Shipowners

MAR offers several operational and tax advantages to vessels and shipowners, summarized hereinafter: 

Vessels
 

• High quality E.U. register, allowing total access to continental and island cabotage within the framework of the E.U.;   

• A very competitive social security regime which exempts non-Portuguese crew members from contributions to the Portuguese social security regime. However, some form of security scheme must be in place and the crew may choose the Portuguese voluntary social security regime or any other type of protection scheme. Portuguese crew members, on the other hand, must be covered by the general Portuguese social security regime with a reduced contribution rate of 2,7%, of which 2,0% shall be borne by the employing entity and 0,7% by the employee;  

• The wages of the crew are exempt from personal income tax;
   
• A competitive mortgage system in which the mortgagor and the mortgagee may, by written agreement, choose the legal system of a particular country that shall govern the terms of the mortgage. The applicable law by default shall be the Portuguese.

Shipping companies

• It is not mandatory to incorporate a company in Madeira’s IBC in order to proceed with the registration of a ship, which may be registered in the name of a company based abroad. In this case, a legal representative in Madeira must be nominated with sufficient powers to assure full representation before the State and Regional authorities;. 
   
• Shipping companies based in the IBC of Madeira benefit from the application of the tax regime of the IBC of Madeira,namely reduced corporate tax rates on the profits of such entities until 2027.

Permanent Registration

MAR has a Technical Commission whose duties include the registration process and the implementation of all the safety requirements set by the applicable national regulations and international conventions.

Various documents and information on the vessel must be submitted to the Technical Commission for analysis and initiation of the registration process. The amount of information to be provided varies depending on whether the registration is temporary or permanent. Further details may be found in our Ship Registration section or in our Shipowners Guide.

The registration process is exempt from any form of taxation. The Private Commercial Registry of Madeira’s International Business Centre will be used for such purpose.

Temporary Registration

Temporary registration in MAR (bareboat charter in) is subject to authorization granted by the owners and by the competent authorities of the country where the vessel is permanently registered.

On the other hand, vessels with permanent registration in MAR may also be temporarily registered in other countries (bareboat charter out). In such cases, authorization for the bareboat charter out will be granted by MAR. The vessel will fly that Registry’s flag and the right to fly the Portuguese flag will be suspended until the end of the charter period. Further details may be found in our Ship Registration section or in our Shipowners Guide.

Age

There are no direct restrictions on the age of the vessels that may be registered, but the Technical Commission will decide, on a case-by-case basis, the vessels which will be accepted.

Surveys

Vessels to be registered may be subject to a previous survey, according to the Technical Commission’s decision based on the ship’s records, age and detention history.

All vessels registered in MAR must have their relevant statutory certificates issued by one of the classification societies which have been authorized as a Portuguese Recognized Organization (RO). These entities may also perform surveys and inspections on behalf of MAR, as well as the undertaking of certain tasks. Currently, Portugal recognizes eight classification societies in order to undertake some of its tasks within the framework of MAR:

ABS – American Bureau of Shipping BV – Bureau Veritas ClassNK – Nippon Kaiji Kyokai DNV GL - Det Norske Veritas DNV/Germanischer Lloyd

LR – Lloyd’s Register of Shipping RINA – Registro Italiano Navale KR - Korean Register of Shipping CCS - Chinese Classification Society

Other classification societies may be recognised by Portugal in the near future.

Purchase and sale of vessels

The purchase and sale of ships is not subject to any previous authorization. The sale becomes effective through a Bill of Sale. Furthermore, the legal representative of the seller must be granted sufficient power to act on behalf of the company.

International Conventions adopted

Portugal has ratified all the relevant IMO and ILO Conventions, which also fully apply to MAR and all the vessels registered at Madeira’s International Shipping Register.

Manning

The shipowner may present a manning proposal for the vessel for approval by the Technical Commission. The application must include the relevant information about the vessel and a duly justified manning proposal for the vessel.

The present regulations stipulate that 30% of the safe manning of the ship must be European, of both E.U. and non-E.U. countries, or citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries. This requirement may be eliminated whenever it is duly justified.

Crew certification

All vessels are required to have a manning certificate issued in order to ensure that seafarers serving on board are qualified, fit and sufficient in number for the performance of their duties. The certificates of seafarers shall be issued according to the provisions of the Standards of Training Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers Convention of 1978 (STCW), as amended in 1995.

Read more about crew certification in our Ship Registration section or in our Shipowners Guide.

Labour contracts

Labour contracts shall be signed between the seamen or unions and employer, containing the identification of the parties, the name of the vessel, the nature and duration of the intended voyage or engagement, the period that each seaman is to be on board, the title and function to be undertaken by each seaman, the wages and the agreement as to the payment of wages and the termination of the contract.

In order to access the regime of tax benefits applicable within the ambit of the IBC of Madeira, companies must apply for a licence, through SDM, to the Regional Government of Madeira. The licence may be requested by an existing company, in Portugal or abroad, or by a company to be incorporated.

In case a new shipping company is formed, no minimum share capital requirements will apply and the company will not be obliged to keep its main offices in Madeira, although some form of legal representation must be kept.

There are several management companies in Madeira able to provide full support on the incorporation process as well as other support services on any aspect of the company’s activity, namely legal advice, accountancy and consultancy. These companies also give full support on the registration of vessels in MAR.

Further information of company formation procedures are found in our Shipowners Guide.

Vessels

Upon registration, vessels will be subject to a fixed fee in the amount of 1,800 euros plus a variable fee calculated according to the net tonnage:

Scale	Fee per Scale
Up to 250 NT	225 Euros
From 250 NT up to 2.500 NT	0.90 euros per NT
From 2,500 NT up to 10.000 NT	0.70 euros per NT
From 10,000 NT up to 20.000 NT	0.50 euros per NT
From 20,000 NT up to 30.000 NT	0.30 euros per NT
Above 30,000 NT	0.10 euros per NT

NT = Net tonnage

The annual fee comprises a fixed fee of 1,400 euros plus a variable fee calculated according to the following scale:

Scale	Fee per Scale
Up to 250 NT	200 Euros
From 250 NT up to 2.500 NT	0.80 euros per NT
From 2,500 NT up to 20.000 NT	0.40 euros per NT
Above 20.000 NT	0.25 euros per NT

NT = Net tonnage

The fees due for passenger vessels, tug boats and other auxiliary embarkations are those stated above, increased by 15% and 30% on the registration and annual fees, respectively.

Other fees will be applicable on the issue, recognition or renewal by the Technical Commission of MAR of various documents, declarations and certificates, as well as for the carrying out of inspections aboard vessels registered in MAR.

You may also resort to our on-line fees calculator (please note that some variations or discounts may be applicable according to the law).

Shipping Companies

Shipping companies incorporated in Madeira’s IBC will be subject to a licence and annual operating fees of, respectively, 1,000 euros and 1,800 euros.