I thought I would compile a small guide for those who may want to register a new boat under the Valletta Flag, useful if the boat exceeds 6m in length and you want to leave territorial waters:
- Ensure that you inform your Insurance Company you want Coastal Waters 40nm and not just Territorial Waters 12nm
- Carry out a tonnage survey using an authorised Surveyor (list can be found here http://www.transport.gov.mt/admin/mediacenter/PDFs/2_List%20of%20approved%20Surveyors.pdf )
- Ensure tonnage certificate contains your engine serial number and Hull Number
- Complete Transport Malta Application Form - (to attach form)
- Collect Tonnage Certificate From Surveyor (This will require you to have a carving and marking plate done for the boat)
- Complete MCA Application form for Call Sign and MMSI Number - usually supplied and stamped by dealer who sold you the VHF
- Take Boat Manual/Builders Certificate with you to TM
- Obtain a Declaration from supplying dealer that boat has not been previously registered if boat was in stock at them
- If boat was produced in a previous year and has been left new in stock at dealer, obtain a certificate via the dealer from the manufacturer that the boat was never registered elsewhere since construction and delivery to local dealer
- Take Original Bill of Sale with you to TM
With all the above papers in hand, you 'should' then be in a position to effect a Provisional Registration of your new boat under the Valletta Flag.
Transport Malta are very buracratic and make no distinction between a 500m Ocean going tanker and a 6m pleasure boat!! The same hassles endless paperwork/fees apply!
This is the requirement page from the TM website: http://www.dca.gov.mt/Page.aspx?pageid=471&lid=1
Email: mershipmalta.tm@transport.gov.mt
Telephone: 21250360
Fees
- First Time Registration Fee €115 which is good for Six Months provisional, €50 for each time you extend if you need to up to 1 year
- Basic Annual Fee €25
- Tonnage Fee €175 per year
After your papers have been accepted and the fees paid, they will give you a provision certificate with a Carving and Marking Form which needs to be signed off by your surveyor once has has verified that the Official Number Carving Plate has been installed on the boat.
Once that doc is submitted back to TM they should issue the full permanent registration document - AMEN!!
Has anybody ever converted a boat from an S Registration to a Valletta Registration? Do you know what is required?
I intend lengthening my boat by 40cm to have it valid for a Valletta Registration - Has anyone done this?
Is there any specific list of items to carry on board/requirements once Valletta Registered? (eg. flares, extinguishers., etc...)
i think you can lenghten the boat by 40cm by increasing an anchor lip?? (i may not be correct) or a bathing platform to my information.
The whole basis of this law does not make sense because it is wiser to have a 17ft boat with a main and auxiliary engine rather than a 22ft boat with a single engine.
I am curious how you can do it Benri, because i will need to do this soon enough but at the moment I have no time in hand but after 8 december I will take care of it.
For sure you need the supplier certificate and that is the problem and a surveyor clearance because you can not change much from the original certificates the boat was registered with. And you cannot just de-register and re-register. To de-register, you have to scrap your boat.
In my case i need only to lenghten the boat I am considering to buy by 20 cm, which if i include the bathing platform alone already installed it is already 6.1m.
In my opinion, the law does not make sense. But the law is law.
I'm not sure yet. Do you know if there any specific list of items to carry on board/requirements once Valletta Registered? (eg. flares, extinguishers., etc...)
not yet but if you wait after 8th december i will meet up with a tm official and explain me everything in detail. I will make everything available for your persual.
but i suppose that yes, safety equipment has to be onboard. fire extinguisher is a must so is a flare and a first aid kit. Not just for rules benri, even for safety :)
@Benri: The complete list is here.
http://www.smemalta.com/downloads/Opri%20tal-Bahar.pdf
Thanks Gaffer
@Granitu - Unfortunately the bathing platform is not considered as part of the boat when re-measuring. I am considering a modification on the bow to make it similar to the "Trophy".
The documentation you require is the same as stated by Skip in the first post but you also need a Cancellation certificate from the S register
ok a bow modification would be possible my concern is that this boat is MFC registered. the advantage I have on my side is that the boat is new and has never been at sea. So I can modify
I will check and amend accordingly. will keep you posted benri thanks.
Also it would be feasible for me to check if it is really worth to cancel the mfc registration.
@ Granitu You can leave the MFC registration and also register it Valletta.
Exactly. My boat is registered Valletta and MFC
but if the boat is registered in mfc at 19.4ft then it is a problem I think...
would it be possible to change the lenght?
What boat is it granitu ?
Hi guys, with Valletta registration what fishing can be done?
At the moment any type of fishing you like :)
There are no laws! The only restrictions are on MFA/B/C
Thanks Benri!
Hi guys, just a quick question, is a basic Nautical License enough for a Valletta registered boat? Or do you need additional licensing? Cheers.
Yes, the basic Nautical Licence is what's needed for a Valletta registered boat, with an engine over 30hp and for private (i.e. not commercial) use.
What is not clear is whether the Nautical Licence is a sufficient qualification to head outside territorial waters and into the waters of other countries (eg. Sicily) or whether the Yachmaster Offshore is required for that. I had heard rumours that Italian authorities had stopped Maltese boats in Sicily to ask for the Yachtmaster Offshore but I do not know whether this is true or not, and whether there's any legal weight in this. Also, the Yachtmaster Offshore has been offered for several years in Malta but I am not sure whether this qualification has any legal weight in Malta or not. What I do know is that when going outside Maltese waters and into the waters of another country with a Valletta registered vessel, you have to follow the laws both of the country of registration (Malta) as well as the country you're in (eg. Sicily/Italy).
Perhaps someone with international maritime legal expertise could clarify this matter for us all.