Registration of Ships

8/18/2019 Registration of Ships

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/registration-of-ships 1/16

REGISTRATION OFSHIPS

Relevant Excerpts of the UNCLOS 1982 & Shipping Act 1987of Trinidad and Tobago



NATIONALITY OF SHIPS

• ARTICLE 91

• Every State shall fix the conditions for the grantof its nationality to ships for the registration of

ships in its territory and for the right to fly itsflag. Ships have the nationality of the Statewhose flag they are entitled to fly. There mustexist a genuine link between the State and theShip.

• Every state shall issue to ships which it hasgranted the right to fly its flag documents to thateffect.



STATUS OF SHIPS•

ARTICLE 92• Ships sail under the flag of one State only and save in

exceptional cases expressly provided for ininternational treaties or in this convention, shall besubject to its exclusive jurisdiction in the High Seas. A

ship may not change its flag during a voyage or while ina port of call, save in the case of a real transfer ofownerships or change in registry.

• A ship which sails under the flags of two or more States

using them according to convenience, may not claimany of the nationalities in question with respect to anyother State and may be assimilated to a ship withoutnationality.



SHIPPING ACT 1987

Registration and Licensing ofShips

Transfers, mortgages andMaritime Liens

Manning and Certification

Collisions and safetyprecautions

SOLAS

Load Lines

Carriage of BulkCargoes

Dangerous Goods

Seaworthiness of Ships

Wrecks and Salvage

Limitation and Divisionof Liability

Administration of the Act



Registration

Section 4: The following person are qualified to

register their vessels in T&T

Nationals of T&T

Citizens of Caricom States

Individuals or corporations owning ships hired

out to nationals of T&T on bareboat charter

Individuals or corporations in bona fide joint

venture shipping enterprise relationships withnationals of T&T

Such other person as the Minister may by Order

determine



QUALIFICATION TO OWN A T&T SHIP

• 8. (1) A person shall not be entitled to beregistered as owner of a Trinidad and Tobago ship or of a sharetherein until he, or in the case of a corporation, a person authorisedon behalf of the corporation, has made and signed a declaration ofownership referring to the ship as described in the Certificate ofSurvey and containing the following particulars:

• (a) his full name and address;• (b) a statement of the number of shares in the ship of

which he or the corporation, as the case may be, is entitled to beregistered as owner;

• (c) a declaration that, to the best of his knowledge andbelief, the owner of the ship or every owner of every share therein is

a person qualified to own a Trinidad and Tobago ship.• (2) A declaration of ownership by an individual owner

and a declaration of ownership on behalf of a corporation as owner,shall each be made in the prescribed form



Registration Requirements

• In addition to the declaration of ownership the following must be

produced to the Registrar on the first registration of a ship:

• In the case of a ship built in the Caribbean:

• A builders certificate

• The proper denomination and tonnage of the ship

• The time when and place where the ship was built

• The name of the person on whose account the ships was built and



• (ii) if there has been any sale, the bill of sale under which the ship,or a share therein, has become vested in the applicant for registration;

• (b) in the case of a ship built outside the Caribbean Community,the same evidence as in the case of a ship built within the Community,unless the person who makes the declaration of ownership declaresthat the time and place of the building of the ship are not known tohim, or that the builder’s certificate cannot be produced, in whichcase only the bill of sale under which the shares in the ship becamevested in the applicant for registration, shall be produced;

• (c) in the case of a ship condemned by a competent Court, anofficial copy of the order of condemnation.

• (2) In the case of every ship built in Trinidad and Tobago, thebuilder shall, if requested to do so, deliver to the owner a signedcertificate containing the particulars specified in paragraph (a) of

subsection (1).

• (3) If any builder fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) orwilfully makes a false statement in a certificate given thereunder, he isguilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of five thousand dollars.



Prior De-registration

• Subject to subsection (2), a ship which is or has beenregistered in any State shall not be eligible

• for registration under this Act unless:

• (a) a certificate has been issued by suchState to the effect that the ship has beenderegistered; or

• (b) a certificate has been issued by suchState to the effect that the ship will be deregisteredon the day that the new registration is effected.

