Ship registration

History

Ship registration has been done since business on the seas has been important. Originally meant to control ships carrying cargo in European seafaring countries, it was used to make sure ships were being built in the local country, with crews predominantly of the local country. Since then, ship registration has been used to document ships for ownership. Documentation provides definite evidence of nationality for international purposes and provides financing opportunities with the availability of preferred mortgages on documented vessels.

Requirements for registration

Vessels that operate internationally or cross international borders are required to be registered. Some jurisdictions also require vessels that only operate in territorial waters to register on their national register, and some forbid foreign-flagged vessels from trading between ports within the country (a practice known as cabotage). The country of registration is a ship's flag state and determines its nationality as well as which country's laws govern its operation and the behavior of its crew. A country will specify legal requirements for registration of a ship in its domestic laws, for example, in the UK, the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 details British law on entitlement for ship registration, including qualifications, pre-conditions and the machinery for registration.

Each registry has its own rules as to the types of vessels that it will accept for registration. The Liberian Registry, for example, registers seagoing vessels of more than 500 net tons that conduct foreign trade. Vessels over the age of 20 require a waiver as well as the vessel's classification society being willing to issue statutory certificates to the vessel. Vessels 15 years or older must have a Status Report of the vessel's Special Survey to be reviewed by Marine Safety. Registries charge a registration fee.

Link to flag state

There must be a "genuine link" between a vessel and its flag state. Article 5(1) of the Geneva Convention on the High Seas of 1958, which came into effect in 1962, requires that "the state must effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag." There are 63 states party to that Convention. The principle was repeated in Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS), which came into effect in 1994. That Convention has 167 parties.

In 1986, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development attempted to solidify the genuine link concept in the United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships. The Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships would require that a flag state be linked to its ships either by having an economic stake in the ownership of its ships or by providing mariners to crew the ships. To come into force, the 1986 treaty requires 40 signatories whose combined tonnage exceeds 25% of the world total. To date, only 14 countries have signed the treaty.

National or closed registries typically require that a ship be owned by national interests, and at least partially crewed by its citizens. Open registries do not have such requirements; some offer on-line registration, and one guaranteed completion in less than a day.

Unflagged vessels

Ships operated illegally, such as by pirates, or narco-submarines, are not normally registered by the operators (although a registered ship may be captured or used covertly for illegal purposes).

References

References

1. (2010-09-30). "A Guide to Ship Registration". Maritime New Zealand.
2. ICFTU et al., 2002, p. 7.
3. "U.S. Coast Guard Alternative Compliance Program". United States Coast Guard.
4. "Registration of merchant ships". The National Archives.
5. USCG National Vessel Documentation Center. "Frequently Asked Questions: General Information".
6. Hill, Christopher Julius Starforth. (1998). "Maritime Law". Lloyd's of London Press Limited.
7. "Question Listing for Vessel Registration". LISCR.
8. D'Andrea 2006, p.2.
9. D'Andrea 2006, p.6.
10. Neff, 2007.