| When we first arrived in Turkey a year ago, we were surprised to see so many boats with American flags, as we hadn�t seen that many U.S. flags before during our entire time in the Mediterranean. It wasn�t until much later that we understood the reasoning. Believe it or not, boats can actually be registered in the United States online in the state of Delaware. Because of this, some Turks use Delaware and the U.S. as a tax dodge, some Israeli cruising boats use Delaware and the U.S. flag for safety reasons, and Turks buying older cruising boats use Delaware as their port of registry as they�re unable to get a Turkish registration. We were once moored next to a Turkish couple in Yacht Marine on an older cruising boat. He was a retired Turkish Naval officer, and everyday he would proudly put up his U.S. flag upon arising and then retire it again in the evening. It was such fun to see. |
