Yachting has been one of the firm’s early fields of expertise. Indeed the firm has had wide experience in dealing with the construction, sale and lease of (commercial and private) yachts and mega yachts.
The firm’s work in the area covers:

• Private and commercial yacht registration;
• Registration of mortgages and ship finance services;
• Yacht importation and export and custom clearance and duties;
• Yacht financing;
• Yacht building contracts;
• Repair and refit agreements;
• Sale and purchase contracts;
• Leasing and chartering agreements;
• Setting up Yacht and Vessel Management Companies and Charter Companies;
• Tax compliance (particularly with VAT obligations);
• Regulatory compliance; and
• Employment of the crew.

The firm has the capacity to advise yachting clients on their requirements, bring forward the many issues of regulatory and tax concern in this highly-regulated area and do so for both the short and the long term.

Recent highlights include:

• Tax, VAT and regulatory compliance of repairs made to 60m M/Y Titan in Greece.
• The acquisition of 30m M/Y Elisa from a Greek yachting company.
• Acting for a wide range of regulatory, leasing, employment and tax issues regarding 57m M/Y Insignia.
• Acting for Aegean Yachting, owner of 46m M/Y Vera, in a claim over statutory charges against a local marina.
• Acting for insurance company DAS in claim against local marina over the total loss of a 15m sailing yacht in the Greek western coast.