Part II

Registration

General

Registration of ships: basic provisions.
9
1
A ship is entitled to be registered if—
a
it is owned, to the prescribed extent, by persons qualified to own British ships; and
b
such other conditions are satisfied as are prescribed under subsection (2)(b) below;
(and any application for registration is duly made).
2
It shall be for registration regulations—
a
to determine the persons who are qualified to be owners of British ships, or British ships of any class or description, and to prescribe the extent of the ownership required for compliance with subsection (1)(a) above;
b
to prescribe other requirements designed to secure that, taken in conjunction with the requisite ownership, only ships having a British connection are registered.
3
The registrar may, nevertheless, if registration regulations so provide, refuse to register or terminate the registration of a ship if, having regard to any relevant requirements of this Act, he considers it would be inappropriate for the ship to be or, as the case may be, to remain registered.
4
The registrar may, if registration regulations so provide, register a fishing vessel notwithstanding that the requirement of subsection (1)(a) above is not satisfied in relation to a particular owner of a share in the vessel if the vessel otherwise has a British connection.
5
Where a ship becomes registered at a time when it is already registered under the law of a country other than the United Kingdom, the owner of the ship shall take all reasonable steps to secure the termination of the ship’s registration under the law of that country.
6
Subsection (5) above does not apply to a ship which becomes registered on a transfer of registration to the register from a relevant British possession.
7
Any person who contravenes subsection (5) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
8
In this section “the relevant requirements of this Act” means the requirements of this Act (including requirements falling to be complied with after registration) relating to—
a
the condition of ships or their equipment so far as relevant to their safety or any risk of pollution; and
b
the safety, health and welfare of persons employed or engaged in them.
9
In this Part references to a ship’s having a British connection are references to compliance with the conditions of entitlement imposed by subsection (1)(a) and (b) above and “declaration of British connection” is to be construed accordingly.
S. 9 applied (31.3.2023) by The Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/35), arts. 1(1), 4