Registering Vessels

Ocean vessels that facilitate in the transportation of international freight shipping must be registered with a home nation in order to do so. The best analogy for this type of registration would be by comparing vessels to individual people who are citizens of a nation. Citizens must obtain a passport from their nation of origin in order to travel abroad. Likewise, ships must obtain a certificate in order to engage in freight shipping across international waters. This is usually a required document for the vessels. Most freight shippers are not well aware of this document, but your freight forwarder is well aware of it.

There is no uniform certificate of registry for every single nation. Each nation can have their own laws regarding registries and the required documentation. Generally, the certificate of registry is typed and not hand-written. Most of the certificates of registry include the name of the owner, the nationality of the ship and the date of registration, as well as other important details. The certificates of registry are not free. The ocean container carriers have to pay a fee in order to get the certificate. There is also a replacement fee if the certificate gets lost.

There are also two distinct kinds of registries. One is a national registry, which is available only to ships that are from that nation. An open registry is available for ships that are from other countries. Shippers should understand the importance of the certificate of registry and the role the document plays in registering ships for trade around the World.