On 24/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 24/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 24/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 14/07/1995.
PART II
SINGAPORE REGISTRY
7. This Part shall not apply to any fishing vessel, that is to say, any ship which is for the time being used for fishing or processing fish.
8.
—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing the conditions for the registration of a ship as a Singapore ship.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations made under this section may make provision —
(a)
describing the persons qualified to own Singapore ships or any share therein (referred to in this Part as persons qualified to own Singapore ships);
(b)
requiring a corporation having a share capital to have a minimum amount of paid-up capital;
(c)
limiting the age and tonnage of a ship;
(d)
requiring a corporate owner to disclose to the Registrar such particulars and in such manner as may be specified before making an application to register a ship; and
(e)
empowering the Registrar to close the registry of a Singapore ship and cancel its certificate of registry for any contravention of the regulations.
(3) The Registrar may refuse to register any ship as a Singapore ship without assigning any reason.
9.
—(1) The Director shall be the Registrar of Singapore ships.
(2) The Registrar shall keep a register of ships registered as Singapore ships under the provisions of this Part in accordance with the following provisions:
(a)
the property in a ship may be divided into any number of shares and such number shall not be changed unless the ship is registered anew;
(b)
a person shall not be entitled to be registered as an owner of a fractional part of a share in the ship;
(c)
joint owners shall be considered as constituting one person only as regards the persons entitled to be registered, and shall not be entitled to dispose of in severalty any interest in a ship or in any share therein in respect of which they are registered; and
(d)
a corporation may be registered as an owner by its corporate name.
10.
—(1) Every ship shall, before registry, be marked permanently and conspicuously to the satisfaction of the Registrar as follows:
(a)
its name shall be marked on each of its bows, and its name and the name of its port of registry shall be marked on its stern, on a dark ground in white or yellow letters or on a light ground in black letters, such letters to be of a length not less than one decimetre and of proportionate breadth;
(b)
its official number shall be cut in on its main beam; and
(c)
a scale of decimetres, or of metres and decimetres, denoting its draught of water shall be marked on each side of its stem and of its stern post —
(i)
in figures at two-decimetre intervals, if the scale is in decimetres;
(ii)
in figures at each metre interval and at intervening two-decimetre intervals, if the scale is in metres and decimetres; and
(iii)
the capital letter “M” being placed after each metre figure; the top figure of the scale showing both the metre and (except where it marks a full metre interval) the decimetre figure; the lower line of figures, or figures and letters (as the case may be), coinciding with the draught line denoted thereby, the figures and letters being not less than one decimetre in length and being marked by being cut in and painted white or yellow on a dark ground, or in such other way as the Director may approve.
(2) The Registrar may exempt any ship or class of ships from all or any of the requirements of this section.
(3) If the scale showing a ship’s draught of water is in any respect inaccurate, so as to be likely to mislead, the owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
11.
—(1) An application for the registry of a ship shall be —
(a)
made in writing by the person applying to be registered as owner or by some other person on his behalf; and
(b)
submitted together with the declaration of ownership, the document of title to the ship, evidence of the cancellation of any foreign registry, the ship’s tonnage certificate, a certificate specifying the ship’s build and such other particulars as the Registrar may require, such evidence of seaworthiness as may be specified in the regulations made under section 45 and such other document relating to the ship as the Registrar may require.
(2) A person shall not be entitled to be registered as owner of a ship or of a share therein until he, or, in the case of a corporation, the person authorised under this Act to make declarations on behalf of the corporation, has made and signed a declaration of ownership in the prescribed form and containing the following particulars:
(a)
the name of the ship and its gross and net tonnages and such other particulars as may be prescribed;
(b)
a statement of his qualification to own a Singapore ship, or, in the case of a corporation, such circumstances of the constitution and business thereof as prove it to be qualified to own a Singapore ship;
(c)
a statement of the time when and the place where the ship was built, or, if the time and the place of building are unknown, a statement that the declarant does not know the time and place of its building;
(d)
a statement as to the owner of the ship and his citizenship and, if the ship is owned by more than one person, the number of shares each of them is entitled to; and
(e)
a declaration that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, no unqualified person is entitled as owner to any legal or beneficial interest in the ship or any share therein.
12.
—(1) The Registrar may provisionally register a ship and grant a provisional certificate of registry if the application under section 11 is not accompanied by the document of title, evidence of cancellation of any foreign registry, the tonnage certificate or such other document as the Registrar may determine.
