Finland: Government proposal: parallel bareboat registration to be allowed for a fixed term

NordenBladet — The Government proposes that parallel bareboat registration be allowed in Finland for a maximum of five years at a time. It would be simultaneous with the registration of the vessel’s right of ownership in another state. Parallel registration would be possible when a foreign vessel is chartered to Finland under the so-called bareboat chartering agreement (without crew).

The Government submitted its proposal to Parliament on 18 February 2021.In terms of rights of use, the vessel would be registered in Finland, but the ownership registration would remain in the original state. The vessel would fly the flag of Finland and Finnish legislation would be applied to it with the exception of issues relating to the ownership and mortgage of the vessel.

The Transport and Communications Agency would have the responsibility for making a decision on the approval of a vessel’s registration for use. In order for the vessel to be approved, it would have to be managed and operated from Finland. According to the proposal, the parallel registration would allow flexibility in the operations of shipping companies and possibly result in new tonnage under the Finnish flag. This would promote the competitiveness of Finnish shipping companies and create jobs for Finnish seafarers.

Next steps
A preliminary debate will be held on the proposal now submitted by the Government to Parliament. The timetable for the debate will be listed on Parliament’s website (upcoming plenary sessions).

After the referral debate, the proposal will be sent to the Transport and Communications Committee. Once the committee’s report is ready, the matter will be discussed in a plenary session again.