An analysis of ship registration laws in three European countries : Cyprus, Malta and the United Kingdom, focusing mainly on the impact which the European Union had on such area of law

Abstract

For several centuries, shipping has dominated the world’s scene in trade, travel and transport between the four comers of the world linking rich and poor countries. It is estimated that the shipping industry is directly responsible for around 90 per cent of the world's trade. Being one of the cheapest forms of transport, without shipping, the import/export of affordable commodities would greatly suffer. Moreover, it is the least environmentally damaging form of commercial transport. This thesis contains an analysis of the impact which the accession to the European Union had on the ship registration laws of the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Malta. The reason for choosing these three countries is because the UK was for a long period of time considered as the World's maritime nation while the very drafting of the laws on Merchant Ship Registration of the two Mediterranean countries was largely based on the UK Merchant Shipping Act. Following a brief introduction, Chapter One describes the evolution of Shipping law in the EU. A brief analysis is made of the most important Regulations, Communications and Directives issued by the European Union in this regard. Chapter Two deals with vessel registration, nationality, the obligations imposed on the Flag State and the right of establishment under the EU law. The shipping laws of the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Malta are separately discussed and analysed in Chapters Three to Five. Each chapter considers the sources of legislation dealing with ship registration in each particular country. It deals with issues such as: vessel eligibility; age limits; ownership; crew nationality and taxation. Amendments which needed to be made to the legal provisions covering the existing shipping Regulations following EU accession are also dealt with. The Concluding Chapter summarises the main issues tackled throughout the study.