What is ship registration?
According to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.”What is flag state?
According to international laws every merchant ship has to be registered in a country. The country in this case is called the ship’s flag state. A ship is bound to be 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 monitors the vessel. For example the responsible country under which the ship is registered need to inspect the ship regularly, certify the ship’s equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents.
What is registry?
The organization which actually registers the ship is known as its registry. Registries may be governmental or private agencies. For example in case of Bangladesh ship registration is done by Mercantile Marine Department ( http://mmd.gov.bd/) which is a government organization. It is under the ministry of shipping of Bangladesh government. In some cases, such as the United States’ Alternative Compliance Program, the registry can assign a third party to administer inspections.
What is traditional or national registry?
A registry that is open only to ships of its own nation is known as a traditional or national registry.
What is open registry?
Registries that are open to foreign-owned ships are known as open registries.
History of ship registration
Ship registration started when the business on the seas has become important. At first ship registration’s aim was to control ships carrying cargo in European seaborne countries. It was used to make sure ships were being built in the local country, with majority of the crews recruited from local country. Since then, ship registration has been used to document ships for ownership . Documentation provides definite evidence of nationality for international purposes and provides financing opportunities with the availability of preferred mortgages on documented vessels.
Requirements of Ship registration
Vessels which travel internationally or cross international borders are required to be registered. Vessels that travel only local waters need not to be registered. But these domestic vessels need to be registered with the national registry. The nationality of ships depends on in which country it is registered and the country of registry of the ship also set the rules and regulations of the ship and its crew member.
The types of vessels that can be registered at a particular registry or country is dependent on rules of that registry. For example, in case of Liberian registry seagoing vessels need to be more than 500 net tons to conduct foreign trade.
Maritime Law
In order to regulate ship movement either in sea or in domestic water there are a few Maritime law. Here are a few laws:
- There must be a genuine link between a vessel and its flag state. Article 5(1) of the Geneva Convention on the High Seasof 1958, which came into effect in 1962, requires that “the state must effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its fla There are 63 states party to that convention.
- In 1986, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Developmentattempted to solidify the genuine link concept in the United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships.[8] The Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships would require that a flag state be linked to its ships either by having an economic stake in the ownership of its ships or by providing mariners to crew the ships.[8] To come into force, the 1986 treaty requires 40 signatories whose combined tonnage exceeds 25% of the world total.[8] To date, only 14 countries have signed the treaty.
- National or closed registries typically require that a ship be owned and constructed by national interests, and at least partially crewed by its citizens. Open registries do not have such requirements; some offer on-line registration, sometimes guaranteeing completion in less than a day.
What is Unflagged vessels?
Ships operated illegally, such as by pirates, or narco submarines, are not normally registered by the operators (although a registered ship may be captured or used covertly for illegal purposes).
What is Marine surveyor?
According to Wikipedia A Marine surveyor (including “Yacht & Small Craft Surveyor”, “Hull & Machinery Surveyor” and/or “Cargo Surveyor”) is a person who conducts inspections, surveys or examinations of marine vessels to assess, monitor and report on their condition and the products on them, as well as inspects damage caused to both vessels and cargo. Marine surveyors also inspect equipment intended for new or existing vessels to ensure compliance with various standards or specifications. Marine surveys typically include the structure, machinery and equipment (navigational, safety, radio, etc.) and general condition of a vessel and/or cargo. It also includes judging materials on board and their condition.
As stated earlier in Bangladesh mercantile marine department which is a government organization under the ministry of shipping handle all the tasks of ship registration, ship monitoring, implementing both domestic and international maritime laws.
Mercantile Marine department mission:
To ensure safe, secure and environmentally responsible shipping that meets global challenges and also, to cater economic needs of Bangladesh by supporting growth of maritime activities in the country.
Mercantile Marine Department vision:
To build a poverty free and prosperous Bangladesh having all kinds of maritime activities including a safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible shipping of international reputation.
Unlocklive a software company located in Dhaka, Bangladesh developed a site for this organization (http://mmd.gov.bd/) The organization Mercantile Marine department keeps all of its necessary information in this site and as the site is dynamic they can update the information at any time. Here are a few very important information they easily store and display by this website:
Both foreign going vessels and vessels plying on domestic water need to be registered under this organization. The organization keeps information of these vessels under the registration sub-menu
- Other information like issuance of certificate, implementations of IMO conventions, NOC, Laws and Rules, Voyage License, detaining officer, receiver of wreck , Beaching permission, investigation of accident every necessary information is displayed and updated by the site.
Another important task of Mercantile Marine Department is survey organizations that build ships and issue no objection certificate. They update this information by the site and display to the people.
This organization is doing very important task of ship registration and survey in Bangladesh. Unlocklive play an important role for them by developing the site http://mmd.gov.bd/ which is fully functional according to their exact need.