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Introduction
Legislation
Definitions
Transactions in the register of small vessels
Usage of a mobile maritime radio station and radio licence
High speed small vessels
Safe boating at sea
Announcments
Other Links

INTRODUCTION

All recreational craft should be registered either in the Register of Cyprus Ships (these vessels are permitted to sail in national and international waters) or in the Register of Small Vessels (these vessels are permitted to sail only in the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus).

Recreational craft are registered in the Register of Cyprus Ships, in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, Sales and Mortgages) Law 45/63, as amended or the Register of Small Vessels, in accordance with the Emergency Powers (Control of Small Vessels) Regulations of 1955.

Ships that are not registered in Registry of Cyprus Ships are:

(α) ships having an overall length less than thirteen (13) metres, employed solely in navigation on the coast of the Republic or of the Sovereign Base Areas;

(b) ships not having a whole or fixed deck and employed solely in fishing, lightering or trading coastwise on the shore of the Republic or of the Sovereign Base Areas or within such a radius therefrom as may be prescribed.

Under regulation 13 of the Emergency Powers (Control of Small Vessels) Regulations of 1955, failure to register a vessel by its owners constitutes a criminal offence.

LEGISLATION

European Directive 94/25/EC on recreational craft was adopted by the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) Regulations of 2003, P.I. 307/2003 which were published in Official Gazette No. 3706 on 18.4.2003, Supplement III(I). These regulations have been in force since 1 May 2004.

European Directive 2003/44/EC which amends European Directive 94/25/EC on recreational craft was adopted by the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (Amendment) Regulations of 2004, P.I. 537/2004 which were published in Official Gazette No. 3853 on 30.4.2004, Supplement III(I). These regulations have been in force, as follows:

From 1st January 2006 the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (as amended) Regulations of 2004 have been implemented as follows:

1) Recreational Craft and partly completed boats

2) Personal watercraft – Jet Skis

3) Components referred to in Annex II when placed on the Community Market separately and when intended for installation

4) For Propulsion Engines- Compression ignition (diesel) and four- stroke spark ignition (petrol) engines

From 1st January 2007 the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (as amended) Regulations of 2004 have been implemented also on the two stroke spark ignition engines.

The implementation for the engines exhaust emission is as follows:

(i) Propulsion engines which are installed or specifically intended for installation on or in recreational craft and personal watercraft

(ii) Propulsion engines installed on or in these craft that are subject to a ‘major engine modification

The implementation for the engines noise emission is as follows

(i) Recreational Craft with stern drive engines without integral exhaust or inboard propulsion engines installations

(ii) Recreational Craft with stern drive engines without integral exhausts or with inboard propulsion installations, which are subject to a major conversion and subsequently placed on the market within five years following conversion.

(iii) Personal watercraft

(iv)Outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts intended for installation on recreational craft

All Recreational Craft (hull length from 2.5 m to 24.0 m) including personal watercraft (jet skis) as well as all propulsion engines for recreational craft, which have been manufactured in Cyprus or in any other country of the European Union or have been imported from a third country and shall be placed on the Cyprus market [N30( Ι )/2002 as amended] after the 1/1/2006 shall comply with the provision of the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) ( as amended ) Regulations of 2004, (PI 537/ 2004) which were published in the Official Gazette number 3853 on 30/4/2004 EE Section III (I)

The Recreational Craft as well as the propulsion engines shall bear the CE marking and shall be accompanied by a written Declaration of Conformity as it is described in the Annex XV of the Regulations, the EC Type Examination Certificate (when a Notified body has been involved) and the Owner’s Manual in Greek and in another language of a member state (Annex I of the Regulations).

More details on the provisions of the European Directives can be found on the following web pages

DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of the recreational craft directive 94/25/EC as amended by directive 2003/44/EC:

(a) ‘recreational craft’: any boat of any type intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2,5 m to 24 m, measured according to the harmonized standard, regardless of the means of propulsion; the fact that the same boat could be used for charter or for recreational boating training shall not prevent it being covered by this Directive when it is placed on the Community market for recreational purposes;

(b) ‘personal watercraft’: a vessel less than 4 m in length which uses an internal combustion engine having a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on, rather than within the confines of, a hull;

(c) ‘propulsion engine’: any spark or compression ignition, internal combustion engine used for propulsion purposes, including two stroke and four-stroke inboard, stern-drive with or without integral exhaust and outboard engines;

