VIDEO: Success for Ships' Registry as Jersey's largest yacht signs up

Monday 20 March 2017

While Jersey’s aircraft registry hasn’t taken off, it’s been plain sailing for the ships equivalent, which will be welcoming the Island’s largest ever vessel to its collection.

It might not have been constructed yet, but the Ngoni is described as a 58-metre cutter rigged aluminium sloop.

The sleek ship – albeit at a 396 gross tonnage, just 3 tonnes under Jersey’s set limit – is currently being perfected in the Royal Huisman Shipyard in Holland, according to the plans of world-leading yacht designer Ed Dubois.

Jersey, it turns out, was where he designed his first commission, successful racer Borsalino Trois, and its where his last – the Ngoni – will reside following a registration application made to the Ships’ Registry in 2015. 

Take a look at the beauty that @Royal_Huisman is working on! 58m #sailing #yacht Ngoni: https://t.co/3aKBxhIk7s pic.twitter.com/3PauCjlOhh

— SSI ShipConstructor (@SSI_CAD) July 13, 2016

Since then, Ports of Jersey has been in contact with the owner and skipper of the vessel to help bring the transition to Island waters to fruition.

Despite difficulties with the Island’s sky-based registry, which recorded just two sign-ups in 16 months, the sea version has enjoyed more registrations this year than over the past decade.

It now counts over 1,700 in its full register, with an additional 700 recorded on the Small Ships Register – all sailing globally with the Jersey Red Ensign. It features three leopards and a Plantagenet Crown – a throwback to the Island’s links with the British Crown, dating back to the era of King John.

Ports of Jersey Harbourmaster Captain Phil Buckley commented: “It is incredible that this Registry has been operating for more than 200 years, yet its appeal remains as strong today as it was in those early years, when shipbuilding was a leading trade on Jersey’s south and east coasts.”