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The Executive Power of the Argentine Republic issued the Decree of Necessity and Urgency 340/2025, which was published in the Official Gazette on May 21, 2025, approving the “Exception Regime for the National Merchant Navy.”
Among its main provisions:
✔ National shipowners, as well as foreign shipowners receiving national flag treatment, are authorized to temporarily suspend the Argentine flag in order to register vessels under foreign registries for a maximum period of ten (10) years.
✔ The vessel’s crew composition shall be determined by the shipowner, in accordance with the type of operation and the vessel’s characteristics, without prejudice to the authority of the Argentine Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval Argentina) to establish minimum safe manning requirements in accordance with international technical standards.
✔ Maritime and inland navigation are declared essential public services. Consequently, operators are required to ensure the provision of minimum services that guarantee the continuity of operations and contribute to the sector’s efficiency and competitiveness.Labor requirements are relaxed and bureaucratic obstacles eliminated to promote competitiveness in the industry.
Furthermore, the regime allows for the granting of temporary permits to foreign-flagged vessels to operate in domestic cabotage services for up to one hundred eighty (180) days, renewable, in the absence of available national-flagged vessels.
You may access the full text of the Decree and its Annexes by following this link.
The team of IT&L
∗This publication is for informational purposes only. For further details or legal advice on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