(2) The provisional registry of a ship shall be valid for a maximum period of one year from the date of issue and the provisions of this Act and any other written law shall apply to a ship provisionally registered under this section, its owner and provisional certificate of registry as they apply to a Singapore ship, its owner and certificate of registry.
13.
—(1) The Registrar shall, if he is satisfied that the requirements preliminary to registry, whether provisional or otherwise, have been complied with by the applicant for the registry of a ship and upon payment of the fees specified in section 14, enter in the register the following particulars of the ship:
(a)
the name of the ship and the port to which it belongs;
(b)
the ship’s build and other particulars descriptive of the identity of the ship;
(c)
the particulars respecting its origin stated in the declaration of ownership; and
(d)
the name and description of its owner and, if there are more owners than one, the proportions in which they are interested in the ship.
(2) The Registrar may, at any time, make any other entries in the register as he considers necessary.
14.
—(1) The fee for the initial registration or registration anew of a ship registered under this Part shall be $2.50 per net ton of the ship, subject to a minimum of $1,250 and a maximum of $100,000.
(2) An annual tonnage tax of 20 cents per net ton, subject to a minimum of $100, shall be payable in respect of every Singapore ship.
(3) The annual tonnage tax shall be paid at the time of initial registration or registration anew of the ship and thereafter annually on or before the anniversary date of the initial registration or registration anew, as the case may be.
(4) All unpaid fees and tonnage taxes in respect of any ship due to the Registrar shall constitute a maritime lien on the ship, subject only to liens for wages.
(5) The Minister may, either generally or on specific occasions, reduce the fee or annual tonnage tax prescribed under this section.
15. On the registry of a ship, the Registrar shall retain in his possession all the documents submitted under section 11, except the document of title.
16.
—(1) On completion of the registry of a ship, the Registrar shall grant a certificate of registry which shall state the particulars entered in the register.
(2) Where a ship has been provisionally registered under section 12 without the tonnage certificate, the fees paid under section 14 shall be adjusted according to the tonnage established in the tonnage certificate.
(3) The provisional certificate of registry, if any, shall be delivered up to the Registrar for cancellation.
(4) Where a ship has been provisionally registered under section 12 and its registry is not completed within the period specified in that section, the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
17.
—(1) The certificate of registry of a ship shall be used only for the lawful navigation of the ship and shall not be subject to detention by reason of any title, lien, charge or interest whatsoever had or claimed by any owner, mortgagee or other person to, on or in the ship.
(2) If any person, whether interested in the ship or not, refuses, without reasonable cause, on request to deliver up the certificate of registry when in his possession or under his control to the person entitled to the custody thereof for the purposes of the lawful navigation of the ship, or to the Registrar, or to any other person entitled by law to require such delivery, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
(3) Where the registry of a ship is closed or deemed to be closed under this Part (except under section 43), the registered owner of the ship at the time of the closure shall deliver up the certificate of registry to the Registrar for cancellation within 60 days of the closure and if he fails, without reasonable cause, to deliver up the certificate of registry within that period, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
(4) If any person uses or attempts to use for the navigation of a ship a certificate of registry which is not legally granted in respect of the ship or the registry of which has been closed or deemed to be closed, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
18.
—(1) A Singapore ship or any share therein shall be transferred by a bill of sale.
(2) The bill of sale for the transfer of a ship or any share therein to a person qualified to own a Singapore ship shall be in the prescribed form and shall contain such description of the ship as is contained in the register and shall be executed by the transferor in the presence of and be attested by a witness or witnesses.
(3) Every bill of sale shall be produced to the Registrar and the Registrar shall thereupon enter in the register the name of the transferee and shall endorse on the bill of sale the fact of that entry having been made with the date and time thereof.
(4) Bills of sale shall be entered in the register in the order of their production to the Registrar.
(5) The Registrar shall not make an entry under this section in respect of any ship if there is —
(a)
any unsatisfied mortgage entered in its register, unless, where the ship or any share therein is transferred to a person qualified to own a Singapore ship, the mortgagee has given his consent in writing;
(b)
any subsisting entry made under section 24 prohibiting any dealing with the ship;
(c)
any unpaid fees within the meaning of section 213(4) with respect to the ship; and
(d)
any outstanding claims of the master or seamen of the ship in respect of wages which have been notified to the Director.
(6) Subsection (5) shall not apply in respect of a bill of sale executed pursuant to an order of the High Court for the sale of a Singapore ship or any share therein.
19.
—(1) Where a Singapore ship or any share therein is transferred to a person qualified to own a Singapore ship and the bill of sale is registered under section 18, the ship shall, subject to section 42, be registered anew.
