Shipping Companies - Part 2

Cyprus law allows for parallel registration of vessels. Parallel registration is essentially a mechanism whereby the nationality of a vessel under bareboat charter is suspended for a period of time and during that period the vessel is registered under a different flag. There are two forms of parallel registration, parallel-in and parallel-out. Both these are internationally accepted forms of bareboat registration. The Registrar of Ships maintains a Special Book of Parallel Registration of the Cyprus Register.

For parallel registration to be possible, the law of the foreign registry must be compatible with Cyprus. Today it is possible to effect parallel (bareboat) registration with more than 20 other states. Parallel registration is often used in shipping transactions involving leaseback and hire-purchase financing arrangements.