Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014

Certificate of registry

28. (1) Upon registration of a ship on the Register, a certificate of registry shall be issued by the Minister in respect of the ship.

(2) (a) Following the grant of provisional registration under section 18 (2), the Minister shall issue a certificate of registry in respect of the ship, to be known as a certificate of registry of provisional registration, to the owner of the ship.

(b) A certificate of registry of provisional registration issued under paragraph (a) shall expire—

(i) at a time specified on the certificate, or

(ii) on completion of the construction of the ship,

whichever is sooner, but may be extended, with the approval of the Minister, on application by the owner of the ship to which it relates.

(3) (a) Following the grant of non-operative registration under section 18 (3), the Minister shall issue a certificate of registry in respect of the ship, to be known as a certificate of registry of non-operative registration, to the owner of the ship.

(b) A certificate of registry of non-operative registration issued under paragraph (a) shall expire at a time specified on the certificate.

(4) Subject to this section, a certificate of registry shall—

(a) at all times be carried on board the ship,

(b) only be used for the purpose of the lawful navigation of the ship, and

(c) not be withheld from the ship for any reason (including a claim by an owner, mortgagee, operator, or any other person to any title in, lien or charge on, or interest in the ship).

(5) Where there is a failure to comply with subsection (4)(a), the owner or master of the ship concerned commits an offence.

(6) A person having possession of, or control of, a certificate of registry shall produce the certificate on demand to an authorised person for inspection.

(7) A person who fails to comply with subsection (4)(b) or (c) or (6) commits an offence.

(8) A person who, with intent to deceive or otherwise, uses or attempts to use, or lends to another person a certificate of registry, or utters a document which purports to be such a certificate of registry, commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000.

(9) (a) Where a certificate of registry is mislaid, lost, destroyed, defaced or illegible, the owner or master of the ship may apply to the Minister for a duplicate of the certificate of registry (in this section referred to as a “duplicate certificate”). The application shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee and such documents and information as the Minister may require.

(b) The Minister may grant a duplicate certificate which shall be marked as such, and shall be of the same effect as the original.

(c) Where a duplicate certificate is granted, the original is no longer valid.

(d) If the original certificate of registry is found after the issue of a duplicate, the original certificate shall be surrendered to the Minister.

(10) If, in any proceedings in respect of an offence under this section, the court is of the opinion that the certificate of registry to which the proceedings relate is lost, the court shall make an order to that effect and cause a copy of the order bearing the seal of the court to be served on the Minister.

(11) A certificate of registry, a certificate of registry of provisional registration and a certificate of registry of non-operative registration shall be in an approved form and shall contain such particulars in relation to the ship as may be decided by the Minister from time to time.

(12) (a) Where there is a change in the registration particulars of a ship, the owner shall notify the change to the Minister and provide the supporting documentation prescribed in regulations and the certificate of registry. The Minister shall record the changes on the Register and issue a replacement certificate of registry which shall have the same expiry date as the certificate of registry replaced.

(b) Where the owner of a ship does not inform the Minister of a change in the registration particulars of a ship in accordance with paragraph (a)

(i) the owner commits an offence, and

(ii) the Minister may remove the ship from the Register in accordance with section 21 (2)(m).

(13) A person who commits an offence under subsection (5), (7) or (12)(b)(i)is liable on summary conviction to a class C fine.