This law gives a period of 12 months from its publication to update the regulations of the Merchant Marine Promotion Law.
On November 19, 2025, Law No. 21,774 was published in the Official Gazette, introducing various amendments to the Merchant Marine Promotion Law (D.L. No. 3,059, of 1979) and the Navigation Law (D.L. No. 2,222, of 1978).
The purpose of this law is to promote competition in the domestic market by making maritime cabotage more flexible, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to participate in this market with fewer obstacles.
In this way, it seeks to promote competition, reducing freight rates and optimizing the use of the sea as a means of transport.
Among other matters, this law regulates:
- Limitation of cabotage to Chilean vessels, as existed prior to this law, but establishes new situations for the participation of foreign vessels, including:
- It makes the public bidding process for cargoes greater than 3,000 tons more flexible and transparent, establishing clear rules for awarding contracts and a time-limited complaint procedure.
- It broadens the criteria for authorization for cargoes under 3,000 tons, if Chilean ships are not available, with the aim of allowing greater competition.
- It allows regular cabotage services by foreign ships only if there are no equivalent routes provided by Chilean shipping companies, with a requirement to change to the Chilean flag after a maximum of two years of operation (one year renewable).
- Cabotage after unloading foreign trade cargo, provided that the cargo does not exceed that unloaded at national ports and that it is carried out on the departure route.
2. Passenger transport by foreign vessels: Cabotage remains possible if vessels have a capacity for more than 400 passengers and overnight stays, without requiring that this be exclusively between ports, allowing stops at Juan Fernández and Easter Island.
3. Concept of cabotage: The transport of empty containers or foreign trade cargo between national ports will not be considered cabotage, unless the service is provided by Chilean ships. Consequently, this will make the national logistics system more competitive and agile, while maintaining priority for Chilean ships when they are already offering the service.
4. Modernization of the reputation regime for foreign ships as Chilean:
- Requirements for bareboat chartering are simplified to allow Chilean companies to more easily incorporate foreign ships into their fleets, enhancing their operational capacity without having to purchase them and with fewer bureaucratic barriers.
- The temporary reputation of bareboat chartered vessels is regulated for new experimental services for new shipping traffic to locations where there is no regular Chilean service.
5. Reforms to the Navigation Law: Nationality requirements for directors, managers, and partners of Chilean shipping companies are eliminated, encouraging foreign investment, but the requirement of Chilean nationality for the owner to register a ship under the national flag is maintained.
Finally, it is important to mention that this law gives a period of 12 months from its publication to update the regulations of the Merchant Marine Promotion Law (D.L. No. 3,059, of 1979).
Although most of the amendments introduced by this law come into force upon its publication, there are some that will have a deferred effective date.
For more information on the scope and implications of this regulation, please contact our Corporate and Business team:
Álvaro Rosenblut | Partner | arosenblut@az.cl
Stephanie Cruz | Legal & Business Director | scruz@az.cl
Macarena Waidele | Senior Associate | mwaidele@az.cl
Raimundo Busquet | Associate | rbusquet@az.cl
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