What to name your yacht?

Legal aspects of choosing a yacht name

The main legal aspect is that only one yacht with a specific name can fly the flag of one country. That is, there cannot be two Laura yachts flying the French flag. How to get around this point?

Literally change one letter in the name of the yacht or add an adjective. The peculiarities of maritime legislation allow this. Another option is to replace Laura with Leura. Or instead of Laura you can call the yacht Princess Laura or Laura of France. 

Returning to the region (country) of flag registration. As already mentioned, the name of the yacht must be unique for the region in which the yacht is registered. However, no one is stopping you from finding a region where the Laura yacht is still not available. This is also a way to bypass the title restriction by simply registering your yacht in another country.

Location of the name on the yacht

There are also different requirements regarding the location of the name on board the yacht. Thus, some jurisdictions require the name to be on the stern. Others - the location of the name strictly on board and at the stern with the obligatory application of the yacht’s registration number.

It’s interesting that there are requirements for fonts, but they differ slightly from country to country. Basically you want your yacht's name to be readable from a distance and the color of the name to be contrasting.

The uniqueness of the yacht's name

Also an important aspect of choosing a name is assessing the uniqueness of this name. A great option is to use vessel tracking tools such as VesselFinder or MarineTraffic. These services offer convenient tools for searching ships by name.

Pay attention to the prevalence of the name you choose. If there are too many yachts and small vessels under a specific name, then you should think about changing the name. The name of the yacht not only reflects the level of imagination of the owner, but also conveys the uniqueness of each yacht. 

In addition, choose several options for yacht names and present them to your registrar. Authorized persons will ensure that there are no yachts with the same name and that the chosen name is suitable for registering a new boat.

Convenience of the yacht name

Keep in mind that when communicating via a VHF station you will not only have to say the name of the yacht, but also use the International Radiotelephone Phonetic Alphabet (ICAO). This aspect is also called title spelling. Spelling involves pronouncing each individual letter of a name in accordance with ICAO. That is, the name of the yacht Laura will be spelled as:

Lima
Alfa
Uniform
Romeo
Alfa

The convenience of the name is extremely important, imagine how long it will take to spell the name Symphony of Friendship. 

More advice on choosing a yacht name was given by Sasha Goron from the Interparus team in our new video! A must-see for all yachting enthusiasts.

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20.11.2023