SilverSails

Over the past two years, several thousand yachts from outside Poland have been registered under the Polish flag.
Unfortunately, in many cases the owners were not aware of all the consequences associated with owning a yacht flying the Polish flag. According to the Maritime Code, all yachts flying the Polish flag are subject to Polish law.
In particular, there are regulations concerning yacht registration, safety (including compulsory equipment of yachts), equipment of yachts with means of communication and their registration and compulsory surveys and inspections of yachts. These matters are regulated in a total of six legislation acts. In most cases, companies registering yachts under the Polish flag only inform the owners about the requirements of the first of these registration regulations. However, not being familiar with Polish law does not mean that the law does not apply!
The most common breaches of the regulations concern failure to register VHF radios and other radio transmitters (like radar, AIS) and to obtain a CallSign number; failure to carry out the mandatory yacht survey/inspection. The latter applies to all leisure yachts with a hull length of more than 15m and to all yachts used for commercial purposes, with serious financial penalties for breach.
It cannot be ruled out that insurers of yachts registered under the Polish flag will refuse to pay compensation if it is found that the yacht involved in the accident was not equipped in accordance with the regulations or had not undergone the required survey or was otherwise in breach of Polish law.
Registration under the Polish flag is cheap and relatively simple, but has consequences that are worth knowing.
If you are interested in information on registering yachts under the Polish flag and the requirements involved, please contact me by email or PM.