A ship is Finnish and entitled to fly the Finnish flag if a Finnish citizen or a Finnish legal person owns more than 60 per cent of the ship. If a foreign-owned ship meets the conditions laid down in the Maritime Act, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom may approve the ship as Finnish. Traficom also makes the decisions on applications that concern ships with a home port in Åland.
Finnish ships must be registered in the Transport register if the conditions for registration are met. A ship may also be entered in the register of ships of a country belonging to the European Economic Area if the registration is permitted under the legislation of the country in question. Traficom may permit the registration of a Finnish ship outside the European Economic Area if the conditions laid down in the Maritime Act are met.
Traficom will cancel the approval or permit if the prerequisites for issuing the permit are no longer met or the conditions laid down for the permit are not fulfilled.
Provisions on the nationality of ships are laid down in chapter 1, sections 1 and 1a of the Maritime Act (991/2018) (in Finnish). The nationality of a vessel registered as a watercraft is also determined according to the Maritime Act.
Approving a ship as Finnish
A ship can be approved as Finnish if the following conditions are met:
- A citizen of a country belonging to the European Economic Area, or a legal person whose registered office, central administration or principal place of business is located in the European Economic Area, owns more than 60 per cent of the ship.
- The ship is directed and operated from Finland.
- If the owner does not direct or operate the ship from Finland, the owner must appoint an agent with a home municipality and domicile in Finland to manage the task.
- The ship is deleted from the register of ships of another state for the period during which it is registered in the Finnish register of ships.
If the owner of the ship is not Finnish or a citizen of a country belonging to the European Economic Area, or a legal person, the ship can be approved as Finnish if the following conditions are met:
- It can be reliably verified on the basis of the ownership, management, credit or charter relationships of the ship that Finnish parties have a decisive influence on how the ship is used in maritime service.
- The ship is deleted from the register of ships of another state for the period during which it is registered in the Finnish register of ships.
- The ship meets the requirements laid down for new ships in ship safety regulations.
- It is determined that the registration of the ship will promote Finland's maritime industry and provide employment opportunities in the sector.
If the ship does not have any Finnish owners, Finnish citizens must be represented in the shipowner's management bodies or they must otherwise have an opportunity to take part in the decision-making process. A ship may be approved as Finnish for a maximum of two years at a time.
Registering a ship in the register of ships of a European Economic Area member state
A Finnish ship can be transferred to the register of ships of another European Economic Area member state if the legislation of the country in question allows for this. The ship must be removed from the Finnish register before it can be registered abroad
Entering a ship in the register of ships of a country outside the European Economic Area
A Finnish ship may be entered in the register of ships of a country outside the European Economic Area in accordance with the legislation of the country in question if the following conditions are met:
- The ship has been built in Finland and it is entered in the register of ships of such a country immediately after it has been completed.
- There is a genuine connection between the ship and the country of registration in matters concerning the ownership, control or operations of the ship.
- It is determined that there are strong reasons for registering the ship that are connected with the promotion of the Finnish shipbuilding industry and the creation of job opportunities.
The permit to transfer the ship to the register of ships of another country is granted for a limited period, which may not exceed the period of validity of the charter party covering the operations or control of the ship. The ship may not be transferred to the register of a third country during the validity of the permit