Permanent Registration

In addition to the documents required for a provisional registration, a vessel may be permanently registered or transferred to the permanent registry with the submission of the following documents.

Evidence of Ownership

  • An original copy of the evidence of ownership is required:

    • For a new vessel, the Builder’s Certificate is required.
    • For an existing vessel, the Bill of Sale and a clean* certified transcript of its former registry or any other similar document showing previous ownership are required.
    *Vessel is to be free from all registered encumbrances.
  • If there are any intervening changes in ownership, all the intermediate Bills of Sale must also be submitted. There must be continuity of title.

  • Any Builder Certificate or Bill of Sale that is executed outside Singapore must be notarised and legalised. If executor is not a local and documents are executed in Singapore, a letter of confirmation from the executor or notarisation of the documents is required.

  • It is the vessel owners’ responsibility to ensure that the Bill of Sale or Builder Certificate is properly executed and conveys good title to them.

  • A copy of the original document of title to ownership must be submitted together with a copy. The original document will be returned with an endorsement after completion of the registration formalities.

Tonnage Certificate

  • A copy of the full-term tonnage certificate issued by the MPA’s Shipping Division or one of the authorised classification societies is required.

    • All vessels must have their tonnage determined in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Tonnage) Regulations (which gives effect to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 (TM 69)).

Class Certificate

  • A copy of the full-term classification certificate issued by one of the authorised classification societies may be accepted as evidence of seaworthiness.

Statutory Certificate

  • Where applicable, the owner must produce copies of the vessel’s valid statutory certificates such as:

    • Passenger Ship Safety
    • Cargo Ship Safety Construction
    • Cargo Ship Safety Equipment
    • Cargo Ship Safety Radiotelegraphy/Radiotelephony
    • International Load Line/Local Freeboard
    • International/Singapore Oil Pollution Prevention
    • Noxious Liquid Substance
    • Certificate of Fitness
    • Thirty Mile/Port Limit Passenger Ship Safety Certificates
    • Document of Compliance
    • Safety Management Certificate
    • International Ship Security (ISS) Certificate

  • These certificates must be issued by the MPA’s Shipping Division or one of the authorised classification societies.

Evidence of Cancellation of the Former Registry

  • Where the vessel has, at any point in time, been registered in another country, evidence of cancellation of the former registry is required.

    • The evidence may be in the form of a Deletion Certificate or a ‘closed’ transcript of the former registry.
    • The original document is required.

  • A vessel that has been struck off the former registry for non-compliance with mandatory requirements will not be accepted for registration.

Certified Carving and Marking Note

The Carving and Marking Note certified by a surveyor from the MPA’s Shipping Division or one of the authorised classification societies must be returned to the Registry within 30 days of its issue.

Acceptance of Registration

  • Upon completion of all the formalities, the vessel will be transferred to the Permanent Register and the Certificate of Registry will be issued.

  • No fee is charged for this transfer.

  • Ship managers will be informed via fax or email to collect their Permanent Certificate of Registry in exchange for their Provisional Certificate of Registry.

  • If they are unable to produce the Provisional Certificate upon collection, they may produce an official letter undertaking the return of the Provisional Certificate within the next 30 days.

Checklist of Required Documents

To ensure that you have all the relevant documents for the permanent registration of your vessel, please use the checklist below.

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