Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014

Naming, power to disallow proposed names and change of name

25. (1) A ship name is required for ships to be registered on the Register as may be determined by the Minister in regulations from time to time.

(2) A ship shall not be described by any name other than that by which it is registered.

(3) Where regulations under subsection (1) require the name of a ship to be registered on the Register, an application for registration of the ship name shall be submitted for the approval of the Minister in the case of a ship that is proposed to be registered on the Register.

(4) A ship name shall be provided to the Minister in the English or Irish language or, if it is in another language, it shall be accompanied by a translation of that name into the English or Irish language.

(5) The Minister may refuse to approve any name proposed to be registered on the Register if that name—

(a) is the name of a ship registered on the Register,

(b) is the name approved by the Minister in respect of another ship that is in the course of registration on the Register,

(c) in the opinion of the Minister is likely to be confused with a name that is registered on or in the course of registration on the Register,

(d) in the opinion of the Minister is likely to cause offence or to be offensive or is likely to prejudice the international relations of the State, or

(e) contains any prefix that the Minister considers to be unnecessary or undesirable.

(6) The Minister may make regulations in relation to the use of prefixes generally and to provide for prefixes for certain categories of ships.

(7) An application for approval of a change in the name of a registered ship or a ship that is the subject of an application for registration on the Register shall be made to the Minister in an approved form.

(8) The Minister may refuse to approve any proposed change of name of a registered ship or a ship that is the subject of an application for registration on the Register if it is a name that may be refused under subsection (5).

(9) Where the Minister approves under this section a change of name of a ship—

(a) the owner of the ship shall alter the ship’s markings so that it is marked with the new name as if it were being marked for registration under section 26 ,

(b) the Minister shall cause the name change to be entered in the Register and endorsed on the ship’s certificate of registry.

(10) Where a ship has ceased to be registered and an application is made to register the ship again, the ship name by which the ship was previously registered shall be used, unless the Minister decides otherwise in accordance with subsection (5).

(11) In the case of a foreign ship, a person shall not apply to register such ship under this Act except by the name it bears as a foreign ship, unless the Minister decides otherwise in accordance with subsection (5).

(12) Where a ship name or a change of name is approved by the Minister under this section, a notification of that approval shall be sent to the owner of the ship.

(13) Where a ship name has been approved under this section but the ship registration is not completed, the ship name shall only remain approved for a period specified in the approval (if any), after such time the ship name approval shall lapse.

(14) A person who names a ship in contravention of this section commits an offence.