Amendments to the Merchants Shipping Act

By virtue of the recent amendments to the Merchant Shipping Act, a merchant vessel of 500 GT and over may have her certificate of registry with a validity period of 5 years as opposed to the ‘normal’ 12 month period.

Other amendments include the addition of the word ‘lessee’ to article 19A, which regulates the issue of the certificate in the name of the charterers.  Also, included is when the certificate of registry is issued in the name of the charterer or the lessee, the registered owner and the registered mortgagee may withdraw their consent for the certificate in the name of the charterer or the lessee and the certificate will cease to have effect.

Article 84H has also been amended to remove the objection to the extension of the bareboat charter by the underlying registry, by the owners and by the registered mortgagees and instead the law now reads that the charterer needs to provide the consent of the underlying register, the owners and the registered mortgagees.