St Vincent or UK

When you pull into any port in the world, there is a "rating system". They assign points to your vessel based on characterstics such as Flag, Crew Nationality, Build Year, Last Port Of Call, etc. When you reach a certain number of points, they are autimatically coming aboard.

St. Vincent is a port of convenience which has very little regulation and as such, it doesn't garner much respect on the international level. It is also a private registration for yachts and doesn't allow you to charter easily in the Med.

If you flag with the UK the respect of the country will be there and yuo can charter anywhere you like. The downside is that you will have to deal with the MCA. In my experience the MCA Yacht Code is a moving target within a highly (i.e. British ) regimented beaurocracy. They are like oil and water. I'm sure there are many captains who have had good dealings with them, but I know more than a few (dozens) who are frequently frustrated by them.

Another option is the Marshall Islands. Under a Marshall flag you will also garner the respect of the international community (it is a US territory) and, if you choose Marshall Islands Commercial Registry, will be able to charter anywhere as well.

Best Of Luck

No.
The Marshall Islands are a separate country. There shouldn't be any cross-over with the US Laws.
If you like, send me a PM and I can give you some M.I. Contact info.

Having just gone thought the process of changing to Marshall Island reg it's all pretty easy and as a private registered vessel you can still charter for up to 12 weeks a year. There is also commercial yacht registration but I don't know much about that. I must agree I do not see any benifit of being under MCA for the majority of yacht owners.

If you're wanting to possibly charter in the British Virgin Islands, I would avoid St Vincent registry. The BVIs are now insisting that ALL vessels that plan to cruise their waters - private or charter - have a BVI-recognised safety certificate. They say BVI-recognised, but they do not seem to be recognising any certificates issued by MECAL or ENSIGN and insist that every vessel go through the whole application and inspection route. (They do not accept any USCG certs at all) I guess they actually mean BVI-issued! However, boats that have existing MCA safety certs (We had a SCV2 issued by MECAL) do seem to be getting away with less thorough inspections than other boats, and unfortunately St Vincent boats seem to be getting put through the mill.
The whole thing is a laugh since the Dept of Maritime Affairs - who are in charge of all of this - have admitted that they do not have enough staff to carry out all their duties. The backlog of boats waiting for inspection is huge; and they've said that they can't get out and check for the relevant certificates until this backlog is dealt with.
However, there have been rumours that they will begin to insist on seeing the safety cert when you clear in....... Hmm, can't quite see DMA getting Customs to do their dirty work for them! But stranger things have happened.
This past season, there were quite a few boats who were in the BVI for short stops only and we spoke to quite a few Captains who refused to go through the whole rigmarole just for a few weeks. We did not come across anyone who had run into troubles doing this; but I think it is only a matter of time.

One of the craziest aspects of all this is that the BVI DMA is using the SCV for vessels under 24m, and not the newest SCV2. So, we had been inspected for SCV2 and had a certificate; but when we were re-inspected by the BVI, there were a few things from SCV that we didn't conform to. Dumb, but we had to make allowances for the BVI SCV... and still keep our MECAL SCV2 and ended up with double amounts of some safety gear!
I have no idea what they are using for vessels >24m. I know there is a LY2, but was there ever an LY1? If so, you can bet they're using the older one.
It took them so long to get the legislation passed that all the regs had changed!

Yikes, I need to shut up now! That's my bit! Bit off the subject, I guess. Sorry.

While I haven't had to deal with this issue in the BVI, I can understand why they are insisting on it (must be fairly recent though). The same holds true for the Bahamas- you have to arrange for a safety inspection. While it is merely a "cash-grab" for most yachts, I can appreciate that they don't want unsafe boats working for profit in their waters. There is an environmental concern as well as safety issues which could easily be overlooked by someone who is merely trying to turn a profit with their boat in the absence of regulation.
The Bahamas also charges a 2.5% charter tax.

Hi,

What do these stand for?

MECAL
ENSIGN
SCV2

There was an LY 1 which has been superseded by LY 2, you would be surprised at some of the slight differences in wording that change the meaning of some clauses immensely and how the yards try to force the easiest route down your throat.

