Virgin Islands Shipping And Maritime Authority

What Virgin Islands Shipping And Maritime Authority does

Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority (VISMA), operating commercially as the Virgin Islands Shipping Registry (VISR), is the statutory maritime authority of the British Virgin Islands, established by the Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority Act, 2023 with remaining provisions brought into force on 10 July 2024. It administers the BVI ship registry, seafarer certification, and licensing of marine operations conducted in BVI waters, operating from its headquarters at 1st Floor, Ritter House, Wickham's Cay II, Road Town, Tortola. The authority is wholly owned by the Government of the Virgin Islands and is ISO 9001 certified (GCS Registrar), aligning its regulatory regime with UK Maritime M-Notices.

Its core service lines are vessel registration (pleasure and commercial, with issuance of Certificates of Registry), seafarer certification (STCW endorsements and Boatmaster qualifications delivered through the bvi.seafarerhq.com online portal), and licensing of BVI-based operations (Coastal Craft and Code Vessels), supplemented by marine notices, marine circulars, and safety alerts. A notable commercial offering is the 84-day European charter window granted to BVI-flagged superyachts, positioning the registry competitively against other open registries.

Revenue is generated through statutory fees for registration, certification, and licensing, billed on a pay-as-you-go basis with payments required prior to service delivery; specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed on the website. The go-to-market is direct: customers transact through office walk-ins at the Road Town headquarters, online registration/login via the authority's portal, and digital application for seafarer credentials. The organization serves vessel owners and operators globally, seafarers seeking BVI endorsements, and BVI-based marine operators, and it has explicitly expanded the universe of jurisdictions it can transact with through the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Name

Virgin Islands Shipping And Maritime Authority

Legal name

Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority

Website

https://bvimaritime.vg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority (VISR) is the BVI government statutory authority that administers vessel registration, seafarer certification, and licensing for marine operations in British Virgin Islands waters, serving global vessel owners, seafarers, and BVI-based marine operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Registry Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (488390)

akta.pro primary industry

Maritime & Port Authorities (Public Ports, Harbors, Ferries Terminals) (BPAIALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classification Society & Flag-State Liaison / Plan Approval Support (IMAJAGAN), Marine Service Provider Coordination (Diving, Inspection, Class/Survey Support) (TLAHAJAI)

Keywords

• Maritime registry services
• Vessel registration
• Seafarer certification
• Maritime licensing
• Shipping regulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Road Town

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Statutory Fees: Fees applicable for vessel registration, seafarer certification, licensing, and other maritime administration services rendered by the Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Administration per statutory fee schedule.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Virgin Islands Shipping And Maritime Authority is the government regulatory body responsible for administering the Virgin Islands Ship Registry and overseeing maritime activities in the British Virgin Islands. It provides vessel registration, seafarer certification and licensing, approvals for BVI-based shipping operations, and issues marine notices and safety alerts to ensure compliance with international maritime standards.

Product overview

The Virgin Islands Shipping & Maritime Authority operates as the BVI government maritime registry, offering a unified platform of vessel registration, seafarer certification, and licensing services. The core offerings include Vessel Registration (for pleasure and commercial vessels), Seafarer Certification (STCW endorsements and Boatmaster qualifications), BVI-Based Operations Licensing (Coastal Craft and Code Vessels), and Marine Notices/Safety Alerts. The authority is regulated under the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2025 and the Virgin Islands Shipping and Maritime Authority Act, 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vessel Registration Official registration of vessels under the British Virgin Islands flag through the Virgin Islands Ship Registry, available to ship owners and operators worldwide.
• Seafarer Certification and Licensing Issuance of certifications, endorsements, and licenses to seafarers qualifying them to serve on Virgin Islands-flagged vessels.
• BVI-Based Operations Licensing Approval and licensing of shipping companies, charter operators, and maritime service providers conducting operations from within the British Virgin Islands.
• Marine Notices and Safety Alerts Issuance of official marine notices, navigational warnings, and safety alerts to vessel operators and seafarers operating in or transiting BVI waters.

Quantifiable outcome

• BVI-flagged superyachts can charter in Europe for 84 days under VISMA provisions

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UK Maritime (M Notices)coreTechnology or IntegrationAdopts UK Maritime Notices and guidance for maritime safety standards and regulatory compliance.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Lloyd's Register: Classification society that works closely with flag states on vessel survey, certification, and plan approval; adjacent peer because VISMA performs flag-state liaison and plan approval functions typically supported by classification societies.

Direct peers

• Bahamas Maritime Authority: Regional Caribbean flag-state authority administering vessel registration and seafarer certification across a similar small-island jurisdiction, making it a directly comparable peer to VISMA.
• Liberian Registry (LISCR): One of the largest open registries globally, offering vessel registration and seafarer certification services structurally identical to VISMA's mandate, with an established international network.
• Malta Maritime Authority: European flag-state authority administering one of the world's largest ship registries; provides vessel registration, seafarer certification, and licensing — the same core services as VISMA but at substantially greater scale.
• Cayman Islands Shipping Registry: A small British Overseas Territory flag registry administering vessel registration and seafarer certification — the closest geographic, structural, and constitutional peer to VISMA.
• Isle of Man Ship Registry: British Crown Dependency ship registry operating under the Red Ensign group with VISMA; offers vessel registration and seafarer certification with comparable scale and a similar statutory-authority model.
• Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator (IRI): The world's largest open ship registry, providing vessel registration, seafarer documentation, and maritime regulatory services comparable to VISMA's core offerings but at vastly greater global scale.
• Bermuda Shipping Registry: British Overseas Territory ship registry providing vessel registration and seafarer services under the same Red Ensign framework as VISMA, with a similar scale and governance structure.
• Panama Maritime Authority: Operates the world's largest ship registry by vessel count; delivers registration and seafarer documentation services that directly mirror VISMA's mandate across a much larger commercial fleet.

Regional players

• UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA): UK regulator whose M-Notices framework VISMA directly adopts; serves as the parent regulatory authority for Red Ensign group registries and is the natural upstream peer for VISMA's standards-setting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vismabvi

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Virgin Islands Shipping And Maritime Authority