US Flag Vessel in European Waters

[Birdy]

Hi everyone!

I’ve looked this topic up numerous times and I think I somewhat figure it out. But it’s quite complicated and I wouldn’t mind some more relevant input.

Here’s the situation. We have a US flagged vessel that was built in UK in 1983. She was flagged British up to 2019. All crew (cruising family) have double passports US/European.

Here’s my understanding of the law:

1) VAT: As our boat is 30+ years old we are exempt from any VAT taxes or potential fines ~ grandfathered in. (VAT was paid both in UK and in US by previous owners.)

2) Schengen - irrelevant to us as we have double passports.

3) checking in with foreign flag - Is this something we MUST do each time we change countries within the EU? Or are we exempt due to our situation?

4) Must we comply with the 18month rule? Is simply showing up with our vessel in Montenegro/Gibraltar resetting the 18 month rule?

How do we go about all this? Do we need any extra paperwork to support all this? For example, is there such a thing as paperwork that states the exemption status of our vessel due to age?

If anyone has any good links to formal government websites with info about this, I would greatly appreciate it. Our situation isn’t quite cookie cutter (as so many things on boating).

I believe I have it figured out, but it always seems like quite the hassle and I keep questioning myself.

Thank you for your input!