Registration Requirement
Any vessel of 20 m3 and over may register in Curaçao provided they comply with the mandatory and applicable international maritime conventions. In addition to this the vessel must have the Dutch nationality.
For nationality requirements, the vessel has to be under ownership of a citizen having the Dutch nationality or a legal entity of a Member state of the European Community, through membership of the European Economic Area (EEA), of Switzerland or the United States of America. This owner needs to have a permanent representative in Curaçao to represent him in all matters relating to the vessel, its crew and cargo. This representative is allowed to transact business with third parties. This representation can be done through an N.V. (Naamloze Vennootschap), a B.V. (Besloten Vennootschap).
To meet the nationality requirements, the owner of the vessel can incorporate a shipping company in the legal form of a public limited liability company (N.V.) in Curaçao , provided that a local private individual of Dutch nationality acts as a sole managing director. The shipping company will then be treated as a Dutch citizen as referred to in Article 1(1), sub j. Ownership of the ship concerned is transferred from abroad to the aforesaid shipping company on the ground of either purchase agreement or a deed of contribution. Having met the above mentioned requirements, the ship will then be a Curaçao ship.
A Bareboat registry has been established especially for other legal entities.