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Shipping and aviation in Chile: maritime cabotage after Ley Nº 21.774, Chilean vessel registration, cargo reserve by reciprocity, and open air cabotage

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Maritime cargo cabotage between Chilean points is reserved to Chilean vessels, with exceptions. Ley Nº 21.774 of November 2025 widened those exceptions: tenders open to foreign ships now start above 3,000 tonnes (up from 900), foreign lines may run regular services where no Chilean line does, and ships unloading imports may carry domestic cargo on their way out. Some changes phase in, and they apply in the far south only from November 2028. The same law dropped the requirement that a company registering a Chilean flag ship be majority Chilean owned and Chilean managed. Domicile and real seat in Chile are now enough. Air transport is far more open. Domestic and international services may be run by Chilean or foreign airlines that meet technical and insurance requirements, and since 2012 the civil aviation board has declared that it will not require reciprocity for foreign airlines flying domestic routes.

Values in this page are tonnes, metres, percentages and days, so no currency conversion is needed.

Key facts

Cargo volume above which foreign vessels may carry maritime cabotage after a public tender	3,000 tonnesDL Nº 3.059 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum length of foreign vessels used under the cabotage exceptions	120 metresDL Nº 3.059 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum passenger capacity for foreign cruise ships in passenger cabotage (general rule)	400 passengersDL Nº 3.059 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Date from which regular foreign services and exit route cabotage apply in Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes	2028-11-20 dateLey Nº 21.774 second transitory article, as of 2026-10-26 · pending
Cargo reserve for Chilean vessels in bilateral trades with countries that reserve cargo	50 %DL Nº 3.059 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Majority Chilean capital required for a company to register a Chilean vessel	No textDL Nº 2.222 art. 11, as amended by Ley Nº 21.774, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Domestic air cabotage open to foreign airlines without reciprocity	Yes textDL Nº 2.564 art. 1; JAC Res. Ex. Nº 63 of 2012, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Cabotage is maritime, river or lake transport of cargo between points in Chile, and between those points and installations in the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone. Foreign trade cargo moved between Chilean ports and empty containers are not cabotage. Cabotage is reserved to Chilean vessels, with these exceptions. Foreign vessels may carry cabotage cargo above 3,000 tonnes after a public tender by the cargo owner, which bidders may challenge before the Ministry of Transport within three business days. For 3,000 tonnes or less, the Maritime Authority must authorise foreign vessels of 120 metres or more when no Chilean flag vessel is available, and must authorise foreign vessels for passenger only transport. In a constitutional state of emergency or catastrophe, foreign flag vessels may be authorised for 15 days, extendable twice. The local Maritime Authority may exclude a foreign vessel that endangers safety or the environment.
Cost to do it: Cost of running a public tender for cargo over 3,000 tonnes; no State fee.Decreto Ley Nº 3.059 of 1979, Ley de Fomento a la Marina Mercante, as amended by Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 3, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.774, published on 19 November 2025, replaced art. 3. The tender threshold for foreign vessels rose from over 900 tonnes to over 3,000 tonnes. The foreign bid uplift equal to the general tariff rate was dropped. Foreign vessels used under the exceptions must be at least 120 metres long. Regular foreign services and exit route cabotage were added (rule 2).

2. Foreign shipping lines may run regular cabotage services between Chilean ports only where no Chilean line provides regular services there. The Maritime Authority authorises them for one year, renewable once for six months, plus six more months if the line shows it is incorporating in Chile. After that the service must use Chilean flag vessels under Chilean rules, and the exception is limited to vessels of 120 metres or more. Foreign vessels arriving from abroad that unload cargo in a Chilean port may also carry cabotage cargo on their exit route, following the itinerary reported to the Maritime Authority, but never more domestic cargo than the foreign trade cargo they unloaded. The exit route exception phases in at 50 percent of unloaded cargo in the first year and 100 percent from the second. The regular service and exit route exceptions apply to cabotage between points in Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes only three years after publication, from 20 November 2028.
Cost to do it: No fee; itinerary and vessel data must be published on the line's website.Decreto Ley Nº 3.059 of 1979, as amended by Ley Nº 21.774, DL Nº 3.059 art. 3 paragraphs 3 to 5; Ley Nº 21.774 second and third transitory articles, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New exceptions created by Ley Nº 21.774 of 19 November 2025, with phase in rules in its transitory articles and an implementing regulation due within 12 months of publication.

3. Foreign cruise ships may take part in passenger cabotage between ports if they carry 400 or more passengers, have overnight accommodation and carry passengers for tourism. Smaller foreign ships meeting the other conditions may do so between ports from Arica y Parinacota to Los Ríos. The between ports condition does not apply to calls at the Juan Fernández Archipelago and Easter Island.
Cost to do it: No fee under this article.Decreto Ley Nº 3.059 of 1979, as amended by Ley Nº 21.138 and Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 3 paragraph 2, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. To register a vessel in Chile its owner must be Chilean. A company is considered Chilean if it has its principal domicile and real and effective seat in Chile. A co owned vessel is Chilean if most co owners are Chilean, domiciled and resident in Chile, and most rights belong to Chilean persons. Special vessels other than fishing vessels may also be registered by foreign persons domiciled in Chile with their main place of business there. By reciprocity, the Maritime Authority may exempt fishing companies incorporated in Chile with majority foreign capital, with prior certification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Cost to do it: Registration costs with the Maritime Authority; no capital nationality requirement.Decreto Ley Nº 2.222 of 1978, Ley de Navegación, as amended by Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 11, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.774 art. 2, published on 19 November 2025, removed the requirements that a ship owning company's president, manager and most directors be Chilean and that most of its capital belong to Chilean persons, and the similar requirements for other owners, leaving domicile and real seat in Chile as the test for companies.

