Newbuilding and conversion

• Check list for newbuildings
• Additional information on new building of ships
• Flag State Information
• Plan approval for navigational and radio equipment
• Flag document

Check list for newbuildings

Design and construction of seagoing ships under the German flag is actively supported by the German flag state administration.

All relevant items are clearly listed in the following check list for newbuildings.

• DS = Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit der (Ship Safety Division of the) BG Verkehr
• BSH = Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency)

1. Submission of the announcement of newbuilding to the DS (who will forward it to the BSH)
2. Plan approval
   • by a recognized organisation (classification society) for ships with class notation (which is the norm), or
   • by the BSH with regard to navigational and radio equipment and equipment according to COLREG 72 (Application for plan approval)
3. Ship construction
4. Application for tonnage measurement by the BSH and for the International Tonnage Certificate (ITC 69) (Application tonnage measurement, in German only)
5. Application for registration in a German shipping register and for the ship certificate at the responsible district court of the envisaged home port
6. Application for registration in the German International Shipping Register (GIS) at the BSH, if applicable (Application for GIS, only in German)
7. Application for assignment of numbers for mobile maritime radio service (call sign, MMSI, ATIS; ship station licence) (in German only) at the Bundesnetzagentur (German Federal Network Agency).
8. Ship survey
   • by a recognized organisation (classification society) for ships with class notation (which is the norm), or
   • by the DS in case of ships without classification, as well as
   • by the BSH with regard to navigational and radio equipment as well as equipment according to COLREG 72 (Application for on-board survey)
9. Application for ship safety certificates (please state the date of the ship’s delivery):
   • Application for preliminary ISPS-documents (interim-ISSC/CSR) at the BSH (Application for the issuance of an Interim ISSC / ISSC, Application for the issuance of a Continuous Synopsis Record (CSR))
   • Application for preliminary ISM documents ((interim SMC and, if  applicable, DOC) at the DS,
   • Application for a safe manning certificate at the DS. (Application for a safe manning certificate).
     Any other ship safety certificates are issued automatically by a recognized organization (classification society) or by the DS, no seperate application required.
10. Fitting out of the ship in accordance with the National List of Equipment for sea ships under German flag and with medical equipment.

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Additional information on new building of ships

Further to the above check list the following links provide the most important information and requirements relevant to newbuildings under the German flag:

• "General information for newbuildings under German flag" 
• "List of rules and regulations applicable to newbuildings for German flag"
• "National List of Equipment for sea ships under German flag"
• "Completable "List of Equipment to be approved" according to Marine Equipment Directive (MED)"

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Flag State Interpretations

We, as Flag State Administration, offer you the consistent interpretation of international and national rules and regulations so that you e.g. as employee of a shipyard, as ship designer or ship operator know what applies for newbuildings and conversions. With our "Flag State Information" (FI), we ensure a practice-oriented standard when interpreting provisions. 

After a fundamental revision, the first documents with Flag State Information (FI) are available to you (overview of the current revisions). We endeavour to finalize further FIs and make them available to you soon.

Regarding several or all topics:

• FI S/000/-/2020/Rev. 00: Definitions

Structural Condition:

• FI S/001/SC/2020/Rev. 00

Intact Stability:

• FI S/002/IS/2020/Rev. 00

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Plan approval for navigational and radio equipment

For any newly constructed, modified or refitted ship under the German flag a plan approval of the navigational and radio equipment as well as navigational lights should be conducted. This plan approval is part of the initial survey. By means of drawings and documents it will be verified whether all requirements regarding arrangement, fitting and installation are complied with. Plan approval is the preliminary stage to the ship’s survey and helps to avoid costly modifications, which might otherwise become necessary.

The list of inspections/review according to BfP and BfA indicates which navigation equipment requires plan approval or on-board survey.

Please submit the following form:

• Application for on board survey and plan approval of navigational and radio communication equipment
• Guide to electronic forms

Please submit the required documents in due time. This will reduce the risk of having to undergo expensive modifications when equipment was installed incorrectly.

The procedure is stipulated with „Bedingungen für die Planprüfung der vorgesehenen Aufstellung, Anbringung bzw. des Einbaus von Navigations- und Funkausrüstung sowie Ausrüstung nach COLREG 72“  (BfP). In its annex, these conditions contain particular arrangement requirements for particular equipment. The BSH forwards a copy of the approval statements and for newbuildings a list of navigational equipment to the Ship Safety Division. 

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Flag document

Information about the flag document can be found under Flag documents.

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