SURVEY

REGISTRATION: ACCEPTANCE AND RECOGNITION

Yachts of any age can be registered provided these are in a sea worthy condition. Vessels are not required to be physically inspected and/or surveyed within the jurisdiction. Pleasure Yachts under 24m require a Tonnage Measurement Survey to be carried out and Pleasure Yachts over 24m require an International Tonnage Certificate and a Certificate of Survey. These can be effected through one of the six IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) recognized by GYR to conduct statutory survey and certification on behalf of the Administration:

1. American Bureau of Shipping (ABS);
2. Bureau Veritas (BV);
3. Det Norske Veritas (DNV);
4. Lloyds Register (LR);
5. Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK), and;
6. Registro Italiano Navale (RINA).

Vessels under 24m in overall length can also authorize one of the following appointed certifying authorities recognized by the GYR to conduct a Tonnage Measurement Survey on behalf of the Administration:

1. Yacht Brokers, Designers & Surveyors Association (YBDSA);
2. MECAL Limited;
3. The Society of Consulting Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors;
4. International Institute of Marine Surveyors.

SURVEY OF COMMERCIAL YACHTS – Yachts of over 24m in load line length (carrying less than 12 passengers)

Statutory survey and certification requirements for Gibraltar registered commercial yachts are based on International Conventions. Yachts must also comply with the Large Yacht Code LY3.

Yachts of 24m in Load Line length and above, must be classed with one of Classification Societies accepted by Gibraltar. These are:

ABS, BV, DNV AS, LR, RINA and ClassNK

Gibraltar has also designated the above Classification Societies as Recognised Organisations.

The Gibraltar Maritime Administration (GMA) delegates all of the statutory surveys to the approved classification societies with the exception of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code, Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) and Passenger Yacht Code surveys.

Ship visits for audits and inspections are harmonised where possible.

Table 1 sets out what the GMA and Classification societies are responsible for when surveying large yachts.

Table 1: Yachts (over 24m in load line length (carrying less than 12 passengers) GMA/Classification Societies survey and Certificationfunctions

KEY:

1. a) Radio*: Yachts less than 300GT shall ensure the GMDSS radio installation is subjected to survey annually by a Class-approved radio surveyor and a survey report shall be retained on board.
2. b) MLC#: Yachts less than 500GT are subject to the same survey requirements as those over 500GT but are issued on completion with a Statement of MLC Compliance in place of an MLC certificate.

Note: In cases where vessels opt for voluntary compliance with statutory requirements, they will be treated in the same manner as if the requirements were mandatory.

Change of Yacht Use - 24m and over (from Commercial to Pleasure and Vice Versa)

A yacht can alternate between being registered as a commercial yacht and a pleasure yacht, but can only hold one active Certificate of Registry at a time.

To qualify for this facility, a yacht operating under a pleasure yacht certificate of registry must at all times comply with the same underlying requirements as it would if it were a commercial yacht.

For further details, please refer to our Shipping Guidance Notice 144.

Passenger Yachts (carrying more than 12 passengers)

Statutory survey and certification requirements for Gibraltar registered passenger yachts are based on International Conventions. Yachts must also comply with the Passenger Yacht Code.

Yachtsmust also be classed with one of Classification Societies accepted by Gibraltar. These are:

ABS, BV, DNV AS, LR, RINA and ClassNK

Gibraltar has also designated the above Classification Societies as Recognised Organisations.

The Gibraltar Maritime Administration (GMA) delegates all of the statutory surveys to the approved classification societies with the exception of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code, Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), Passenger Certificate and Passenger Yacht Code surveys.

Ship visits for audits and inspections are harmonised where possible.

Table 2 sets out what the GMA and Classification societies are responsible for when surveying large yachts.

Table 2 – Passenger yachts (carrying more than 12 passengers) GMA/Classification Societies survey and Certification functions

KEY:

1. a) Radio*: Yachts less than 300GT shall ensure the GMDSS radio installation is subjected to survey annually by a Class-approved radio surveyor and a survey report shall be retained on board.
2. b) MLC#: Yachts less than 500GT are subject to the same survey requirements as those over 500GT but are issued on completion with a Statement of MLC Compliance in place of an MLC certificate.

Note: In cases where vessels opt for voluntary compliance with statutory requirements, they will be treated in the same manner as if the requirements were mandatory.

Commercial Yachts of less than 24m

Survey and certification requirements for commercial yachts of under 24m are based on the requirements of the UK safety codes of practice for small (up to 24m) vessels.

Small commercial yachts must certified by one of Certifying Authorities accepted by Gibraltar.

These are:

1. American Bureau of Shipping (ABS);
2. Bureau Veritas (BV);
3. Class NK (NK);
4. DNV AS;
5. Lloyd’s Register (LR);
6. MECAL Ltd;
7. International Institute of Marine Surveyors (IIMS);
8. Registro Italiano Navale (RINA);
9. Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyor (SCMS);
10. Yacht Designers and Surveyors Association (YBSA).

The Gibraltar Maritime Administration (GMA) generally delegates all of the statutory surveys to the approved Certifying authorities.

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