OREANDA-NEWS. May 05, 2014. The last genuine cargo ship has been unregistered in Estonia in favor of the Isle of Man, with owners citing the nation's unfriendly tax policy.

All other Baltic Sea nations have tax breaks for sailors, but staff registered on Estonian ships have to pay income and social tax, Postimees reported, adding that in Sweden and Finland, for example, sailors do not pay a social tax and Estonian ships lose their edge over rivals.

According to nautical economic experts, each sailor creates three jobs on land, but the Estonian Ministry of Finance said the nation should not go along with such schemes and focus on sectors which serve society with tax and fare rules.