# malaysian boat registration



## brunocean (Dec 9, 2001)

Anyone has any experience with registering his boat in Malaysia? It seems too good to be true: Very cheap, no import duty, all legal... see this:Malaysian Boat Registration
Bob McKean from langkawi marine guide (The Marine Guide) used to provide the full registration for very little, unfortunately he passed away recently. Any advise before the jump?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Just curious, but what country are you a citizen of? Also, what waters do you plan on sailing your boat in? Both of those may have some bearing on whether a Malaysian registration makes sense. Registering where it is the least expensive can often come back to bite you on the backside.


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## brunocean (Dec 9, 2001)

well, i guess not many Malaysian flags around...
To answer your question, i am french and live on the oceans for 30 years. I could say a lot about the pro and cons of the most common flags (my last 2 boats were US flagged) the Malaysian one look just very easy to get, very cheap to keep, no taxes and good enough when you sail the pacific and the Indian ocean. But it is always good to hear from real experience!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

brunocean said:


> well, i guess not many Malaysian flags around...
> To answer your question, i am french and live on the oceans for 30 years. I could say a lot about the pro and cons of the most common flags (my last 2 boats were US flagged) the Malaysian one look just very easy to get, very cheap to keep, no taxes and good enough when you sail the pacific and the Indian ocean. But it is always good to hear from real experience!


Just curious, but if you're a French citizen, how could you have US flagged boats? USCG Documentation REQUIRES the owner to be a US CITIZEN.


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## brunocean (Dec 9, 2001)

very simple: you create a corporation (Ltd) who own the boat and as a foreigner you can own the shares of the corporation. If you need more details ask any lawyer who deal with maritime stuff, my corporation was registered in New England since i lived there and still have many friends... It is legal and very straight forward. However the Malaysian flag is even more simple and cheaper (no need for a corporation) so i may go for that one if i find good feedback. (you may ask why i don't have a french flag? because i will buy my next boat in the usa and it is too much hassle to go with french rules...) Cheers...


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

As SD says, a US documented vessel cannot be majority owned by foreign nationals. The corporation must stipulate that this is the case in filing. It makes me wonder if Bruno's lawyer may own 51% of the boat. As a cruiser, the downside of registering with a "flag of convenience" is the feeling of deception that fellow cruisers get when they row over to welcome a Malaysian vessel and find out that, no, you're really something else than what you've got showing on your transom. What other falsehoods might you subject them to? Being able to trust the others in your anchorage is valuable. I'm not so sure a cheaper registration is worth that.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Having a vessel flagged in a different country than the owner's citizenship can raise flags with customs in many countries.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

Yes I'm struggling to see the point as well.

One of the singular largest benefits I can see of having my vessel registered to the country in which I hold citizenship is that when things go wrong in a foreign country I can depend on my government to intervene and lend a hand (assuming of course I haven't broken any fundamental laws).

The way I see it is that if I am (for example) a New Zealand citizen and I have a New Zealand registered vessel then technically I am on New Zealand soil wherever I go and could expect to get diplomatic support. Or is that a naive notion?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Omatako said:


> Yes I'm struggling to see the point as well.
> 
> One of the singular largest benefits I can see of having my vessel registered to the country in which I hold citizenship is that when things go wrong in a foreign country I can depend on my government to intervene and lend a hand (assuming of course I haven't broken any fundamental laws).
> 
> The way I see it is that if I am (for example) a New Zealand citizen and I have a New Zealand registered vessel then technically I am on New Zealand soil wherever I go and could expect to get diplomatic support. *Or is that a naive notion?*


Not if you have a government that actually cares about its citizens.


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## agrainofsand (Jul 19, 2009)

$ 133.00 USD for orig. documentation and free renewls for life such a deal. I live on my boat,currently in Mexico it will always be US flagged.


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## PCP (Dec 1, 2004)

paulk said:


> As SD says, a US documented vessel cannot be majority owned by foreign nationals. The corporation must stipulate that this is the case in filing. It makes me wonder if Bruno's lawyer may own 51% of the boat. As a cruiser, the downside of registering with a "flag of convenience" is the feeling of deception that fellow cruisers get when they row over to welcome a Malaysian vessel and find out that, no, you're really something else than what you've got showing on your transom. What other falsehoods might you subject them to? Being able to trust the others in your anchorage is valuable. I'm not so sure a cheaper registration is worth that.


I am looking into buying a boat paying as less taxes as I can and a dealer have just proposed me to register a new the boat in the USA (USA flag). I didn't went into details because I was not interested (difficult to pass from there to an EC flag) but it seems that it is a fairly common and straight forward issue and easy to get. In Europe, because heavy taxing, "flags of convenience" are very usual. French British and Italian are fairly common. With some of them you can pay 50% or even 0% taxes if you buy a boat in leasing. Depending on the boat, we are talking about tens of thousands of USD.