(2) If the ship is not registered anew or its registry is not closed within 60 days of the date on which the bill of sale (or the first bill of sale if there are more than one bill of sale) is registered, the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
20.
—(1) A Singapore ship or any share therein shall not be transferred to a person not qualified to own a Singapore ship if there is —
(a)
any unsatisfied mortgage entered in its register;
(b)
any subsisting entry made under section 24 prohibiting any dealing with the ship;
(c)
any unpaid fees within the meaning of section 213(4) with respect to the ship; and
(d)
any outstanding claims of the master or seamen of the ship in respect of wages which have been notified to the Director.
(2) Where a Singapore ship or any share therein is transferred to a person not qualified to own a Singapore ship and the bill of sale is registered under section 18, the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
(3) This section, except subsection (2), shall not apply to a Singapore ship or any share therein sold pursuant to an order of the High Court.
21.
—(1) Where the property in a Singapore ship or any share therein is transmitted to a person on the marriage, bankruptcy or death of any registered owner, or by any lawful means other than by a transfer under this Part —
(a)
that person shall authenticate the transmission by making and signing a declaration of transmission identifying the ship and containing the particulars specified in section 11(2)(b) and (e), or as near thereto as circumstances admit, or if that person is not qualified to own a Singapore ship, a statement to that effect, and also a statement of the manner in which and the person to whom the property has been transmitted;
(b)
if the transmission is consequent on bankruptcy, the declaration of transmission shall be accompanied by such evidence as is for the time being receivable in courts of law as proof of the title of persons claiming under a bankruptcy; and
(c)
if the transmission is consequent on death, the declaration of transmission shall be accompanied by the instrument of representation, or an official extract therefrom.
(2) The declaration of transmission and the evidence under subsection (1) shall be produced to the Registrar and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
(3) Where the property in a Singapore ship or any share therein is transmitted to a person qualified to own a Singapore ship, the ship shall, subject to section 42, be registered anew and if the ship is not registered anew or its registry is not closed within 60 days of the date on which the entry is made under subsection (2) or such longer period not exceeding one year as the Registrar may allow, the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
22.
—(1) Where the property in a Singapore ship or any share therein is transmitted on death or bankruptcy to a person not qualified to own a Singapore ship, the High Court may, on the application by or on behalf of the unqualified person or any other person having an interest in the ship, order a sale of the property so transmitted and direct that the proceeds of the sale, after deducting the expenses thereof, be paid to the person entitled under such transmission or as the Court otherwise directs.
(2) The High Court may require any evidence in support of the application and may make the order on any terms and conditions or may refuse to make the order and generally may act in such manner as the Court thinks just.
(3) Every such application for sale shall be made within 60 days after the occurrence of the event on which the transmission has taken place, or within such longer period not exceeding in aggregate one year as the High Court may allow.
(4) If such an application is not made within the period specified or allowed under subsection (3), or if the High Court refuses an order for sale, the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register.
23. Where any court, whether under the preceding sections of this Act or otherwise, orders the sale of a ship or any share therein, the order of the court shall contain a declaration vesting in some person named by the court the right to transfer that ship or share, and that person shall thereupon be entitled to transfer the ship or share in the same manner and to the same extent as if he were the registered owner thereof; and the Registrar shall accept the requisition of the person so named in respect of any such transfer to the same extent as if such person were the registered owner.
24.
—(1) The High Court may, if it thinks fit (without prejudice to the exercise of any other power of the Court), on the application of any interested person make an order prohibiting for a specified time any dealing with a ship or any share therein, and the Court may make the order on any terms and conditions the Court thinks just, or may refuse to make the order or may discharge the order when made, with or without costs, and generally may act in such manner as the Court thinks just.
(2) The Registrar, without being made a party to the proceedings, shall, on being served with the order or an official copy thereof, accept the same and make an entry thereof in the register.
25.
—(1) A Singapore ship or any share therein may be made a security for a loan or other valuable consideration, and the instrument creating the security (referred to in this Part as a mortgage) shall be in the prescribed form or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and on production of that instrument the Registrar shall record it in the register.
(2) Mortgages shall be recorded by the Registrar in the order in time in which they are produced to him for that purpose, and the Registrar shall endorse and sign a memorandum on each mortgage stating the date and time of that record.
26.
—(1) Before executing any mortgage to be registered under this Act, the mortgagor shall disclose in writing to the mortgagee the existence of any maritime lien, prior mortgage, or other liability in respect of the ship to be mortgaged, which is known to the mortgagor.
