Hi, I'm looking at options to reduce operational costs on a 19m. charterboat I'm designing.
Let me quickly frame what's at hand:
The vessel will berth 12 passengers and 2 crew and in terms of those space requirements I've designed the most compact yacht possible, to keep fabrication costs as low as possible.
Now I'm looking at crew costs, which are almost as high as the costs of the vessel on a yearly basis. Since offshore accounts for crew are not possible anymore these days, the cost for crew have shot up a lot, to the point that any vessel with more than one crew member quickly falls into the "luxury segment", (which my charter operation would not be aiming at.)
Aparently some flag states still allow offshore accounts for crew, such as Malta and Marshall Islands. Although in the case of Malta, the crew can't be European. Since I'm planning to hire locally and people with some language skillsets / degrees that might be mainly European, Malta is not an option.
So, this brings me to Marshall Islands. It seems that a commercially operated yacht under Marshall Island's flag is required to be of minimum 24m., however exception can be made if justified.
Commercial Yacht Registration
To the Maritime Administration, any pleasure yacht engaged in trade, commerce, on charter or carrying passengers for hire is a commercial yacht. The registration of commercial yachts is limited to those of 24 meters or more in length. The Maritime Administrator may, however, consider waiving the minimum size limitation and other requirements for commercial yachts less than 24 meters in length given the necessary justification.
Does anyone know, or have had experience with getting a commercial vessel smaller than 24m registered in the Marschall Islands and what are justified reasons for them to waive the minimum size limitation?
Let me quickly frame what's at hand:
The vessel will berth 12 passengers and 2 crew and in terms of those space requirements I've designed the most compact yacht possible, to keep fabrication costs as low as possible.
Now I'm looking at crew costs, which are almost as high as the costs of the vessel on a yearly basis. Since offshore accounts for crew are not possible anymore these days, the cost for crew have shot up a lot, to the point that any vessel with more than one crew member quickly falls into the "luxury segment", (which my charter operation would not be aiming at.)
Aparently some flag states still allow offshore accounts for crew, such as Malta and Marshall Islands. Although in the case of Malta, the crew can't be European. Since I'm planning to hire locally and people with some language skillsets / degrees that might be mainly European, Malta is not an option.
So, this brings me to Marshall Islands. It seems that a commercially operated yacht under Marshall Island's flag is required to be of minimum 24m., however exception can be made if justified.
Commercial Yacht Registration
To the Maritime Administration, any pleasure yacht engaged in trade, commerce, on charter or carrying passengers for hire is a commercial yacht. The registration of commercial yachts is limited to those of 24 meters or more in length. The Maritime Administrator may, however, consider waiving the minimum size limitation and other requirements for commercial yachts less than 24 meters in length given the necessary justification.
Does anyone know, or have had experience with getting a commercial vessel smaller than 24m registered in the Marschall Islands and what are justified reasons for them to waive the minimum size limitation?