(d) ‘major engine modification’: the modification of an engine which:

could potentially cause the engine to exceed the emission limits set out in Annex I.B. excluding routine replacement of engine components that do not alter the emission characteristics, or
increases the rated power of the engine by more than 15 %;

(e) ‘major craft conversion’: a conversion of a craft which:

changes the means of propulsion of the craft,
involves a major engine modification,
alters the craft to such an extent that it is considered a new craft;

(f) ‘means of propulsion’: the mechanical method by which the craft is driven, in particular marine propellers or water jet mechanical drive systems;

(g) ‘engine family’: the manufacturer's grouping of engines which, through their design, are expected to have similar exhaust emission characteristics and which comply with the exhaust emissions requirements of this Directive;

(h) ‘manufacturer’: any natural or legal person who designs and manufactures a product covered by this Directive or who has such a product designed and/or manufactured with a view to placing it on the market on his own behalf;

(i) ‘authorised representative’: any natural or legal person established in the Community who has received a written mandate from the manufacturer to act on his behalf with regard to the latter's obligation under this Directive.

Exemptions
The following craft are excluded from the scope of the directive 94/25/EC as amended by 2003/44/EC:
(a) with regard to paragraph 1(a):

craft intended solely for racing, including rowing racing boats and training rowing boats, labelled as such by the manufacturer;
canoes and kayaks, gondolas and pedalos;
sailing surfboards;
surfboards, including powered surfboards;
original historical craft and individual replicas thereof designed before 1950, built predominantly with the original materials and labelled as such by the manufacturer;
experimental craft, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market;
craft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years;
craft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3(a), in particular those defined in Council Directive 82/714/ EEC of 4 October 1982 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (1), regardless of the number of passengers;
submersibles;
air cushion vehicles;
hydrofoils;
external combustion steam powered craft, fuelled by coal, coke, wood, oil or gas;

(b) with regard to paragraph 1(b):

propulsion engines installed or specifically intended for installation on the following:
- craft intended solely for racing and labelled as suchby the manufacturer,
- experimental craft, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market,
- craft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph3(a), in particular those defined in Directive 82/ 714/EEC, regardless of the number of passengers,
- submersibles,
- air cushion vehicles,
- hydrofoils;
original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre-1950 design, not produced in series and fitted on craft referred to in paragraph 2(a)(v) and (vii);
propulsion engines built for own use provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years;

all craft referred to in point (b) of this paragraph,
craft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years.

Craft build for own use
The Department of Merchant Shipping wishes to inform all interested members of the public wishing to build a recreational craft for their own use that they should:

The owner should inform the Department of Merchant Shipping in advance of his/her intention for building a recreational craft for own use giving exact details of the location so as inspections to be carried out by the Department of Merchant Shipping during the construction period.
The owner must submit to the Department of Merchant Shipping a Builder Certificate of a Small Vessel (MS48) certified by a certifying Officer.
The owner of the craft must submit to the Department of Merchant Shipping details of construction drawings as well as objective evidence that the vessel was built by the prospective owner for own use (such as photographs, receipts of purchased material used for the construction etc).

With reference to the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) Regulations of 2003 were published in the Official Gazette number 3706 on 18/4/2003 EE Section III (I) PI 307/ 2003 and Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (as amended) Regulations of 2004, were published in the Official Gazette number 3853 on 30/4/2004 EE Section III (I) PI 537/ 2004, recreational craft built for own use cannot be placed on the market and put into service for a period of five (5) years.

More details on the provisions of the European Directives can be found on the following web pages

TRANSACTIONS IN THE REGISTER OF SMALL VESSELS
under construction

USAGE OF A MOBILE MARITIME RADIO STATION AND RADIO LICENSE

Issuance of a radio license for a small vessel
According to the Radio Communications Laws of 2002 to 2004 and the Radio Communications Regulations of 2004, the usage of a maritime mobile station must be registered and a usage licence must be issued,

The application form (MS 34A) for the registration of a mobile maritime radio station for a small vessel should be submitted to the Offices of the Department of Merchant Shipping and must be accompanied by:

1. A copy of the certificate of registration (MS 36) of a small vessel
2. The fee of €34.17.

The right for use of radio frequencies (radio license) is issued upon receipt of the above for a period of one (1) year and it is renewed on a yearly basis.

Radio license renewal for a small vessel
The fee for the renewal of the radio license is €17.09.