Regards

Paulo

Paulo


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## PCP (Dec 1, 2004)

Omatako said:


> Yes I'm struggling to see the point as well.
> 
> One of the singular largest benefits I can see of having my vessel registered to the country in which I hold citizenship is that when things go wrong in a foreign country I can depend on my government to intervene and lend a hand (assuming of course I haven't broken any fundamental laws).
> 
> The way I see it is that if I am (for example) a New Zealand citizen and I have a New Zealand registered vessel then technically I am on New Zealand soil wherever I go and could expect to get diplomatic support. Or is that a naive notion?


If that was really a problem than most of the US ships would no the flagged elsewhere (Panama and so on).


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

*What US ships?*



PCP said:


> If that was really a problem than most of the US ships would no the flagged elsewhere (Panama and so on).


If a commercial vessel is US flagged, it has to have a US crew. (Union contracts...) Ships that travel internationally for US companies are frequently not US flagged, because it is too expensive to hire US crews. Since the crew is not made up of American citizens, and the ship is ostensibly not American either, they don't care what flag they fly. They go with the cheapest route possible. Cruising yachts are a different animal.


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## PCP (Dec 1, 2004)

paulk said:


> .. Ships that travel internationally for US companies are frequently not US flagged, because it is too expensive to hire US crews. Since the crew is not made up of American citizens, and the ship is ostensibly not American either, they don't care what flag they fly. *They go with the cheapest route possible*. Cruising yachts are a different animal.


*Well, that's all about money*. I don't know about you but I know a lot of guys that would not mind to sail in a French flagged boat for 4 years (then they can flag it with their countries flag) to save $50 000. Sometime, they just don't have those extra $50 000 to buy the boat they want.

Regards

Paulo


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## goprisko (Apr 13, 2010)

PCP said:


> If that was really a problem than most of the US ships would no the flagged elsewhere (Panama and so on).


Actually, most US owned commercial vessels, are registered in flag of convenience jurisdictions..............

And...............

Their US directors think it good business............!!!!

So, those of you from the US who know nothing but are dead set on embarassing
the original French person seeking advice should know that not only aren't you
being helpful, but your attitude is why US citizens are reviled world wide!
And.........
The crap about not feeling comfortable around a boat registered in one country, but manned by those from other countries..........
Means.................
That you most likely will not be comfortable around most charter yachts in the BVI!!!

So, get a life!!

INDY


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## mad_machine (Dec 16, 2012)

I have to wonder if Malaysian registration (and flag) would make you less of a target to thieves and pirates?

America = Money
EU = Money

Malaysia = ?


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

It makes all kinds of sense to get rid of the American flag on a cruising boat, if you have no intention of returning the vessel to the states. American flagged cruising yachts are presumed by almost anyone doing business with them as being wealthier, suspected of being ruder and less likely to be friendly.
Hey, don't yell at me; that is the way it is. The ugly American has proceeded all of us and some still perpetuate the stereotype.
An American flag can also make a vessel a target for terrorists in certain parts of the world, these days.
I have looked into St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Antigua (all cheap and quite easy) as places to register the boat, but undocumenting the boat devalues it significantly, so I have not yet made a move. I have also considered re-registering the boat in a state like Hawaii and flying the Hawaiian flag (nobody would have a clue where it was from) instead of the stars and stripes. The Marshall Islands is presently the American flag of convenience, by the way, for many of the big US motor yachts.
You can absolutely forget about support for your boat from the American government anywhere overseas. Consulates, I have been assured numerous times by consular officials, are there to issue visas, not to help Americans. Lost passports, adding pages, notary services, OK, but helping you if your boat gets unlawfully detained; forget it.
I have sailed Panamanian flagged yachts for French and Italian owners, and I can assure you no customs agent could care less or would become suspicious, even American ones unless the owner was trying to enter his home country aboard the boat (no problem for a captain operated vessels; owner's nationality is not usually on the registration).
A flag of convenience is just that; convenient.


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## trantor12020 (Mar 11, 2006)

brunocean said:


> Anyone has any experience with registering his boat in Malaysia? It seems too good to be true: Very cheap, no import duty, all legal... see this:Malaysian Boat Registration
> Bob McKean from langkawi marine guide (The Marine Guide) used to provide the full registration for very little, unfortunately he passed away recently. Any advise before the jump?


If you intend on having a home berth in anyone of the Malaysia marinas like Telaga Harbour Marina or Rebauk or Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, I suppose you could email them to enquire on registration. There are many locally registered boats with foreign owners.


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## mad_machine (Dec 16, 2012)

leave it American registered and fly the "conch republic" flag?


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

Not sure why one would bother Re Flagging to Malaysia. There are no duties, custom taxes, light fees etc, nothing, nada, free! Free 90 day visa upon on arrival for most 1st world citizens. No time limits enforced either on boat stay, Immigration yes. USCG documentation is free. Flying the flag? Never worried about it. The bad guys are opportunists, not making decisions on what flag is being flown.

Many boats being bought and sold here. Some keep original documentation, others change to their own home port and if Malaysian registered keep that. No real rhyme or reason for either.

We don't see any pirate flags being flown, but there are tons of ALL Blacks flags flying..


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