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Cayman Islands Shipping Registry

Cayman Islands Shipping Registry

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) is the authority in charge with registering vessels as well as maritime administration and related services in the Islands. They operate a number of vessels as well as have a core role in the shipping industry. The Registry maintains a number of partnerships with private sector providers as well as other regulatory partners, at a regional, national and international level.

In this article, our team of Cayman Islands incorporation agents describes the main functions and services offered by CISR so that investors who open a company here and with to purchase a vessel can know more about the manner in which this institution operates.

When registering a vessel under the Cayman Islands flag, it is common to first incorporate a Cayman Islands exempted company or another legal entity type and use it for this purpose. Investors can reach out to our agents for more information about this topic.

What is the scope of the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry?

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry is the leading maritime administration and control authority in the Islands. Its core mission is to facilitate the development of the Islands as a worldwide, premier maritime center. For this purpose, it oversees not only local compliance, but also compliance with relevant international regulations. It governs key legislative issues in fields like maritime safety as well as security, preventing maritime pollution and social responsibility.

The CISR is a member of the Red Ensign Group and has a Category 1 status. The Red Ensign Group is the international group of British Shipping Registries and it includes the United Kingdom along with the Crown Dependencies and the UK Overseas Territories, among which the Cayman Islands are included. Vessels registered in the Islands as well as in all of the other Dependencies or Overseas Territories are allows to fly the Red Ensign flag and are considered a British vessel. Foreign investors who are interested in Cayman Islands company formation and vessel registration can thus benefit from international recognition.

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry has offices in the Islands as well as in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Southeast Asia. the global reach means that it is able to provide quality and diverse services, according to the needs of its clients.

What are the services offered by the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry?

Below, our agents specialized in Cayman Islands incorporation list the main services offered by CISR:

  1. Vessel name check and reservation: an online services that allows interested individuals to check the availability of a vessel name and reserve it as needed; this is a mandatory process for registration.
  2. Vessel registration: the actual registration of the vessel, according to its category, under the Cayman Islands flag and, as previously mentioned, the Red Ensign Flag.
  3. Crew verification: an online service that can be used to validate a seafarer according to personal details or the issued endorsement.
  4. Others: services such as invoice payments for vessels or vessel transcripts (based on the vessel name).

CISR also operates a Regulatory Intelligence System designed to enable officers who serve on Cayman Islands ships undergo the proficiency examinations. Also, they provide information and support for the operation of Cayman Islands Flag vessels through the same Regulatory Intelligence System.

How can one register a vessel with the CISR?

Individuals can request the registration of a merchant vessel or that of a yacht with the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry. Irrespective of the chosen type of vessel, the registration starts with filling in the corresponding form. The applicant is required to submit all of the filled in registration forms as well as the supporting documentation and pay the registration fees. A ship under construction can also be registered with the CISR. Some examples of the applicable fees are listed below:

  • 500 US$: the annual tonnage fee for pleasure yachts and those yachts included in trade; this is the minimum annual fee for vessels of up to 400 gross tonnage.
  • 700 US$: the annual tonnage fee for pleasure and trade yachts for the first 1,000 gross tonnage.
  • 30 US$: the annual casualty investigation for pleasure yachts of up to 400 gross tonnage.
  • 45 US$: the annual casualty investigation for pleasure yachts of 400 gross tonnage and more.

Contact our Cayman Islands incorporation specialists for more information about company formation for the purpose of ship registration and the authorities that handle the procedure.