Bareboat Registration

There are, as is well known, many factors that may influence a shipowner's choice of flag when registering a vessel in its ownership. On the one hand these include domestic ownership incentives and discounts, cabotage regimes and naval military protection (a concept that some began to view as an anachronism but that has recently become relevant once again) when registering with a "national" flag. On the other hand there are advantages of corporate secrecy, greater freedom as to crew nationality, attractive taxation regimes and political and operational freedom when choosing an offshore registry.

As a result of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each option, a shipowner might find itself being torn in two directions if forced to make a choice between using its own national register and registering its vessels offshore. These issues can be further complicated where a shipowner uses bank debt to finance its ownership of a vessel. Banks lending against the