THE LAUNCH OF THE ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA MEGA YACHT REGISTRY
November 17th, 2011
The Honorable Prime Minister and Minister with responsibility for Merchant Shipping and Ship Registration, Dr. the Honorable Winston Baldwin Spencer
On the evening of Thursday November 17th, 2011 at the historic Copper and Lumber Store hotel located in English Harbour Antigua, staff members of the Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS) were joined by her Excellency the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda Dame Louise Lake Tack, the Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Winston Baldwin Spencer, other Ministers of Government, colleagues and friends to commemorate the launch of the Antigua and Barbuda Mega Yacht Registry.
Speeches were delivered by the Director and Registrar General Mr. Dwight Gardiner, the Honorable Prime Minister and Minister with responsibility for Merchant Shipping and Ship Registration, Dr. the Honorable Winston Baldwin Spencer and Ms. Adele Blair from the Ministry of Tourism on behalf of the Honorable Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Mr. John Maginley.
Mr. Gardiner credited Dr. Spencer with the idea of the expansion and diversification of the Department and specifically the Mega Yacht Registry. He related the fact that from inception the Prime Minister saw the synergy and the possibilities to be realized upon tapping into this exclusive market. This new arm of the Registry of Antigua and Barbuda, he said, would complement the success of the existing International Ship Registry which to date has over 1300 vessels on the register reflecting 11.1 gross tones and continues to be in the top 20 listing of international ship registries.
The Honorable Prime Minister in his speech spoke about the advantages to becoming involved in this particular market and the fact that much work had gone on behind the scenes in preparation. He expressed his “wish to offer the yachting community the opportunity to not only register their vessels with a flag with an established reputation for quality and but also to register in a home port which has a proven track record in the yachting and tourism sectors located in the prestigious English Harbour.”
Advantages of registering vessels with the ABYR include: A team with 24 years of experience, a Registry that is listed in the top 8 of the world fleet, multiple ports of registry, modern comprehensive maritime legislation, various registration options (provisional, permanent, bareboat, under construction), easy steps to registration, various vessel ownership structures (individuals, international business corporations, external companies), speedy formation of international business corporations (predominant structure for vessel ownership), qualified, experienced, diverse, multilingual team and 24 hour support services.
Mr. Gardiner expressed his gratitude to his staff and the Government in working towards the realization of this vision and one got the distinct impression that although much had been achieved in a relatively short space of time, that this was only the beginning of the manifestation of his dreams for the Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping and Antigua and Barbuda as a maritime nation.
Prepared by: The Business Development Division
November 23, 2011
