Insufficient movement

The taxpayer worked aboard the Edda Fjord from April to December 2006. It was a multipurpose supply vessel and worked in the Gulf of Mexico in conjunction with the semi-submersible rig Thunderhorse.

Edda Fjord's role was to supply accommodation for construction workers as well as provide ferrying services and other supplies.

On the basis the vessel qualified as a ship the taxpayer claimed seafarers’ earnings deduction.

HMRC refused the claim saying the Edda Fjord was an offshore installation and used for accommodation within TA 1988 s 837C(2)(f).

The department referred to the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Gouldson v CRC in which the deduction was refused on the ground the vessel was an offshore installation: stationed in water and therefore not a ship.

The First-tier Tribunal said in view of Gouldson and other judgments it was for the taxpayer to show the...