSR, for Part 1 a British citizen qualifies, regardless of place of residence, as per Barnac1e's post. But to do it legitimately and show the actual ownership of the vessel would probably require ownership by a company. Oddly enough it's not possible for three owners to register one-third apiece, since 64 shares isn't divisible by three.

Further info here: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/registering-your-pleasure-craft

And (from RYA) here: http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...ion in the UK/BOAT REGISTRATION IN THE UK.pdf

The site includes this information: "an unqualified person may be one of the owners of a registered ship if a majority interest in the ship is owned by qualified persons."

Any reason you can't register part 1 as 3 x 21 1/3 shares? Does it state anywhere that only whole shares can be allocated?

 

[macd]

Any reason you can't register part 1 as 3 x 21 1/3 shares? Does it state anywhere that only whole shares can be allocated?

Thanks. Come to think of it, it's possible for joint owners to jointly own all 64 shares, so scrub that bit of wot I rote.

 

[Sybarite]

Part 1 eligibility :


The following are qualified to be the owners of ships which are to be registered on the UK Ship Register:

•a British Citizen;

•a British Dependant Territories Citizen;

•a British Overseas Citizen;

•Companies incorporated in one of the EEA countries;

•Citizens of an EU member state exercising their rights under articles 48 or 52 of the EU Treaty in the UK;

•Companies incorporated in any British overseas possession which have their principal place of business in the UK or those possessions;

•or European Economic Interest Groupings.

When none of the qualified owners are resident in the UK, a representative person must be appointed who may be either:

•an individual resident in the UK

•a Company incorporated in one of the EEA countries with a place of business in the UK


SSR eligibility :

Registering craft on Part III of the Small Ships Register (SSR)

Part III is a simple and cheap form of registration that proves a boat’s nationality. If your pleasure craft is under 24 metres you can register with Part III of the UK Ship Register. Registration costs £25.

Eligibility to register

In order to be eligible, all owners must be resident in the UK for 185 days of the year and be one of the following:
•British Citizen
•non-UK citizens exercising their EU right of freedom of movement or worker’s right for establishment
•British Dependent Territories Citizen
•British Overseas Citizen
•British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981
•British National (overseas) under Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986
•Commonwealth Citizen not falling within this list

Part III registration is not for:
•companies
•fishing vessels
•submersible ships
•boats 24 metres or over in length

Registering online for Part III

If you would like to register your boat you can do so online. You will need to complete a registration application and pay £25 by credit or debit card. To find out more about registration fees and the documents you need to register, read Fees, forms and checklists for registering pleasure craft.


(From their site.)

 

[Tranona]

Thanks. Come to think of it, it's possible for joint owners to jointly own all 64 shares, so scrub that bit of wot I rote.

Registration is not about ownership, but about title which is not necessarily the same thing, although it is usually the same. For example a syndicated boat could be registered in the name of one person but the ownership split be covered by a separate partnership agreement, or title could be registered to a business but ownership with an individual with a contract covering that with the business. At one point my boat's title was with a management company, but my ownership interest was covered by a contract with the company.

The advantage of having the individual owners share registered as title is that the boat's title cannot be transferred legally without without the registered title holders' agreement.

Unfortunately officials are not usually interested in actual ownership, the registration document is just a means to determine the state of registry. However, some as in Greece require the skipper to show he has authority to skipper the boat, so having his name on the registration document is accepted. Alternatively there needs to be a letter of authorisation from the owner or person named on the document.

 

[chinita]

It would be interesting to see what would happen if all three owners apply for SSR in their own name using the one UK address. Would the system detect that there are three applications for the same named boat registered to the same address? I doubt it.

If it works, total cost is £75.00. Whichever owner is on board at the time merely flashes their Registration.