Malta confirmed with largest maritime registry in Europe, to introduce e-certificates for vessels

Over 2024, Malta’s Ship Register grew by almost 10%, confirming that Malta’s maritime sector has continued strengthening its position internationally. In the first quarter of 2025, Malta eclipsed 10,000 registered vessels.

The Transport Ministry issued a statement on Friday, reading that “our country’s position has been confirmed as the largest maritime registry in Europe and the sixth largest in the world.” In addition, Malta also holds the largest superyacht registry globally.

While announcing this news on Friday morning, Transport Minister Chris Bonett shared – with Transport Malta’s chief executive Kurt Farrugia and the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, Ivan Tabone, beside him – that, as of this June, Malta will be undertaking a new system of electronic certificates (e-certificates) for all ships and yachts registered in Malta.

This means that on 1 June 2025, all shipowners and yacht owners will be offered digital certificates for their vessels registered under the Maltese flag.

Minister Bonett said that this decision has been taken in order to make Malta more competitive within the maritime industry – a sector that keeps demanding increased efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.

“As a maritime country, we have an obligation to recognise that old-fashioned systems do not always serve today’s world,” the Transport Minister said, “The digitalisation process will lead to increased efficiency without sacrificing the security of sensitive information, as these certificates will be verifiable through QR codes and other security technologies.”

Minister Bonett continued that the country can “continue to break record after record” in this sector by growing with clearly outlined goals and while always keeping in mind the quality of the service it offers plus upholding the registry’s integrity.

Transport Malta CEO Kurt Farrugia said that “this project is a natural extension of what we started in 2021 with e-certificates for sailors.” He added that in this regard, Malta has already exceeded 93,000 digital documents, and with ships and yachts being integrated into this system soon, Malta is ensuring that the country remains competitive while adhering to all international obligations.

In practice, this change means that the owners of ships and/or yachts can receive their certificates directly through digital/electronic means, without needing to visit Transport Malta’s offices.

The Transport Ministry stated that these e-certificates are compliant with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) standards and provide a high level of verifiability and security.