Jersey flagging larger commercial vessels

Piers Baker ( Jersey Registrar), Phil Noad (Jersey Flag Marine Surveyor) and John Fearnley (CEO Mecal Ltd) report that on 26 November the Shipping Register in Jersey took a major step towards being a fully open register.

A new MOU with the United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has now been signed so that the Island can register commercial vessels, including workboats, up to 399gt. The previous limit was just 150gt.

This follows an amending Order in Council made in May and local Jersey legislation passed in November. It is also the culmination of developments which have seen the appointment of the Island’s own marine surveyor and agreements being reached with recognised organisations such as Lloyds and RINA.

The MOU lays down ship safety standards, quality objectives and a delegation matrix which are all in line with full Category 1 jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands, so this move lays the groundwork for future expansion should the Island want it. In the meantime, the advantages of Jersey as an efficient pragmatic British Register which lies outside the EU continue to be appreciated and the Registry has already seen growth of over 10% this year ahead of this expansion.