THE PANAMA SHIP REGISTRY HAS A LONG TRADITION OF MORE THAN 100 YEARS AND IS OPEN TO ANY TYPE OF VESSEL INCLUDING SUPERYACHTS BOTH PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL
Panama is the ‘A’ category member of IMO since 2002, the selected member, who holds the important vote in the Assembly. Moreover; Panama has held the quality management certification ISO 9001 by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance since 2008.It is inscribed in the White List of Tokyo MOU since 2002 and the White List of Paris MOU since 2010. A unique position within the shipping and yachting industry.
In comparison to some other registries, the Panama Ship Registry is within the public domain, owned and administrated by The Republic of Panama, and not run by a lawyer’s office or private family office.
The Registry is recognised the world over due to the ability to quickly access information on vessels already registered e.g. owner, tonnage, value, etc. This allows Owners and brokers to be more transparent when buying or selling a yacht.
The procedures for the registration of a Preliminary Registration of Mortgage and Title Deeds are straightforward so that the whole process can be expeditiously completed. Panama has an extensive network of worldwide maritime consular offices, located in major ports.
There are no restrictions on nationality or place of origin, for those wishing to register the yacht under the Panamanian flag and no minimum tonnage is required. Owners of a foreign nationality, that exclusively use the vessel for private and pleasure purposes pay the amount of taxes 1,500USD every two years. If the yacht is held by an owner of Panamanian nationality, a company or a Panamanian foundation, the fee is 1,000USD.
For yachts designated for commercial use or charter, the corresponding taxes will be paid each year. In the same way as commercial yachts, they have a right to benefit, during a period of three years, from reductions of 50% in the case of a new construction. The reduction is applied on: Registration Fees, Annual Taxes, Annual Consular Fees, Survey of Annual Accident Costs, Annual Inspection Fees, Taxes of 0.03% per ton net.
One of the applied reductions on the design and construction of commercial yachts is related to the energy efficiency of the vessel, called Eco-Ship Discount. This is part of the Registry’s social responsibility programme focused on reducing pollution of the air or the sea.
In both cases these taxes exclude the payment of any other tax and owners of yachts registered in Panama are not liable to VAT.
In the General Consulate of Panama in Marseille, France, the procedure for Provisional Registry takes a few hours if all required documents are presented and the only taxes paid are indicated by The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), without any surcharges or additional fees.
For more details contact General Consulate of Panama in Marseille, France
Tel. +33 (0)4 91 90 05 84
or visit www.consulatgeneraldepanamamarseille.com