German flag completely reimburses non-wage labour costs for shipowners from 2017

The German flag becomes even more competitive from 1st January: in the future shipowners can have their paid employers’ contribution to social security fully reimbursed. Mostly shipping companies operating ships under German flag engaged in international maritime navigation and which pay social security contributions for their seafarers in Germany will profit from this subsidisation by the federal government.

So far the federal government paid shipping companies on application generalised subsidies to cover their non-wage labour costs. For the next year maritime shipping companies can apply for subsidies covering their employers’ contributions to social security. Additionally, newly introduced is the reimbursement of non-wage labour costs for shipping companies flying the flag of an EU/EEA member state registered in a German shipping register of sea-going ships. Prerequisite is that their seafarers are insured in the German social security by the insurance by power of an area of the law (Ausstrahlungsversicherung).

Shipping companies can apply for the reimbursement of non-wage labour costs for 2017 from now on at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). The concrete requirements for subsidisation are included in “Richtlinie zur Senkung der Lohnnebenkosten in der Seeschifffahrt vom 28.10.2016” (guidelines of 28^th October 2016 on the reduction of non-wage labour costs in ocean shipping).

The reimbursement of the complete non-wage labour costs is the last component of a package of measures of the federal government to strengthen the training and employment in Germany as a place of maritime importance.

More information in our rubric "Financial matters".