United Kingdom

About the Flag

The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system with its seat of government in the capital city of London.  Its parliament has been a model for governments throughout the world.

It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies and fourteen overseas territories.     

The UK is a developed country and has the world’s sixth largest economy by GDP. The currency is pounds sterling (GBP).

The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.  It is also a member of the European Union (EU), the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the G20, the OECD, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and NATO.

UK shipping law is covered by the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993 with amendments in 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2000. 

The UK Ship Register (UKSR) is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; the UK’s Maritime Administration and is one of the oldest and most reputable ship registers in the world. The Register looks to provide a high level of service for its customers with an emphasis on quality support throughout and after registration. 

The UKSR has gained a reputation for being a flag of quality and maintaining the highest standards.  It is one of the best performing flags in the major Port State Control regimes, supported by its high position on the Paris and Tokyo MoU White Lists and inclusion on the United States Coastguard Qualship 21 Scheme. The UK Flag is a signatory to all the major international maritime conventions.

Working with our customers to achieve ‘Safety through Partnership’, we understand that quality standards set by reputable sections of the shipping industry should not be compromised by sub-standard shipping and therefore we believe that quality is non-negotiable.

The UK Ship Register was officially launched in February 2007.  All the previous units were brought together into one single cohesive unit with a new attitude, providing real customer service and care with 24-hour assistance.  Since then the UK Merchant Fleet has grown by over 5 million GT.

Each company is assigned a Customer Account Manager (CAM) as a single point of contact who is responsible for all aspects of administration and assists the company in guiding them through the registration process.  In addition, the CAM works alongside a Customer Service Manager (CSM), who, as a qualified surveyor, provides a single point of liaison between the UKSR and the customer to help ensure technical consistency and quality of service throughout the survey and certification process.  The CAM and CSM remain the points of contact throughout the time a company has ships registered with the UKSR.

Some of the advantages of registering are;

• The UK Flag is one of the top performing flags on the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU 'White Lists'

• The UK is included on the US Coastguard's Qualship 21 initiative

• Dedicated customer service and focused assistance throughout and after registration

• Registration costs amongst the lowest available with no annual renewal fees

• UK Tonnage Tax incentive - alternative method of calculating corporation tax profits based on ship net tonnage

• The UK has met the Paris MOU flag criteria for low risk ships so UK ships are not targeted for Port State Control inspections

• ISPS plan approvals and verification audits at no cost to owners and operators

• An international reputation for expert advice and guidance with a proactive leading role at the IMO, EU and Quality Shipping Committees

• Worldwide security threat level information provided to UK registered ships with support for British Nationals on board from British Consuls and Royal Navy protection dependent on the availability of assets and the nature of the threat

• MCA Quality Assurance offers certification to ISO 9001(2008) and ISO 14001(2004) standards with audits being taken in harmonisation with ISM & ISPS

• Alternate Compliance Scheme - for eligible vessels, statutory surveys (except ISM, ISPS and ILO) are delegated to Classification Societies without a formal appointment