REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

The procedure followed for the registration of the vessel is as follows:

1.         Application

After the registration of the Cyprus shipping company an application is submitted to the Registrar of Ships for permission to register the vessel in the Cyprus Registry under the Cyprus flag.  The registration is either provisional, or permanent.  In either case the application must contain the following information:

- present name

- name under which she is purported to be registered (the approval of the Ministry of Communications and Works, for the name, should be obtained).

- time and place ship was built

- name of builders

- port of registry

- registration number

- gross and net tonnage

- type of vessel

- horse power of engine

- length, breadth, depth

- name of classification society

- location of the vessel at the time of application

- declaration of particulars for ISM Code (form ISMO1/revision 02)

- proposed area of employment (e.g. Mediterranean, coastal or world trading)

- names and addresses of the directors of the shipowning company

- names and addresses of the shareholders of the shipowning company

- names and addresses of the sellers

- copy of the certificate of incorporation of the shipowning company

- fax or e-mail confirmation by the Classification Society of the ship that she is seaworthy, and that they are prepared to issue new certificates, on behalf of the Cyprus government, upon registration under the Cyprus flag

- fax or e-mail confirmation by any recognized Accounting Authority undertaking the clearance of the radio maritime accounts of the ship - the names of any other vessels under Cyprus flag which are owned by the same shipowner

2.        Provisional registration

Once approval for the provisional registration of the vessel is granted by the Registrar of Ships, such registration may then take place either in Cyprus or in any of the Cyprus Consulates aboard.  Such Consulates are found almost all over the world.  The provisional registration is valid only for six (6) months originally and may be extended only for another three months.

For the provisional registration the following documents, duly legalized, must be submitted.

- A Deletion Certificate of the ship from the previous Registry (in the case of the ship being new, a certificate from the ship builders is required in lieu of the Deletion Certificate).  In case such certificate is not at the time available, the Registrar accepts instead, and until the permanent registration, a certificate issued by the previous registry stating that the vessel is free from any mortgages and other encumbrances.

- A declaration of ownership in a prescribed form.

- Title of ownership (construction certificate / bill of sale/judgment or minutes in case the ship was sold in public auction/or court order or any other legal document proving ownership).

- A certificate that the vessel maintains her class or in case of vessels under 500 grt a certificate of seaworthiness.  In case of a vessel being laid up a certificate that the vessel maintained her class until the day she was laid up.

- Forms MS12 or MS12A or MS12B (according to the type of vessel) together with the MS 1 (Certificate of Measurement), MS3 (declaration of ownership), MS10 (ships husband), and MS34 (radio licence application)

- Application for possession and operation of wireless telecommunication.

- Written confirmation by a recognized Accounting Authority undertaking the clearance of the radio maritime accounts.

- Directors resolution for the purchase of the vessel.

- Power of Attorney in favour of a person to conclude the provisional registration

3.        Permanent Registration

The permanent registration must be completed within nine (9) months from the date of the provisional registration.

For the permanent registration the following additional certificates are required to be lodged with the Registrar of Ships or with the Consul:

- an application to that effect

- deletion certificate (if not filed with the application for the provisional registration)

- Tonnage Certificate (form MS12 or MS12A or MS12B)

- Certificate of Survey (form MS1 or MS1A)

- Copy of the Agreement with the Accounting Authority

- Ship’s Carving and Marketing Note (form MS32)

- Ship’s statutory certificates (certified copies)

Before the registration of a vessel the carving and marking note must be properly signed and stamped and the name of the vessel must appear clearly according to International standards and practice.

The international or statutory certificates which are required by Cyprus Law are those required by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1960 and the International Load Line Convention 1966.  Therefore, the following certificates are required:

- Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate

- Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate

- Cargo Ship Safety Radiotelegraph and/or Cargo Ship Safety Radiotelephony Certificate

- Load lines Certificate

- Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate

- Safety Security Certificate

- Passenger Ship Safety Certificate

- Safety Management Certificate

The Classification Societies recognized in Cyprus are:

- Lloyds Register of Shipping, London (UK) – (LRS)

- American Bureau of Shipping, New York (USA) –  (ABS)

- Det Norske Veritas, Oslo (Norway) – (DNV)

- Bureau Veritas, Paris (France) – (BV)

- Germanischer Lloyd, Berlin (GER) – (GL)

- Registro Italiano Navale, Rome (Italy) – (RINA)

- Hellenic Register of Shipping (Greece) (HRS)

- Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, Tokyo (Japan) – (NKK)

- Russian Maritime Register of Shipping – (RS)

- Korean Register of Shipping – (KRS)

- China Classification Society – (CCS)

- Cyprus Bureau of Shipping – (CBS)