The appearance of a new ship register in the system state registration of ships and rights to them

Currently, foreign owners do not have the opportunity to register a ship owned by them on the right of ownership in any of the Russian ship registries. The right to sail under the State Flag of the Russian Federation is granted to Russian natural and legal persons to whom the ship belongs by right of ownership or by the latter, under a bareboat charter contract.

In connection with the signing by the President of the Russian Federation on August 3, 2018 of the Federal Law of August 3, 2018 N 296-FZ "On Amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the MWC of the Russian Federation) regarding the establishment of the Russian Open Register of Vessels in Communication with the adoption of the Federal Law "On International Companies" and the Federal Law "On Special Administrative Regions in the Territories of the Kaliningrad Region and the Primorsky Territory" (hereinafter referred to as the Law), from January 31, 2019, GSI right under the State flag of the Russian Federation vessel registration in the Russian open register of ships (hereinafter - RORS).

It is important to emphasize that the ship's register will be administered by the captain of the seaport of Kaliningrad and the captain of the seaport of Vladivostok. Accordingly, the registration of vessels in the RORS will be possible only in the above ports.

The realization of the right to register a vessel that belongs to a foreign physical or legal person on the right of ownership to RORS will be possible provided that the vessel is chartered under a bareboat charter contract by a legal entity registered in accordance with the Federal Law "On International Companies"^[1].

In accordance with the Law, shipowners will have the right to register vessels, including small vessels used for commercial purposes, on the condition that such vessels are operated for the purpose of carrying out activities not covered by Article 4 of the MWC (cabotage, icebreaking, marine resource research, etc.), by a person registered as a participant in a special administrative district in accordance with the Federal Law "On Special Administrative Regions in the Territories of the Kaliningrad Region and Primorsk edge".

A special administrative area is the territory of the Russian Island (Primorskii Krai) or the Oktyabrsky Island (Kaliningrad Region), where the legal regime of the special administrative district is in effect (paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Federal Law of August 3, 2018 No. 291-FZ "On Special Administrative regions on the territories of the Kaliningrad Region and the Primorsky Territory "). A participant in a special administrative area is understood as a foreign legal entity with whom, in accordance with the procedure provided for by Federal Law No. 291-FZ of August 3, 2018, "On Special Administrative Regions in the Territories of the Kaliningrad Region and Primorsky Krai," the management company concluded a contract for the implementation of activities, and Also, information about which is entered in the register of participants in a special administrative district.

If a vessel registered in the RORS will operate in order to carry out the activities specified in Art. 4 KTM RF, this will inevitably lead to the exclusion of the vessel from the register by the captain of the seaport ex-officio. In addition, small-sized vessels used for non-commercial purposes, sport sailing and pleasure craft will be subject to state registration in the RORS. As well as state registration in the Russian International Register of Ships (hereinafter referred to as RMRS), registration in the RORS will need to be confirmed annually. However, the amount of state duty for state registration and annual confirmation by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not currently established. Probably, the size of the state fee will be calculated by analogy with RMRS.

The procedure for registering a ship in the RORS will not significantly differ from the registration in the RMRS or the bareboat charter registry. It will also be necessary to provide a certificate confirming the exclusion of the vessel from the foreign ship register, title documents to the ship, corporate documents of the parties to the transaction, evidence of payment of the state fee. In addition, since ships are likely to be registered with the RORS for the first time, shipowners will need to undergo an identification procedure conducted by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

The law introduces a novel according to which, from January 1, 2019, on ships registered in the RALS, foreign citizens and stateless persons will be able to hold positions of command staff, except for the position of the ship's captain and senior mechanic. Recall that, at present, the posts of the ship's captain, senior assistant captain of the ship, senior mechanic and radio specialist can be occupied exclusively by citizens of the Russian Federation.