SilverSails

Since the beginning of February, the maritime offices in Szczecin and Gdynia have been sending out summonses to domestic and foreign owners of seagoing yachts over 15m in length sailing under the Polish flag. On the basis of the Maritime Safety Act of 18 August 2011, the senders of the letters call on owners to immediately submit their vessels to technical inspections and subsequent safety inspections. At the same time, they inform that an owner who violates the applicable regulations enshrined in the Maritime Safety Act is subject to a fine of up to one million SDRs. (1 SDR = EUR 0.80). There are currently around 3,000 foreign commercial and recreational yachts over 15 metres in length flying the Polish flag. The action by the maritime authorities has caused concern among foreign owners who have chosen the Polish flag due to its convenience and relatively low cost (this applies, for example, to sailors from France and Spain). From a foreigner's perspective, registering a yacht in Poland is simple and inexpensive. In addition, recreational vessels (up to 15 metres) do not require any inspections or surveys and the registration documents have no expiry dates (they do not need to be renewed). If a foreign shipowner can register a yacht for 500, 600 euros (including the costs of intermediaries and fees for translating documents), it is hardly surprising that sailors are eager to take advantage of such an opportunity. Unfortunately, many intermediaries do not provide reliable information about the actual requirements enshrined in Polish regulations. Some, hoping to increase interest in their services, assure on their websites that yachts up to 24 metres in length are not subject to any inspections or surveys in Poland, which is obviously not true (our regulations are relatively liberal, but not that much). This is why many shipowners register their yachts under the Polish flag and then fail to follow the next steps: obtaining a radio permit and registering the radio station, radar or EPIRB and for the boats over15 m: technical survey, safety inspection,.
According to Polish law, in order to register a yacht, an application for registration and the issue of a registration document must be submitted to the chosen registration authority. Registration is effected on the basis of proof of ownership (VAT invoice, contract of sale, contract of exchange or donation) or a written declaration by the builder (in the case of home-built vessels). The following are subject to registration: yachts more than 7.5 metres in length or with a propulsion power of more than 15 kW, as well as craft sailing outside the territory of the Republic of Poland. After registering a yacht, the owner of the marine vessel should obtain a safety card (only yachts used for recreational purposes and whose length does not exceed 15 metres do not need this document). The safety card is issued after a technical survey and a successfully completed safety inspection. The costs of surveys and inspections depend on a number of factors. The most important of these are the length of the yacht, the power of the engine, the capacity of the batteries, the type of propulsion, the age of the vessel, the extent of the documents held and, of course, the location of the vessel. The initial survey includes the verification of the vessel before taking it under supervision and the issuing of the following documents: acknowledgement of construction and stability, certificate of dimensions and identification and seaworthiness certificate. The technical survey document is valid for five years. Depending on the age of the yacht and its technical condition, an intermediate survey (between the second and third year from the date of the document) or even annual surveys may be required during the five-year validity period. If a yacht has a CE Declaration of Conformity and less than 10 years have passed since its issue, the owner of a leisure yacht is exempt from the obligation to carry out a technical survey (this does not apply to commercial yachts). This means that the operator of a leisure yacht over 15 metres in length obtains the mandatory safety card on the basis of the declaration of conformity and a successfully completed safety inspection. This is identical for recreational yachts up to 15 metres in length, if their owner wishes to obtain a safety card voluntarily. The equipment required to obtain the safety card is specified in the regulation of the Minister of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy of 28 February 2012 on the safe navigation of sea-going yachts.