In case that the fee for the renewal of the registration Certificate of the Mobile Radio Station, which is in accordance with paragraph 2 of the Section 2 of the Third Annex of the Radio communications (Fees) Regulations of 2004, is not paid within one month from the due date, then the right of use of radio frequencies is terminated and the holder of a mobile maritime radio station is not allowed to use it. Anyone using such equipment with no valid radio license is subject to prosecution and / or fines as these are described in Article 52 of the Radio Communications Laws of 2002 to 2004.

If the holder of the radio station wishes to continue its operation, a new registration form (MS 34A) of a mobile maritime radio station must be submitted with the application fees, which are in accordance with the Radio communications (Fees) Regulations of 2004.

Payments
Payments can be done at the cashier of the Department of Merchant Shipping. Payments by cheque should be made in the name of “The Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping”.

Change of ownership of a small vessel
In case the ownership of a registered small vessel is changed (which has already been furnished with a radio licence which on the date of transfer of ownership is valid), a new licence is issued provided the fee of €17.09 is paid.

HIGH SPEED SMALL VESSELS

General information on high speed small vessels
High speed small vessel means a mechanically propelled vessel of a length not exceeding fifteen (15) meters which can attain a speed of at least fifteen (15) knots.

Jet ski means a High Speed Small Vessel, which is propelled by an outboard engine or an inboard jet propulsion system and in which one, or more persons can by carried either seated or standing on it.

Regulation 3-(1) / P.I 121/199 - Categories of usage of high speed small vessels
High-speed small vessels are classified in the following two categories according to their use:

Category A΄: these are the high-speed small vessels of private use, which are used exclusively for the purposes of entertainment.
Category B΄: these are the high-speed small vessels of public use, which are offered by the registered owners to third parties for a fee.

Regulation 3-(2) / P.I. 121/199- Categories of usage of high speed small vessels
The classification of high speed small vessels into categories in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation, shall be made by the competent authority after inspection either upon registration in accordance with the Emergency Powers (Control of Small Vessels) Regulations or any other legislation amending or substituting the same or upon application by the owner:

Marking of vessels
1. High-speed small vessels must carry the distinctive letters and the registration number of the Register of Small Vessels on the either side of the stern of the vessel and in the case of high-speed small vessels of category B´, the letter “B” will be written after the registration number.

2. The marking of high speed small vessels provided in paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be made as follows:

each digit must be at least 20 centimeters in height and have a proportional width;

if the implementation of the above subparagraph is not possible because of the small size of the vessel, then each digit may be at least five centimeters in height and have a proportional width;

the number shall be placed above the middle of the height of the freeboard of the vessel;

the color of the number must be intensely in contrast with the color of the careen so as to be easily distinguishable from a long distance;

in case the competent authority deems it expedient, it may request the marking of the vessel on a different place and with different dimensions.

Operator license and learner's licence
Learner's license
With reference to Regulation 12 (1) of P.I. 121 of 1999
Every person who has completed seventeen (17) years of age may acquire a learner’s license and may operate a high speed small vessel on the condition that he shall always be accompanied by a person who has an operator΄s license.
Application forms for High Speed Small Vessel Learner’s License (Form 1) from persons over the age of seventeen (17) years should be submitted with:

A passport size photograph
Photocopy of Identity Card or passport
Application fee of €17,09

Operator's license
According to Regulation 13 (1), every person who has completed the eighteen (18) years of age and he / she is already a holder of a valid learner’s license can apply to obtain an operator’s license.

Unless a person is a holder of a certificate or a diploma as per the provisions of Regulation 21, every person wishing to obtain an operator’s license will undergo both practical and theoretical exams (Regulations 19 and 20 respectively). These exams are carried out by nautical clubs (regulations 14 and 15) which are appointed by the Minster of Communications and Works.

The nautical clubs inform all applicants whose forms are accepted and forwarded to them by the Department of Merchant Shipping of the date, time and place of both the practical and theoretical examinations.

Practical examinations are carried out with vessels provided by the nautical clubs.

In order to apply for an examination, every person should submit an application form (Form 2) with:

A certificate of physical fitness issued by a doctor within six months prior to the date of application (Form 3).
A passport size photograph
Photocopy of identity card or passport
Application fee €76,88 (€8,54 for the processing of the application form and €68,34 examination fees)

Persons to be exempted from the obligation of sitting the examinations should also submit the application form (Form 2) accompanied with:

A copy of the certificate or diploma as these is described in Regulation 21.1.
A copy of their passport or identity card.
A passport size photograph.
The application fee of €8,54 for the processing of the application.

