In July the luxury super yacht My Trust will sail the Mediterranean under the Dutch flag. The Dutch owned 45‐metre motor yacht My Trust is built by Hakvoort’s in the Netherlands and is constructed specifically for commercial chartering in the Mediterranean and Caribbean waters. My Trust is the first super yacht ever to charter under the new Dutch government guidelines for Commercial Cruising Vessels (CCV) and meets all international standards of safety and pollution measurements. Dutch based shipmanager Q‐Shipping handles the complete yacht management.

The CCV guidelines were initiated by the Dutch government and shipping industry (HISWA) to induce ship owners to fly the Dutch flag on vessels built in the Netherlands. By choosing the CCV guidelines ship owners profit form a zero‐tariff VAT and a 40 percent reduction on the cost of crew salaries. Besides this, ship owners may benefit from the Dutch tonnage tax system – a fixed VAT percentage per tonne – which is also known in merchant shipping.

Advance
The introduction of the tonnage tax system has brought considerable benefits tot the Dutch shipping industry, increasing e.g. the number of Dutch registered vessels fourfold to some seven hundred. “As a result, employment has risen by tens of thousand jobs”, Q‐Shipping CEO Diederic van Keulen adds. “The Netherlands are a front runner in this area. By introducing the CCV they are maintaining their advance.”

The CCV guidelines run along similar thoughts: inducing yacht owners to fly the Dutch flag by offering an attractive fiscal set‐up, thereby boosting the Dutch maritime sector. Ship manager Q‐Shipping’s first‐rate Yacht Management System (YMS) zero’s in on this potentially growing market. YMS by Q‐Shipping is in compliance with the highest international maritime quality criteria, still a fallow field in the world of super yachts.

Waterproof and legal
“Our YMS constitutes a new and unique notion on ship management”, states Diederic van Keulen. It’s an integral system, offering holistic services including commercial management & chartering, crew and labor conditions, administration, technical and nautical support and maintenance. Fully waterproof and in accordance with Dutch law and therefore one hundred percent legal, without being more costly, due to the profitable CCV regulations.Q‐Shipping is leading the way with it’s YMS, e.g. by applying the Maritime Labor Convention, a global standard for the rights and protection of sailors, soon to be obligatory established by the International Labor Organisation (ILO).

Expansion
Q‐Shipping at this time runs 22 vessels, employing some 300 sailors. The ship manager expects to double the size of it’s fleet, consisting of dry cargo vessels, tankers, offshore vessels and super yachts, in 2010. The strategic vision of Q‐Shipping includes extending on the ownership of managed vessels, investing in knowledge and broadening the range of services.