With over 40 years of experience supporting clients in the acquisition, ownership, and sale of high value assets, we’ve developed a deep understanding of what drives peace of mind in this space. Whether it’s business aircraft, fine art, luxury vehicles or yachts, our expertise ensures that every high value asset is managed with precision and purpose.
In this article, we place a spotlight on the Isle of Man and its Triskelion.
The Isle of Man has maritime prowess, regulatory excellence and a quality flag of choice.
The Triskelion stands firm globally. The Isle of Man Ship Registry (IOMSR) is a gold standard, smart, quality leading responsive choice for superyacht owners!
Symbolism of the Isle of Man Triskelion
The IOM Triskelion three running armoured legs symbolise momentum, agility, and relentless forward motion, officially three armoured legs conjoined at the thigh, running in a clockwise direction, set against a red field. Additionally the design was to be balanced with one leg directly planted at the bottom symbolising grounding and gravitas.
This ancient symbol predates heraldry and was used by Mycenaeans, Lycians, and notably by Greeks in Sicily – known historically as Trinacria, meaning ‘three-cornered’, just like the Isle of Man’s shape.
Symbolising perpetual forward motion it is ideal for yacht owners who value speed, exploration, and cutting-edge technology and shares symbolism with modern day propellers. In fact it is a Norse/Viking symbol in yacht culture, this mirrors the pursuit of new horizons, robust corporate ownership solutions, whether in travel, business or innovation.
The three-legged symbol evokes triangulation – a nod to navigation, nautical geometry, indeed in Norse mythology it is a symbol of the movement of the sun through the heavens. And equally in Celtic/Norse mythology water, air and fire, or the wave of sea, the breath of wind, and the flame of fire.
The triadic symmetry represents strength and equilibrium, much like a well-engineered super yacht cutting through waves. For high net worth individuals, it subtly conveys control, resilience, and a well-balanced lifestyle, both at sea and in global ventures, symbolising sophisticated ownership.
It’s clearly a badge of individuality, blending ancient symbolism with modern luxury.
There is a strong sense of pride and independence amongst the Manx and local tradition who comment on the rotation of the triskelion in a clockwise direction with older Manx joking to say this clockwise direction is in order that we do not kneel to the British. But actually the rotations were to symbolise victory and also follow the path of the sun running east to west.
The UK Board of Trade initially referred to it as a ‘Fancy flag’. Historically too globally people in the Norse world knew to beware if the flag is displayed anti clockwise or with a medusas head in the middle as that is the hostile war flag.
The motto of the Isle of Man, which often accompanies the arms, is the Latin Quocunque jeceris stabit, which means ‘whichever way you throw it, it will stand’, referring to the triskelion and with the armoured legs; a nod to the robust corporate ownership solutions available on the island.
Ports of registry
There are four IOM ports of registry open to yacht owners:
- Castletown
- Douglas
- Peel
- Ramsey
Getting ownership and tax advice from qualified experienced professionals in advance of purchasing a yacht is critical. Yacht owners change their mission, operations and residencies, however owners can be confident that the IOM is one of the most flexible jurisdictions for yacht and jet owners through the life of the yacht, every owner and yacht is different and flag registration and ownership solution must be customised to the owner, mission and yacht.
With deep expertise in aviation, yachting, and fiduciary services, the IOM is the ultimate jurisdiction for owners seeking privacy, efficiency, and stability.
Whether you’re buying, selling, or looking to own a high value asset such as a yacht, Martyn Fiddler offers tailored solutions backed by decades of experience. Contact martin@martynfiddler.com to explore how we can support your specific goals with confidence.
In our next article, we focus on the IOM as the convenient choice for super and mega yachts with helicopter operations, since the Isle of Man (IOM) also has a quality aviation M-Reg register for both helicopters and business aircraft.
