8.10.2019

The maritime and aircraft industries in Malta have highly established themselves during the past years, and although Malta is quite a small island and is one of the smallest members of the European Union, it still has the largest maritime registry in Europe. It is also classified towards the top in world maritime registries. In fact, the Maltese flag appears on many ships and yachts.

This success has been mostly triggered by Malta’s strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea combined with its vast maritime history and since it has established itself as a white flag state. This means that the Maltese flag is not a flag of convenience but a flag that’s trusted by foreign investors interested in the Maltese shipping industry.

One wouldn’t just choose to register a ship or yacht in Malta just for its geographical location, but also for the highly affordable registration costs and fees, resulting in major savings. This is thanks to Transport Malta, the authority that regulates this sector, that has the lowest fees in the European Union.

Although aircraft registrations have not been in the Maltese scenario as much as the maritime registrations, after the Aircraft Registration Act was introduced in Malta nine years ago in 2010, this sector has since been aiming to become one of the largest registries in the world.

In fact, last April, Hon. Ian Borg, the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, revealed how the Civil Aviation Directorate within Transport Malta is aiming that by the end of this year, there will be a total of 400 aircrafts flying the Maltese flag. This is an increase of more than 80 aircrafts.

Our in-house legal team at Fairwinds Management Limited assists interested investors in Maltese aircraft and maritime sectors in both registration processes and insurance matters, while also offering the best VAT incentives for sailing boats and motor boats. Such information can be found here.  

More information about aircraft registrations can be found here.

Alternatively, for more information and guidance, you can contact our Director Ms. Charlene Sciberras on csciberras@fairwindsmanagement.net