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Shipping & Aviation



Malta Flag Ship Registration


Eligibility for Registration

All types of vessels, from pleasure yachts to oil rigs, may be registered, provided that, inter alia, they are wholly owned by Maltese citizens or Maltese bodies corporate. The formation of a Maltese company is a straightforward operation; there are no nationality requirements as to both the shareholders and directors.

Ships of 20 years and over but under 25 years must pass an inspection by an authorised flag state inspector before or within one month of provisional registration. Ships of 25 years and over must pass an inspection by an authorised flag state inspector prior to being provisionally registered.

Ships of 15 years and over but under 20 years are required to pass an inspection by an authorised flag state inspector before or within one month of provisional registration.

Malta Ship Registration Procedure

A vessel to be registered under the Malta flag is first registered provisionally under the Malta flag for six months (extendible for a further period, or periods not exceeding in the aggregate six months) during which period all documentation needs to be finalized.

The requirements for provisional registration are:

The following documents are to be submitted after provisional registration in order to obtain Permanent Registration under the Malta flag:

Where valid appropriate convention certificates are not in place the ship will be issued with a non-operational certificate of registry.
A certificate of Malta registry is subject to renewal on the anniversary of the Maltese registration.


Malta Flag Ship Registration