The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) has calculated the number of vessel registrations for the past year 2018. By the end of the year, the number of vessels flying the Cayman Islands flag stood at 2,215, of which 1,897 were private yachts and the rest were commercial fleets. Over the year, the number of vessels registered in the territory increased by 8.5%.
CISR especially emphasized its involvement as a supervising body in the construction of superyachts longer than 30 meters. It turned out that 45% of superyachts in the world are built under the supervision of the Cayman Islands registry. During the year this figure increased by 17% (about 140 projects).
80% of the world's fleet of megayachts over 80 metres and about 50% of all yachts over 30 metres are registered in the Cayman Islands.
« The outlook for the future is positive. We have already "booked" 84 names for boats - a good indicator of future business success. It is common practice for owners to reserve the name of a yacht at the registry before it is fully registered»," says CISR.
Commercial boats (including commercially certified private vessels from 30 meters in length) account for 14% of the Cayman Islands fleet. More than three hundred such vessels fly the territory's flag. Private yachts measuring less than 30 meters with a commercial license are categorized by the registry as recreational yachts.
If you compare the data with the CISR report for 2015-2016, you can see how much this indicator increased: once the category «commercial vessel» accounted for only 2.67%.
The statistics are probably influenced by the fact that since December 2017 it has been possible to obtain a Yacht Engaged in Trade (aka YET - «yacht engaged in trade») certificate in the Cayman Islands.
The license allows boats over 24 meters to be used for charter in European waters for up to 84 days a year. So far only France andMonaco recognize the certificate.
The REG Pt A (LY3) or CYC (Cayman Yacht Code) certificate, which allows up to 12 guests to take on board during a charter, had 471 vessels in the Cayman Islands by October 2018.
