The ships registrar in Belgium is administrated by the Belgian Federal Public Service of Transports, with offices in Antwerp, Brussels, Gent and Oostende. The Belgian Certificate of Registryis subject to renewal every five years and in case of Commercial Cruising Vessels, the vessel also has to be inspected every five years.

Pleasure Craft

Pleasure crafts are defined as vessels with a minimum length of 2,5 meters and a maximum of 24 meters and not being used for any commercial exploitation, such as charter purposes, transport of persons, goods or animals. The registration process for pleasure crafts can take between two to six weeks, depending on the season. Besides registration fees, a one-time taxation is imposed. The amount is determined by the age of the vessel. Presently the rates for a yacht younger than 1 year is € 2.478 and for yachts older than 10 years € 61,50.

Vessels used for commercial yachting purposes are considered yachts up to 500 GT with a maximum of 12 passengers. A distinction is made between vessels that navigate

• less than 200 miles off the coast
• more than 200 miles off the coast
• less than 30 miles and <24m in length

Depending on the ‘required mileage’ one wants to sail, determines which regulations the officer in charge will need to meet. There are no specific requirement the working crew on the vessel has to meet.   Commercial Cruising Vessels are also subject to periodical inspections by the Belgium authorities and is valid for the period of 5 years.