Legal Notice & Contacts (Impressum)

Last updated: 15 April 2026.

This page contains the statutory legal information about the operator of the Shkiper service (the "Service") and the consolidated contact channels for users, rights holders, regulators and supervisory authorities. The notice is drafted to comply with §5 of the German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG), §18(2) of the German Interstate Media Treaty (Medienstaatsvertrag, MStV), §5 of the Austrian E-Commerce Act (E-Commerce-Gesetz, ECG), Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, Russian Federal Law No. 152-FZ on Personal Data and the Russian Consumer Rights Protection Law.

The particulars below are current as of the last-updated date. Several items (registration numbers, service address, Roskomnadzor registry number, EU/UK representative details, tax IDs, VAT numbers) are marked [TBD] and will be published as the relevant documents and registrations are completed.

1. Operator of the Service

The Shkiper service (the https://shkiper.app website and the Shkiper mobile applications distributed via the Apple App Store and Google Play) is operated by:

Name: Valentin Valentinovich Morev, sole proprietor (IP Morev Valentin Valentinovich).
Legal form: individual entrepreneur (sole proprietor) registered in the Russian Federation.
Russian State Registration Number (OGRNIP): [TBD] — to be published after the certified extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs is received.
Taxpayer Identification Number (INN): [TBD].
Registered address: Russian Federation. The full postal address for service of correspondence is provided on written request sent to hello@shkiper.app, in accordance with the requirements of applicable law (including §5 DDG, §5 ECG, Federal Law No. 152-FZ and Russian Government Decree No. 2463). Because the operator is a natural person, the residential address is not published on the website; a dedicated service address for legally effective correspondence from Germany and Austria is being arranged separately (see section 3).
Tax regime: Russian Patent Taxation System and/or Simplified Taxation System (USN) — specific regime [TBD]. No VAT is charged under the applicable special tax regime. EU VAT identification numbers (VAT ID / USt-IdNr. under §27a UStG), if obtained under OSS/IOSS registration, will be published in this section.

The operator acts as an independent controller of personal data within the meaning of Art. 4(7) GDPR and as an operator of personal data within the meaning of clause 2 of Art. 3 of Russian Federal Law No. 152-FZ.

2. Contact channels

The primary channel of communication is email. Separate addresses are provided for different types of enquiries: hello@shkiper.app — general enquiries and requests for the official postal address; privacy@shkiper.app — personal data protection matters and exercise of data-subject rights; abuse@shkiper.app — abuse reports, copyright infringement notices (DMCA), and reports of material threatening child safety. Every enquiry is logged and processed in accordance with the service levels set out below.

hello@shkiper.app — general enquiries, address requests, press, partnerships.
privacy@shkiper.app — data-subject requests, interactions with supervisory authorities and Roskomnadzor, cross-border transfer enquiries.
abuse@shkiper.app — Acceptable Use Policy violations, DMCA notices, child-safety reports.
eu-rep@shkiper.app — European Union representative under Art. 27 GDPR.
uk-rep@shkiper.app — United Kingdom representative under Art. 27 UK GDPR.

As the second rapid communication channel required by §5(1)(2) DDG, the operator maintains a web contact form at https://shkiper.app/contact (once deployed) and an in-app support channel. Standard response times are:

General enquiries (hello@): acknowledgement within 3 business days.
Data-protection enquiries (privacy@, eu-rep@, uk-rep@): substantive response within 30 calendar days in accordance with Art. 12(3) GDPR and Art. 20 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ; this period may be extended by 60 days in complex cases with notice to the applicant.
Abuse and DMCA notices (abuse@): acknowledgement of receipt within 5 business days; substantive action within the timelines set by the relevant regime (17 U.S.C. §512, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Russian Federal Law No. 149-FZ).