• (2) The Minister may in his discretion waivethe provisions of subsection (1) where any personapplying for registration of a ship provides reasonssatisfactory to the Minister for his inability or failureto comply with the said provisions.



• 11. Subject to section 10 a ship shall not beregistered as a Trinidad and Tobago ship unless the

foreign registration is cancelled, and the registrationof a ship shall be cancelled if at any time it—

• (a) appears to be registered also in a foreign

registry;

• (b) ceases to comply with the qualificationsfor the ownership of Trinidad and Tobagoships as required by section 5;

• (c) appears to have been lost or broken up



• 12. The Registrar shall not permit the

deregistration of a ship without the consent inwriting of all of the holders of mortgages andpreference rights in the said ship registeredunder this Act.

• 13. (1) The port of Port-of-Spainshall be the Port of Registry for the registrationof ships.

• (2) The Minister may by Order declare

any other port of Trinidad and Tobago as a Portof Registry.



• 14. (1)The Registrar of Ships shall keep such register books as maybe deemed necessary, including the following:

(a) a register book for merchant ships;

(b) a register book for fishing vessels;(c) a register book for ships under construction.• • (2) Entries in those books shall be made in accordance with the following

provisions:• (a) the property in a ship shall be divided into sixty-four shares;

• (b) subject to the provisions of this Part with respect to joint ownersor owners by transmission, not more than sixty-four individuals shall beentitled to be registered at the same time as owners of any one ship;but this provision shall not affect the beneficial title of any number ofindividuals or of any corporation represented by or claiming under orthrough any registered owner or joint owner;

• (c) a person shall not be entitled to be registered as owner of afractional part of a share in a ship; but any number of persons notexceeding five may be registered as joint owners of a ship or of anyshare or shares therein;

• (d) joint owners shall be considered as constituting one person only asregards the persons entitled to be registered, and shall not be entitledto dispose in severalty of any interest in a ship, or in any share thereinin respect of which they are registered;

• (e) a corporation may be registered as owner by its corporate name.



• (3) As soon as the requirements of this Part preliminary to registrationhave been complied with, the Registrar shall enter in the register book thefollowing particulars respecting the ship:

•

(a) the name of the ship and the previous name and registry, if any;• (b) the details contained in the Certificate of Survey;

• (c) the particulars respecting its origin stated in the declaration ofownership;

• (d) the name, address, occupation and nationality of its ownerand where there is more than one owner what share in the ship

is held by each;

• (e) the Port of Registry or home port and the official number oridentity mark;

• (f) the international call sign of the ship, where one isassigned;

• (g) the name of the builders, place and year of building of the ship;

• (h) the description of the main technical characteristics of the ship;

• (i) details with respect to any mortgages.



• (4) Only those individual owners, joint owners, and corporationsrecorded as owners in the register books shall be regarded as owners ofthe ship or part thereof.

• (5) The Registrar shall keep a record in the manner approved by theMinister of —

• (a) the date of deletion or suspension of the previousregistration of the ship;

• (b) the name, address and, as appropriate, the nationality ofthe bareboat charterer;

• (c) maritime liens or other charges.

• (6) On the registration of a ship, the Registrar shall retain in hispossession the following documents:

(a) the Certificate of Survey;

(b) the builder’s certificate, if any; (c) all declarations of ownership;

(d) any bill of sale of the ship previously made;

(e) the copy of the condemnation, if any;

(f) the notice of name of the ship;

(g) the application for registration.



• (7) Any person may, upon payment of the prescribed

fee, have access to the register book at any Port of

Registry at any reasonable time during the hours of

official attendance of the Registrar.



EFECT OF REGISTRATION•

Gives an entitlement to all the privileges of a T&T ship

• An owner cannot by failing to regiser, evade duties cast onsuch vessels.

• Proof of title: prima facie evidence of the registeredowner being the true owner

• Prospective buyers can search the registry for anyencumbrances that may be registered against the vessel.

• When a vessel is transferred all part owners must join inthe conveyance.

Registration of Ships

Documents

Transcript of Registration of Ships