(2) Where the mortgagor has failed to comply with this section, the mortgage debt shall, at the election of the mortgagee, become immediately due and payable, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the mortgage.
27. Where a registered mortgage is discharged, the Registrar shall, on production of the mortgage, with the discharge duly signed and attested, make an entry in the register to the effect that the mortgage has been discharged, and on that entry being made, the estate, if any, which passed to the mortgagee shall vest in the person in whom (having regard to any intervening acts and circumstances) it would have vested, if the mortgage had not been made.
28. If there are more mortgages than one registered in respect of the same ship or share, the mortgagees shall, notwithstanding any express, implied or constructive notice, be entitled in priority one over the other, according to the date and time of the record of each mortgage in the register and not according to the date of each mortgage itself.
29. Except as may be necessary for making a mortgaged ship or any share therein available as a security for the mortgage debt, the mortgagee shall not, by reason of the mortgage, be deemed to be the owner of the ship or share, nor shall the mortgagor be deemed to have ceased to be the owner thereof.
30.
—(1) Every registered mortgagee shall have power absolutely to dispose of the ship or share in respect of which he is registered, and to give effectual receipts for the purchase money; but where there are more persons than one registered as mortgagees of the same ship or share, a subsequent mortgagee shall not, except under the order of the High Court, sell the ship or share without the concurrence of every prior mortgagee.
(2) Every registered mortgagee shall be entitled to enforce his mortgage by an action in rem in admiralty whenever any sum secured by the mortgage is unpaid when due or otherwise in accordance with the terms of any deed or instrument collateral to the mortgage.
31.
—(1) A registered mortgage of a ship or any share therein may be transferred to any person and the instrument effecting the transfer shall be in the prescribed form or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and on production of such instrument, the Registrar shall record the transfer by entering in the register the name of the transferee as mortgagee of the ship or share and shall endorse and sign on the instrument of transfer a memorandum that the transfer has been recorded by him stating the date and time of that record.
(2) The person to whom any registered mortgage has been transferred shall enjoy the same right of preference as was enjoyed by the transferor.
32.
—(1) Where the interest of a mortgagee in a Singapore ship or any share therein is transmitted on the death or bankruptcy of the mortgagee, or by any lawful means other than by a transfer under this Act, the transmission shall be authenticated by a declaration of the person to whom the interest is transmitted.
(2) A declaration made under this section shall contain a statement of the manner in which, and the person to whom, the property has been transmitted, and shall be accompanied by the like evidence as is by this Act required in the case of a corresponding transmission of the ownership of a Singapore ship or any share therein.
(3) The Registrar shall, on receipt of the declaration and production of the evidence aforesaid, enter the name of the person entitled under the transmission in the register as mortgagee of the ship or share.
33.
—(1) No notice of any trust, express, implied or constructive, shall be entered in the register or be receivable by the Registrar, and, subject to any rights and powers appearing on the register to be vested in any other person, the registered owner of a ship or any share therein shall have power absolutely to dispose, in the manner provided in this Part, of the ship or share, and to give effectual receipts for any money paid or advanced by way of consideration.
(2) Subject to this section and sections 8 and 30, interests arising under contract or other equitable interests may be enforced by or against the owners and mortgagees of ships in respect of their interests therein in the same manner as in respect of any other personal property.
34.
—(1) When a Singapore ship is so altered as not to correspond with the particulars relating to its tonnage or description contained in the register, the owner shall apply for the ship to be registered anew.
(2) If the owner of a Singapore ship fails without reasonable cause to register anew the ship so altered, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for each offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and to a further fine not exceeding $200 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
35.
—(1) Where a ship is to be registered anew, the Registrar shall proceed as in the case of initial registry and on the requisites to registry, or such of them as the Registrar considers material, being duly complied with, shall make such registry anew and grant a new certificate of registry.
(2) Where a ship has been registered anew under subsection (1), the former certificate of registry shall be delivered up to the Registrar for cancellation and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the former register.
(3) Where a ship is registered anew, its former register shall be deemed to be closed (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered thereon) but the names of all persons appearing on the former register to be interested in the ship as owners or mortgagees shall be entered on the new register, and the registry anew shall not in any way affect the rights of any of those persons.
36.
—(1) The Minister shall prescribe an ensign, which shall be the proper national colours for a Singapore ship.
(2) If any distinctive national colours other than the said ensign are hoisted on board any Singapore ship without the consent of the Minister, the master of the ship or the owner thereof if on board the ship, and every other person hoisting the colours shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
38.
—(1) Any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee, on application to the Registrar at a reasonable time, inspect any register of Singapore ships or apply for a certified copy or transcript thereof.