The MCA is a pain at best most of the time. I and many others can't see the massive improvement in safety that we keep bing reminded came about as a result of the MCA being involved. No two surveyors interperet the rules the same and each one seems to be free to re interpret a rule a different way to how they first interpreted it if they wish.

I don't think anyone has a problem with the BVI or Bahamas insisting that boats cruising in their waters adhere to safety codes. What is frustrating about the BVI though, is that they refuse to recognize any other safety certifications; and that they're also insisting on BVI radio licences for each vessel and the Capt; plus a BVI Boatmaster Licence.
If you have a radio licence elsewhere, you can apply to have it "converted" to a BVI one by paying a fee.
You also need to apply for a licence for your vessel ($$) and are then given a new call sign etc to go with your new BVI Radio Licence.
Then, there's the issue of the Captain's licence -they are not recognizing ANY qualifications other than the BVI one. So no matter where you studied or how many miles you have under your belt, you have to apply to sit the BVI licence. Sometimes you are required to write an exam, with chartwork etc; sometimes it is a 3hour oral exam and occasionally it seem to be both.
All this for a licence that probably isn't recognised anywhere else in the world! You can see why many think it is a major money-making racket!

And, another thing, the bareboat industry - which as you know is HUGE there, has been given a different set of rules! They do have vessel safety issues they must conform to, but they definitely seem to be far more lax.
And of course, no fancy BVI Boatmasters Licences required for all the bareboaters.... the manager of the bareboat company just has to certify that he feels they are competant. Hoo boy, I'm not even going to go down that route. If you've ever seen a bareboat company going thru a briefing with newly-arrived bareboaters, you'll know what I mean - and understand why we avoid bareboats like the plague.
(Guess who causes more accidents in the BVI..... ??)

With regards to charter tax, the BVI's don't actually charge a "charter tax" as such, but they do whack you elsewhere:
Cruising permit - at $4 per person per day
Temporary Importation Licence ($201) if your boat is going to be in BVI waters for more than 30 days in any one year
Commericial Licence ($801) which allows you to pick up 7 charters in BVI waters between 1 Nov and 31 Oct without requiring a trade licence

Now that may not sound like a lot, but when you consider that there are supposed to be over 3,000 boats in the BVI - it all adds up.

I heard somewhere that there are more "beds" on charter boats in the BVI than in all the hotels and BnBs together; and that the charter industry contributes 32% of the national income (45% of tha national income is from tourism) ..... so you'd think they could be a little more welcoming.

Chris, I wouldn't let it stop you from visiting.... it's still a cool place!

Lastly, the question of MECAL, ENSIGN and SCV? I'll tell you what I know, but I am open to correction.
SCV is the MCA's Small Commercial Vessel Code of Pratice for safety. It applies to vessels less than 24m long. It was superceded by SCV2 which is updated.
MECAL is a private company that was given licence by the MCA to conduct inspections and issue SCV2 certificates.
ENSIGN, I believe, is the same thing but for vessels of over 24m.

Hi,

Thanks for replying to my questions.

I looked around on Google a bit and it seems to me that SCV1 is actually the application form for SCV2.

MECAL pricing seems to be a lot more realistic than what is being charged by the ENSIGN group (a division of the MCA)who you are correct in identifying as the agency that deals with the larger yachts.

It seems like a strange situation with the BVI not accepting foreign certificates of competency on foreign flag vessels. I was under the impression to legally be the Master or Chief Engineer of a US Registered Vessel one had to be an American citizen and have USCG Credentials. I believe this is something to do with the Jones Act.

I do believe that it is up to the flag state to ensure proper qualifications of the crew. Flag state being the nationality of registration of the vessel. Any country that the vessel visits may however place restictions on navigation such as requiring a pilot in some areas or local radio licence because of differing regulations ect. ect. They may also if the vessel is engaged in commercial activities require local qualifications or a local certificate of equivilence, which is where the proplem arises especially with MCA certification because an MCA class 4 is constuded from a restricted deck officer class 4 with an endorsement for command of yachts and many authorities deem it not to be a suitable qualification and will not issue a certificate of equivilence, thus the exams and testing