3. Information for users in Germany (§5 DDG, §18 MStV)

Under §5 of the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, the operator must disclose a full name, a service address for correspondence (P.O. boxes are not permitted), an email address and a second rapid communication channel, and — where applicable — the commercial register, the VAT number under §27a UStG and the Wirtschafts-Identifikationsnummer under §139c AO. As the operator is a sole proprietor registered in the Russian Federation, no entries exist in the German Handelsregister and no identifiers have been issued under §27a UStG or §139c AO; these items are marked "not applicable".

Pursuant to §18(2) MStV, the person responsible (verantwortlich im Sinne des §18 Abs. 2 MStV) for the journalistic-editorial and AI-generated content published on the Shkiper website and mobile applications is Valentin Valentinovich Morev, sole proprietor. Editorial enquiries: hello@shkiper.app. A dedicated service address in the Federal Republic of Germany for delivery of correspondence from users and supervisory authorities is being arranged with a specialised provider and will be published in this section once available; status — [TBD, expected by 15 July 2026].

4. Person responsible for personal-data processing

The internal person responsible for organising personal-data processing under Art. 22.1 of Russian Federal Law No. 152-FZ is Valentin Valentinovich Morev, sole proprietor. Contact: privacy@shkiper.app. The same individual acts as the single point of contact on GDPR / UK GDPR matters on behalf of the controller.

Given the nature and scale of the data processed, the appointment of a separate Data Protection Officer (DPO) under Art. 37 GDPR is not required: the operator does not engage in systematic large-scale monitoring of data subjects and does not process special-category data at a scale triggering the mandatory DPO requirement. The operator reserves the right voluntarily to appoint a DPO in the future.

The Roskomnadzor notification of personal-data processing (Art. 22 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ, mandatory for sole proprietors processing client personal data since 30 May 2025) has been filed / is in the process of being filed. The registry number in the Register of Operators Processing Personal Data is [TBD]; it will be published in this section once entered in the register and will then be verifiable at https://pd.rkn.gov.ru/operators-registry/operators-list/.

5. European Union Representative (Art. 27 GDPR)

Because the operator is established outside the European Union and offers the Service to data subjects located in the EU (Art. 3(2) GDPR), a written representative in the European Union has been designated in accordance with Art. 27 GDPR. The representative serves as an additional contact point for data subjects and supervisory authorities in EU Member States. Representative contact: eu-rep@shkiper.app. The representative's legal name and physical address will be published upon signing of the mandate.

Appointment status: the representative will be designated no later than 15 July 2026. Until the representative's full details are published, EU data subjects may contact the operator directly at privacy@shkiper.app — this does not restrict their GDPR rights. Designation of a representative does not discharge the operator's own liability (Art. 27(5) GDPR).

6. United Kingdom Representative (Art. 27 UK GDPR)

In accordance with Art. 27 UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the operator designates a representative in the United Kingdom to liaise with data subjects located in the UK and with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Representative contact: uk-rep@shkiper.app. Where appropriate, the same provider may act as representative under both GDPR and UK GDPR.

Appointment status: the UK representative will be designated no later than 15 July 2026. Until then, users in the United Kingdom may contact the operator directly at privacy@shkiper.app; the rights granted by the UK GDPR (access, rectification, erasure, portability, objection and others) are not restricted.

7. Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065)

Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act, DSA) applies to "intermediary services": mere-conduit, caching and hosting services storing user-provided content. Shkiper is a service in which the operator provides its own content (texts, images, audio, AI-assistant responses) and does not host user-provided content made available to third parties. For this reason, the operator takes the view that it does not fall within the definition of an intermediary service under Art. 3(g) DSA, and the obligations under Art. 11 (SPoC for authorities), Art. 12 (SPoC for recipients) and Art. 13 (legal representative under the DSA) do not apply.

As a good-faith measure, the operator nonetheless offers a point of contact for competent EU authorities and service recipients: enquiries relating to the Digital Services Act may be sent to hello@shkiper.app with the subject prefix "DSA inquiry". Languages of communication: Russian and English. The operator undertakes to reassess the service's classification should features triggering the definition of intermediary services be introduced (for example, user-to-user discussions or publicly accessible user-generated content).