(2) If the register of a Singapore ship is free of registered encumbrances, the Registrar may, at the request of the applicant, certify that fact in the copy or transcript of the register.
39.
—(1) The Registrar may correct any clerical error or obvious mistake in the register of a Singapore ship.
(2) Any error relating to the particulars descriptive of a ship in the register may be corrected by entry (but so that the original entry remains legible) by the Registrar on the production to him, by the owner requiring such error to be corrected, of a declaration setting forth the nature of the error and the facts of the case and made by the owner or some other person having knowledge of the facts of the case.
40.
—(1) Any person who is aggrieved by any incorrect entry or omission in the register of a Singapore ship may apply to the High Court for rectification of the register and the Court may make such order as it thinks fit directing the rectification of the register.
(2) The High Court may, in proceedings under this section, decide any question that is necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the rectification of the register.
(3) Notice of an application under this section by a person aggrieved shall be served on the Registrar, who may appear and be heard, and shall appear if so directed by the High Court.
(4) An official copy of an order under this section shall be served on the Registrar who shall, upon receipt of the order, rectify the register accordingly.
41.
—(1) Where a Singapore ship is actually or constructively lost, taken by the enemy, burnt or broken up, every owner of the ship or any share therein shall, immediately on having knowledge of the event, if no notice thereof has already been given to the Registrar, give notice thereof to the Registrar, and the Registrar shall make an entry thereof in the register and the registry of the ship shall be deemed to be closed except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein.
(2) In any such case, except where the ship’s certificate of registry is lost or destroyed, the owner or the master of the ship shall, within 30 days of the event, deliver the certificate to the Registrar.
(3) Any owner or master of a ship who fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
42.
—(1) The owner of a Singapore ship may make a written application to close its registry if there is no —
(a)
unsatisfied mortgage entered in its register;
(b)
subsisting entry made under section 24 prohibiting any dealing with the ship;
(c)
unpaid fees within the meaning of section 213(4) with respect to the ship; and
(d)
outstanding claims of the master or seamen of the ship in respect of wages which have been notified to the Director.
(2) The application shall specify the name of the ship, the intended port and country of registry (if applicable) or otherwise the reason for the closure and shall be submitted to the Registrar together with the certificate of registry of the ship.
(3) On receipt of the application and the certificate of registry, the Registrar shall, if he is satisfied of the matters mentioned in subsection (1), close the registry of the ship and make an entry thereof in the register.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “owner” includes any transferee of, or any person entitled under a transmission to the property in, a Singapore ship.
43.
—(1) The Minister may close the registry of a Singapore ship (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and cancel its certificate of registry for any contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or any international convention applicable to Singapore.
(2) The Minister may close the registry of a Singapore ship (except in relation to any unsatisfied mortgages entered therein) and cancel its certificate of registry if he is satisfied that it is not in the public interest for the ship to continue to be registered as a Singapore ship.
(3) Where the registry of a ship is closed under this section, the registered owner of the ship at the time of the closure shall, within 30 days of the closure, deliver up the certificate of registry to the Registrar for cancellation and if he fails to deliver up the certificate of registry within the specified period, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
44.
—(1) A ship shall not be registered under any name except a name which is approved by the Registrar and a Singapore ship shall not be described by any name other than that by which it is for the time being registered.
(2) The Minister may make regulations for the approval of a ship’s name and the changes thereto.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), the Minister may in the regulations —
(a)
require an existing ship to be registered under its existing name unless a change thereof has been approved in accordance with the regulations; and
(b)
require an existing ship to change its name if it is the same as or similar to the name of a Singapore ship.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “registered” includes registered anew.
45.
—(1) The Minister may make such regulations as he considers necessary or expedient to implement the provisions of this Part.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may, in particular, make regulations —
(a)
specifying the documents which may be accepted as evidence of seaworthiness of a ship for the purposes of section 11;
(b)
providing for the submission of such documents to the Registrar at any time after the registry of a ship;
(c)
providing for the registration of pleasure craft;
(d)
providing for the registration of ships which are bareboat chartered by persons qualified to own Singapore ships;
(e)
providing for the suspension of the registry of a Singapore ship which is bareboat chartered out and registered in another state;
(f)
specifying the provisions of this Act which shall be applied, with such modifications as may be specified, to a ship which is bareboat chartered by persons qualified to own Singapore ships; and
(g)
specifying the provisions of this Act which shall continue to apply, with such modifications as may be specified, notwithstanding the suspension of the registry of a Singapore ship and its registration in another country.