Backed by our expertise, high level of service, our dedication as well as our contacts within the shipping industry in various flag state, “Marine Licence and Consultancy” is uniquely able to offer an integrated service for our clients’ shipping requirements.
As a one-stop shop, “Marine Licence and Consultancy” is one of the specialists in shipping services with the necessary expertise to handle a variety of services including the registration under various flag.
Flag State
The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one jurisdiction, but may change the jurisdiction in which it is registered. The flag state has the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under its flag, including those relating to inspection, certification, and issuance of safety and pollution prevention documents. As a ship operates under the laws of its flag state, these laws are applicable if the ship is involved in an admiralty case.
The term “flag of convenience” describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a state other than that of the ship’s owners, and flying that state’s civil ensign on the ship. Ships may be registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs, or else to avoid the regulations of, or inspection and scrutiny by, the country of the original owner. Normally the nationality (i.e., flag) of the ship determines the taxing jurisdiction.
Since the Flag Right Declaration of 1921, it has been recognised that all states—including land-locked countries—have a right to maintain a ship register and be a ship’s flag state. Because of the failure of some flag states to comply with their survey and certification responsibilities, especially flag-of-convenience states that have delegated their task to classification societies, a number of states have since 1982 established port state controls of foreign-registered ships entering their jurisdiction.
Ship Registration
Ship registration is the process by which a ship is documented and given the nationality of the country to which the ship has been documented. The nationality allows a ship to travel internationally as it is proof of ownership of the vessel.
International law requires that every ship be registered in a country, called its flag state. A ship is subject to the law of its flag state. It is usual to say that the ship sails under the flag of the country of registration.
A ship’s flag state exercises regulatory control over the vessel and is required to inspect it regularly, certify the ship’s equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents. The organization which actually registers the ship is known as its registry. Registries may be governmental or private agencies.
A register that is open only to ships of its own nation is known as a traditional or national register. Registers that are open to foreign-owned ships are known as open registries and are sometimes called flags of convenience.
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.