Registration in two countries?

[Tingum]

Not avoiding fees. Bahamian import duty paid on the boat. Bahamian renewal $80./year. US hailing port Us Flag.

[Irish rambler]

I'm afraid that it would not be possible to register the same boat in two countries, ie UK plus a n other. During my Irish/UK/European travels the boats papers have been thoroughly scrutinised more time's than I care to remember. My girlfriend is French and even that creates a whole beauracratic investigation. Quite frankly I can't see the point of it anyway, you are just creating a lot of unecessary hassle for no advantage.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Duty paid in the Bahamas, no need for a crusing permit or time restrictions on staying.

Wouldn't that be called "importing" your trawler, rather than "registering" it in the Bahamas?

I could have paid the customs duties and fees to import my boat into St Kitts and Nevis, but that wouldn't have allowed me to claim that it was flagged in St Kitts and Nevis. If I had wanted to flag it here, I would have had to first cancel the USCG documentation and then go through the process of registering it here, which would include the separate transaction of paying customs duties and fees.

[pillum]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

It is an interesting question your are asking since, the UK registration requires citizenship, but Florida State Regitration does not. My assumption is you are a UK Citizen, with you and/or the boat in Florida.

Although, unlikely, in this day and age of infomation sharing, having two registrations could expose you to tax in both the respective jurisdictions, not to mention that you could be exposed to unnecessary scutiny by Port Officials, wondering why a vessel has two flags.

So my questions is why would you consider such a thing?

Yes Jeremiason, you are correct. I'm a UK citizen and the boat is now UK SSR registered, but it's sitting in Florida, and per state law it must be registered there since it was purchased there and will be there for three years before I take her out of the country. Tax was an issue, but since I knew it would stay in the US for at least two years I knew I'd have to pay state tax anyway. And European VAT has already been paid when she was delivered in 1978. Florida registration for a 1978 sailboat is only $6.60 per year anyway.

From DOJ's comments it seems I do not have a problem, since she is not documented with the USCG. I'll use the SSR for going foreign, though if I visit the Bahamas I would guess the Florida registration is all I'll need to show.

Title is a Florida title in my name at our home in Texas.

Cheers to all for the input.

[Capt Phil]

I'm pretty sure you can register a vessel in any state/province/sub-region of a country but when it comes to flagging a vessel, choose your country and go with it, for what ever reason. There are a variety of terms that each country might use.
For example a boat can be registered in any US state but the only national 'Registry' is the USCG 'Documented Vessel", very different from a US state registration.
In Canada, I belive that you can register in a province but you can also pursue a Federal Canada DOT registration which is a National certification, similar to USCG Documentation in the US. Gordon May is probably a reliable source for that info.
There are many 'Flags of Convenience' from the Cayman Islands to Liberia to Jersey which all have tax or other advantages and the price of entry varies.
Unless you are trying to set up shell corporations or hide out from tax collectors, there normally aren't too many advantages to leaping through the hoops. i've done the documentation/registration shuffle for a number of clients who because of local country laws were unable to have their vessel remain flagged to a particular nation but unless there is an overriding reason, it really isn't worth the trouble.
Trying to sell a vessel with multiple flags brings with it a whole other host of difficulties IMO. Capt Phil

[bobsadler]

If I remember correctly the UK register is not limited to vessels owned by UK citizens but allows ownership by citizens of Commonwealth countries and companies domiciled in those countries

[matauwhi]

G'day, mates. A slight twist to the OP's question in regards to New Zealand. New Zealand does not require pleasure craft (with the exception of a jet ski) to be registered, unless clearing customs to head offshore. We have imported our vessel to New Zealand and are able to maintain our USCG documentation (and flag). We do NOT have to present Category 1 documentation, required for New Zealand flagged vessels, to clear customs. Cheers.

[Astrid]

In Canada, I belive that you can register in a province but you can also pursue a Federal Canada DOT registration which is a National certification, similar to USCG Documentation in the US. Gordon May is probably a reliable source for that info.

Registration is always at the national level in Canada and is the process that enters a vessel on the national registry, rather like USA documentation; that is the ultimate proof of ownership and such. State registration in the USA is what we call Provincial Licensing, and a licence is required of any boat with 7.5kW engine or larger.