Audio: Impact Of Sanctions/Aircraft Register

Minister of Transport Lawrence Scott will be delivering remarks in the House of Assembly today [March 4] on “Impact of the Sanction Regime against Russia on the Bermuda Civil Aviation’s Aircraft Register.”

We will update with the full statement as able, and in the meantime the live audio will start below when he starts to speak, we are not sure of the time, we ‘guesstimate’ this could be at around 10.30am – 11am.

The Premier previously said, “There are approximately 900 aircraft on the Registry of which approximately 740 are utilized by Russian air operators.

“The majority of these aircraft are owned by leasing companies based in Ireland. The leasing companies require a jurisdiction with unquestionable rule of law and a judicial system to enable collections in the event of default, and that is why Bermuda is their jurisdiction of choice.

“The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority is carefully reviewing sanctions in coordination with other stakeholders to ensure that they and relevant entities which it regulates are in full compliance with the applicable sanctions whilst maintaining its safety oversight obligations.

“While the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority continues to review sanctions, there is no question that the number of aircraft on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry utilized by Russian air operators will be greatly impacted.”

Update 11.44am: The Minister’s full statement follows below:

Mr. Speak, the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority [BCAA], is responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of aviation in Bermuda and all aircraft on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry [the Registry]. As such, BCAA is currently assessing how the recent global sanctions imposed against Russia will impact the Registry.

Mr. Speaker, the situation regarding the sanctions is very fluid. Therefore, I aim to provide an update in the near future. Meanwhile, I will share the current impact to the Register and advise that the information is solely speaking to the financial effects of the sanctions on the Registry and not the foreign policy behind the sanctions.

Mr. Speaker, at present, there are approximately 484 aircraft on the Registry with entities incorporated in Ireland through leasing companies; 174 aircraft registered to entities incorporated in Bermuda; 5 aircraft registered to United Kingdom [UK] or other Overseas Territories [OT] entities; and the remaining aircraft of approximately 85, are registered to other qualified entities incorporated mainly in European Union [EU] Member States. UK sanctions and by extension to Bermuda, would only apply to entities incorporated in UK, except where there is funding from an EU bank or an EU director on the Board. Sanctions on other entities would depend on sanctions declared by the State of incorporation. For example, when EU sanctions were established on Belarus, a sanction required Irish leasing companies to withdraw their aircraft utilized by Belarus air operators.

Mr. Speaker, UK, US and European officials have introduced an extensive package of financial sanctions on Russia. Many of the major Russian banks have been banned from the SWIFT system, making it difficult for BCAA to receive payment for regulatory services. It goes without saying financial sanctions are complex; as such, BCAA has engaged its legal counsel to ensure that it does not violate these sanctions.

Mr. Speaker, I want to stress that the information I have shared today speaks solely to the financial impact of the sanctions on Bermuda and not the foreign policy behind the sanctions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

#BermudaPolitics #Europe #InvasionofUkraine #Russia

Category: All, News