Merchant Shipping Directorate Announces Shipowner Support Measures

As the disruptive effects of Covid-19 continue to impact international shipping activities, the Malta Ship Registry continues to take unprecedented measures to assist the shipping industry through the current exceptional circumstances. The latest measures take cognisance of the cashflow constraints affecting shipowners who have seen their shipping activities delayed or suspended with the aim of alleviating some of that exposure and shifting a portion of the burden upon the Registry.

The Registry, by means of Merchant Shipping Notice 160, is offering shipowners the possibility of deferring due payment of registration fees and annual tonnage tax, the anniversary date of which falls due on or after the first day of April 2020.  The deferment may be made for a period of three months, during which period the Registry will continue to issue renewed certificates of registry upon receipt of a request to proceed.