• List of shipping registers in Germany
• Registration in the shipping register of sea-going ships serves several purposes
• Responsible register (district court of home port)
• Prerequisites for registration
• Ships remain registered even when leaving the German flag
• Simplified registration at reflagging
• Certificate of registry is proof of registration in a shipping register
• Distinctive number or letters identify a ship
• Registration of recreational craft

List of shipping registers in Germany

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Registration in the shipping register of sea-going ships serves several purposes

Mandatory registration of ships with a length of 15 m and above in the shipping register of sea-going ships serves several purposes:

• to disclose the nationality of the shipowner,
• to identify the ship,
• to register the ownership structure,
• to register a possible financial burden of ship mortgages.

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Responsible register (district court of home port)

The various shipping registers of ocean-going ships are maintained by district courts, located mainly near the German coastline. Which register (district court) is responsible depends on the home port of the ship. The home port is the place from where the ship’s operation is managed, regardless whether the ship calls there regularly or not.

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Prerequisites for registration

Details of registration may differ from court to court. Generally the following documents have to be submitted with the application for registration:

• International tonnage certificate,
• Copy of the bill of sale (for a ship already in service) or shipyard construction certificate (for newbuildings),
• Copy of commercial register extract,
• Copy of the personal identification document of the managing director of the shipowning company,
• On the day of changing flag, deletion certificate from the previous flag registry (for ships already in service).

Some district courts provide specimen application forms for registration.

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Ships remain registered even when leaving the German flag

German owned sea-going ships remain registered in the German shipping register of sea-going ships when changing temporarily to a foreign flag. In such case the approval for the temporary flying of a foreign flag is recorded in the register. A German owner may operate his ship temporarily under a foreign flag, if he either provides training opportunities or pays a compensation. This is where you can find further information about compensation payment.

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Simplified registration at reflagging

Frequently it is not necessary to submit all documents again when changing to the German flag as most Germen owned ships are already registered in a German shipping register and are operated only temporarily under a foreign flag.

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Certificate of registry is proof of registration in a shipping register

Proof of registration in a shipping register is the certificate of registry, in special cases also other flag documents. If a ship changes to the German flag when it is abroad, an interim certificate of registry may be issued with a period of validity of 6 months, based on § 5 of the "Flaggenrechtsgesetz" (Law of the Flag Act).

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Distinctive number or letters identify a ship

In addition to the certificate of registry, the distinctive number or letters are provided by the shipping register. The distinctive number or letters unambiguously identifies a ship and is at the same time the call sign for maritime radiocommunication. German distinctive number or letters are normally a combination of four letters, starting with „DA“ to „DR“ and possibly an additional number. Ships with less then 15m hull length which do not have to be listed in the shipping register of ocean-going ships, have a call sign of two letters and four cyphers.

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Registration of recreational craft

Recreational craft (i.e. motor and sailing yachts) get either registered in an inland-shipping register or a shipping register of sea-going ships depending on size and trading area of the ship. From 15m hull length a registration in the shipping regiser for sea-going ships and from 10 tons water displacement in an inland-shipping register is mandatory.

Further information can be found on the BSH-website.

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