The Red Ensign Group

The Red Ensign Group is the collective name for the shipping registers of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. A vessel entered on any of them flies the red ensign, which is why owners and their advisors often speak of the group rather than of the individual register.

The group is coordinated through a secretariat housed at the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Members meet as a group, work to a shared quality standard, and agree between themselves which categories of vessel each register is able to take.

For a yacht owner the practical effect of membership is the flag itself and the group standard behind it. The register remains the member's own. It sets its own charges, its own survey and manning requirements, and its own eligibility conditions, and those differ from one member to the next.