Maltese ship register the largest in European Union

Transport Malta has registered a solid performance and strong improvement in ship and yacht registration in 2013 registering a growth of 13.6% equivalent to over 6 million gross tonnes and a growth of 18% in yacht registration over the previous year.

The figures consolidate Malta's position as the largest merchant flag in the European Union and the seventh worldwide. As at the end of December 2013, the registered tonnage of ships registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, exceeded the 50 million gross tons for the first time ever, totalling 51.8 million gross tons.

"The past year was a record year for the Malta Ship Register. We achieved solid growth, improved the technical performance of the registered fleet and further consolidated Malta's position as a European leader in this maritime sector," TM executive chairman James Piscopo said.

"This success couldn't have been achieved without the efforts of all stakeholders including ship-owners and seafarers and the unfailing support of the local industry."

Malta has also continued to consolidate its position on the White Lists of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris and Tokyo MoUs) - the agreements between different ports to harmonise inspections on foreign-flagged ships when calling at their respective ports.

During 2013, the Malta flag also registered positive results in terms of port state control performance, reaffirming its long-term strategy to achieve growth though quality and underpinning its firm commitment towards safe, secure and clean shipping.

Improved results were also registered in the registration of superyachts.Despite a challenging environment worldwide, the Malta flag registered an increase of 18.1% over the previous year, in the registration of superyachts of over 24 metres in length. As of the end of December 2013, the superyacht fleet flying the Maltese cross worldwide was 398.