Are you a yacht owner aching to show off your patriotism by raising the american flag on your vessel? Good news, now you can.
On August 13, 2018, Trump signed legislation that will now allow americans owning yachts of 300 GT or more to fly the American flag on their vessels. This updates a law written back in 1920 that described yachts as vessels weighing a maximum of 300 GT.
“This has been a significant issue that the U.S. Superyacht Association (USSA) has spent nearly a decade working to correct,” said Kate Pearson, USSA Chair and vice president of business development of Safe Harbor Marinas. “We are thrilled to have been an integral part of helping to finally make it a reality and are pleased that yacht owners will no longer be chased from American shores to other countries to flag their vessels.”
Many yacht owners have worked to personally exemplify their yachts in the past by pursuing acts of congress. However, going to congress is expensive for most and not a permanent solution. Thanks to individual, such as Tilman J. Ferrtitta, start of the TV show “Billion Dollar Buyout and owner of Landry’s Restaurants and the Houston Rockets, everyone will be able to enjoy the benefits of flying the american flag on their yachts within the United States.
“Getting this accomplished wouldn’t have been possible without the vision and support of Mr. Fertitta, an American yachtsman now building his fifth yacht, and his team, who wanted nothing more than to register his yacht in the United States,” continued McGowan. “Mr. Fertitta could have gotten an exemption for his yacht individually, but he chose to help the entire U.S. industry and for that, we are extremely grateful. This legislative action, spearheaded by Congressman Rob Bishop of Utah, is the icing on the cake that dozens of volunteers from our organization have been working on for years and is evidence that cooperative work between both the private and public sectors can truly effect positive change for our industry in the United States.”
The legislation received a large amount of support from congress, hopefully meaning that improvements will eventually be made to the law for yachts of less than 300 GT in the future, but for now, yachts weighing 300 GT or more celebrate this win by waving their american flags proudly from their vessels.
For More Information
Ussuperyacht.com
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