Link to the European Commission's online platform for consumer dispute resolution (ODR): https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The operator is neither obliged nor willing to participate in proceedings before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of §36 VSBG (Germany).

8. United Kingdom — Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002

In accordance with Regulation 6 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, the operator discloses: (a) trading name — Shkiper; (b) geographical address of the place of business — available on request at hello@shkiper.app; (c) email address — hello@shkiper.app; (d) membership of a professional self-regulating body — not applicable; (e) UK VAT registration number — not applicable (the operator is not registered for UK VAT; should registration under the VAT on e-services regime occur, the number will be published here).

Consumers resident in the United Kingdom enjoy the rights granted by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, including the 14-day right to cancel (see the Refund Policy).

The governing law and jurisdiction for users resident in the United Kingdom are the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales respectively; the mandatory rules of the consumer's country of residence remain unaffected.

9. United States — Designated DMCA Agent

In accordance with 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(2), the operator is in the process of registering a designated agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement in the Designated Agent Directory of the US Copyright Office at https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/. Until registration is completed, all DMCA notices should be sent to abuse@shkiper.app; the form of notice and the counter-notice procedure are set out in the separate DMCA Policy.

In accordance with the CAN-SPAM Act, the operator includes a valid physical postal address of the sender in commercial and transactional electronic messages; this address is made available on request at hello@shkiper.app and will appear in the footer of mailings once the service address has been obtained.

10. Russia — consumer disclosures

In accordance with Art. 9 of Russian Consumer Rights Protection Law No. 2300-1 and Russian Government Decree No. 2463 of 31 December 2020, the operator discloses to consumers: trading name — not registered as a firm name (the Service operates under the brand "Shkiper"); full name of the entrepreneur — Valentin Valentinovich Morev; OGRNIP — [TBD]; INN — [TBD]; registered address — available on request at hello@shkiper.app; operating hours — 24/7 in electronic form; support hours — 10:00 to 19:00 Moscow time, Monday to Friday, excluding Russian public holidays.

For users who are citizens of the Russian Federation, initial recording of personal data takes place on AWS servers in the eu-central-1 region (Frankfurt am Main, Germany). The question of relocating initial recording to infrastructure located within the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 242-FZ) is under review; users who prefer not to use foreign infrastructure may decline to use the Service. Cross-border transfers of personal data are carried out in accordance with Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ.

11. Copyright and infringement notices

All materials on the Shkiper website and applications (texts, layouts, icons, illustrations, audio recordings, source code, trade names and logos), other than materials belonging to third parties and used under licence, are the intellectual property of the operator. Use of such materials without the operator's written consent, beyond the limits of permitted citation and fair use, is prohibited. Claims of copyright infringement are handled in accordance with:

17 U.S.C. §512 (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, United States);
Articles 14–17a of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (notice-and-action procedures);
Article 1253.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Article 15.7 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ.

Notices should be sent to abuse@shkiper.app identifying the work, evidence of rights and the complainant's contact details. Full procedure is set out in the DMCA Policy.

12. Liability for external links and AI-generated content

The Shkiper website and applications may contain links to external resources. In accordance with §7(1) DDG, the operator is responsible for its own content but not for the content of external resources to which links are provided; links are checked against applicable law at the time of posting, but no ongoing monitoring is carried out absent a specific reason. If the operator becomes aware of an infringement, the link will be removed without undue delay.

The Service is an educational tool. Some content is generated by artificial-intelligence algorithms and may contain inaccuracies. Shkiper does not replace professional advice and is not a real-time navigation-support system; use of the Service as the sole source when operating a real vessel is prohibited.

13. Related legal documents

This Impressum should be read together with the other legal documents of the Service:

14. Changes to this notice

The operator may update this legal notice to reflect changes in particulars, representative appointments, registration procedures and applicable law. The last-updated date appears at the top of this document. Archived versions are available on request at hello@shkiper.app.