Upon completion of both the practical and theoretical examinations, a certificate of success is issued by the club (Form 4) valid only for three (3) months from the date of issue.

All applicants are urged to forward this certificate (Form 4) together with the application form (Form 5A) for the issuance of the operator’s license. Form (Form 5A) is on the back of every certificate of success and should also be used by all applicants either successfully succeeding an examination or exempted from the obligation of sitting an examination.

Note
Temporary visitors staying in Cyprus for a period of less than thirty days (30) and that are not holders of the above licenses, can operate a hired high speed small vessel provided they have signed a binding declaration () with the owner of the vessel who is responsible to examine whether the temporary visitor possesses the necessary knowledge for operating a High Speed Small Vessel according to the requirements of the High Speed Small Vessel Regulations of 1999.

What to do
All forms and documents should be forwarded (in person or by post or postal services) to the Offices of the Department of Merchant Shipping in Limassol. All cheques should be paid to “The Director of Merchant Shipping”.

Circulation License
According to Regulation 8(2) of P.I. 121 of 1999, vessel inspections are classed as follows

Initial inspections [Regulation 8(2) (a)]
Periodical inspections for all category B vessels on a yearly basis for the renewal of their licenses [Regulation 8(2) (b)]
Periodical inspections for all category A vessels every five (5) years for the renewal of their licenses [Regulation 8(2) (c)]
Additional inspections in case a vessel has been damaged or has undergone a construction modification or whenever the competent authority deems appropriate (cases like engine changes, ownership transfer etc) [Regulation 8(2) (d)]

Please be informed that all periodical inspections are carried out with in the first six (6) months of every year [Regulation 8(3)].

Circulation Licenses
According to Regulation 10 (1), all high speed vessels should be furnished with a valid circulation licences when operated. This license is issued after a vessel has undergone a successful inspection.
All vessel owners can apply for inspections using the appropriate form (Form 6) which should be accompanied by

The fee of €51,26 for every vessel
In the case of a category B vessel, a copy of the shore usage permit issued by the Local Authority.

The fees for issuance of Circulation License are the same as for Renewal.

Safety Equipment
For the instructions to the owners of high speed small vessels in accordance with the provisions of the High Speed Small Vessels Laws 56(I) of 1992 and 60(I) of 1999 and Regulations P.I. 121/99 please click here.

Legislation
under construction

Radio license
Usage of a mobile matirime radio station for a small vessel
Α. Issuance of a radio license for a small vessel
According to the Radio Communications Laws of 2002 to 2004 and the Radio Communications Regulations of 2004, the usage of a maritime mobile station must be registered and a usage licence must be issued,

The application form (M.S. 34A) for the registration of a mobile maritime radio station for a small vessel should be submitted to the Offices of the Department of Merchant Shipping and must be accompanied by:

A copy of the certificate of registration (M.S. 36) of a small vessel
The fee of €34.17.

The right for use of radio frequencies (radio license) is issued upon receipt of the above for a period of one (1) year and it is renewed on a yearly basis.

Β. Radio license renewal for a small vessel
The fee for the renewal of the radio license is €17.09.

C. Payments
Payments can be done at the cashier of the Department of Merchant Shipping. Payments by cheque should be done to “The Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping”.

D. Change of ownership of a small vessel
In case the ownership of a registered small vessel is changed (which has already been furnished with a radio licence which on the date of transfer of ownership is valid), a new licence is issued provided the fee of €17.09 is paid.

Safety at sea and safe operation of vessels
under construction

SAFE BOATING AT SEA

The Department of Merchant Shipping encourages all owners of small vessels to advice the webpage with the instructions related to Safety Equipment in accordance with the provisions of the high speed small vessels laws.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Builder's Plate (EN ISO 6185)

Builder's Plate (EN ISO 14945)

Recreational Craft And Propulsion Engines For Recreational Craft-Legislation, Instructions, Provisions and Requirements

Recreational Craft Build for Own Use

LINKS TO OTHER WEBPAGES

Ministry Of Communications And Works

Marine Police

New Approach Directives

Recreational Craft Directives

Notifying Bodies

Cyprus Yachting Association

Cyprus Marine Commerce & Industry Association (CYMCIA)

International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA)

Rapid alert system (RAPEX) under general product safety directive for consumer protection