Registrations

EFS provides personalized vessel registration services under the Luxembourg flag

Our dedicated team guides you through the registration process, pre-clearing all required documents to ensure timely and efficient closings.

Requirements

The legislative framework for the registration of seagoing vessels is the Maritime Act of 9 November 1990.

Vessel Eligibility

The following vessels are eligible for registration under the Luxembourg flag:

  • Tonnage of at least 25 GT;
  • Used for commercial purposes, including the transport of cargo and/or passengers;
  • 15 years old or less;
  • Classed by a Luxembourg-authorized Classification Society.

Ownership Eligibility

Registration under the Luxembourg flag is open to vessels owned more than 50% by a resident of the European Union/European Economic Area or by a commercial company having its registered office in a Member State of the EU/EEA.

An Owner may also appoint an EU-based Operator to register the vessel in its own name. In such cases, the Owner must assign responsibility to the Operator for operating the ship and the persons sailing it in accordance with Luxembourg law and on the same terms an in the same manner as the owner of the ship if it had been registered in the Owner’s name. The use of an Operator may be convenient in leasing structures or where the vessel’s Owner does not satisfy the above EU-ownership criteria.

A vessel may also be registered under the Luxembourg flag on a bareboat charter basis to an EU-managed charterer.

Appointment of an Accredited Maritime Manager

EFS is an accredited Maritime Manager authorized by the Luxembourg government to carry out ship registration and management services under the Luxembourg flag on behalf of shipowners.

Appointing EFS as Maritime Manager satisfies the Owner’s requirement to carry out a significant part of the vessel’s management in Luxembourg.


Registration Types

Vessels can be registered under the Luxembourg flag through:

  • Full Registration;
  • Bareboat-In Registration; and
  • Bareboat-Out Registration.

Our team of professionals will guide you through the registration process and pre-clear all necessary registration documents to ensure timely and efficient closings.

Request a checklist of required Registration documents

Full Registration

Ownership and in rem rights over a vessel are registered in Luxembourg.

Bareboat-In Registration

Ownership and in rem rights are registered in a foreign underlying registry.

Vessel is authorized to sail under the Luxembourg flag on the basis of a bareboat charter party agreement.

Bareboat-Out Registration

Ownership and in rem rights are registered in Luxembourg.

Vessel is chartered-out on the basis of a bareboat charter party to be registered in a foreign registry on a bareboat basis which authorizes it to sail under its flag.

The right to sail under the Luxembourg flag is suspended for the bareboat-out period.

The jurisdiction in which a vessel’s in rem are registered governs the security over the vessel. Mortgages governed by Luxembourg law may only be created over vessels registered in Luxembourg on a full registration or bareboat-out registration basis. For bareboat-in registrations, the mortgage is normally recorded in the underlying registry.