5. For maritime cargo to and from Chile, access of foreign vessels follows reciprocity. 50 percent of cargo to or from Chile is reserved to Chilean vessels only in bilateral trades with countries that reserve all or part of their cargo with Chile to their own fleet. The share rises or falls with the other country's reserve. The reserve applies only if a suitable vessel serves within the regulatory term and its rate is not above the user's best offer. Bareboat chartered vessels of 120 metres or more with a purchase option, up to five years old, may count as Chilean, as may vessels chartered for up to six months, within limits.
Cost to do it: Shippers in reserved trades must ask all registered Chilean lines for quotes.Decreto Ley Nº 3.059 of 1979, as amended by Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 4 and art. 6, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Domestic and international air transport and all other commercial air services may be performed by Chilean or foreign companies that meet the technical requirements of the Civil Aviation Directorate and the insurance requirements of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC). For international routes, foreign airlines operate if the other States give similar conditions to Chilean airlines. For domestic services, the JAC may end, suspend or limit services by foreign airlines whose home country does not give Chilean airlines equal treatment. By Resolución Exenta Nº 63 of 2012, the JAC reaffirmed free access to domestic air cabotage without reciprocity, declared that it will not consider reciprocity to end, suspend or limit a foreign airline's cabotage, and committed to give foreign airlines the same facilities as Chilean ones.
Cost to do it: Technical certification and insurance; no nationality requirement for domestic routes.Decreto Ley Nº 2.564 of 1979, dicta normas sobre aviación comercial; Resolución Exenta Nº 63 of 2012, Junta de Aeronáutica Civil, DL Nº 2.564 art. 1 and art. 2; Res. Ex. Nº 63 resolutions 1 to 3, 2012-01-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Ley Nº 21.774 states that it does not change the regime for navigation in inland waters under Chilean law and under the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Chile and Argentina, promulgated by Decreto Nº 401 of 1985 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Cost to do it: No cost; cross border navigation questions with Argentina stay under the treaty regime.Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 3, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Situation	Before 19 November 2025	From 19 November 2025
Cargo above the threshold	Over 900 t: foreign vessels via public tender, with foreign bids uplifted by the general tariff rate	Over 3,000 t: foreign vessels via public tender, no uplift
Cargo at or below the threshold, no Chilean vessel available	900 t or less: Maritime Authority authorises a foreign vessel	3,000 t or less: authorises a foreign vessel of 120 m or more
Regular services where no Chilean line operates	Not provided	Foreign line for 1 year plus 6 and 6 months, then Chilean flag (far south from 20 November 2028)
Exit route cargo after unloading imports	Not provided	Up to the foreign trade cargo unloaded, phased 50% then 100% (far south from 20 November 2028)
Company registering a Chilean vessel	Chilean management and majority Chilean capital	Domicile and real seat in Chile

Maritime cargo cabotage before and after Ley Nº 21.774 (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3)

Worked example

A mining company needs to move 2,500 tonnes of concentrate from Antofagasta to a smelter port in central Chile. Before Ley Nº 21.774 it could tender to foreign ships because the cargo exceeded 900 tonnes. Now the threshold is 3,000 tonnes, so it must use a Chilean vessel, unless none is available, in which case the Maritime Authority must authorise a foreign vessel of at least 120 metres (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3).
A foreign container line unloads 1,000 tonnes of imports in San Antonio and sails north. In the first year of the exit route exception it may carry up to 500 tonnes of domestic cargo to northern ports, and from the second year up to 1,000 tonnes (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3; Ley Nº 21.774 third transitory article).
A foreign investor can own 100 percent of a Chilean shipping company that registers vessels under the Chilean flag, provided the company is domiciled and has its real seat in Chile (DL Nº 2.222 art. 11).
A foreign low cost airline can fly Santiago to Punta Arenas after certification by the Civil Aviation Directorate and meeting JAC insurance rules, without its home country granting reciprocity (DL Nº 2.564 art. 1; JAC Res. Ex. Nº 63 of 2012).

Step by step

1. Classify the voyage: foreign trade cargo between Chilean ports and empty containers are not cabotage (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3).
2. For domestic cargo, check Chilean flag availability; above 3,000 tonnes, run a public tender with due notice if foreign bids are wanted.
3. For a foreign regular service, apply to the Maritime Authority and plan the move to a Chilean company and flag within the authorisation periods.
4. To register vessels, incorporate a Chilean company with principal domicile and real seat in Chile (DL Nº 2.222 art. 11; see entities/choosing-an-entity).
5. For air services, obtain Civil Aviation Directorate technical approval and JAC insurance compliance (DL Nº 2.564 art. 1).

Common traps

Relying on the old 900 tonne tender threshold: since 19 November 2025 tenders open to foreign ships start above 3,000 tonnes (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3).
Using the new regular service or exit route exceptions in Los Lagos, Aysén or Magallanes before 20 November 2028 (Ley Nº 21.774 second transitory article).
Carrying more domestic exit route cargo than the foreign trade cargo unloaded, or more than 50 percent of it in the first year (DL Nº 3.059 art. 3; Ley Nº 21.774 third transitory article).
Assuming Ley Nº 21.774 changed inland water navigation shared with Argentina: it expressly did not (Ley Nº 21.774 art. 3).
Using a foreign fishing vessel: the registration exception for foreign persons excludes fishing vessels, and fishing vessels must be registered in Chile (DL Nº 2.222 art. 11; see sectors/fisheries-and-aquaculture).

Sources

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