中华人民共和国船舶登记条例
REGULATIONS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA GOVERNING THE REGISTRATION OF SHIPS

国务院令第155号（Promulgated by Decree No. 155 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on June 2， 1994， and effective as of January 1， 1995）
颁布日期：19940602 　实施日期：19950101 　颁布单位：国务院办公厅

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are enacted with a view to strengthening the supervision and control over ships by the State， and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved in the registration of ships.

Article 2 The following ships shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations：

（1） Ships owned by citizens of the People's Republic of China whose residences or principal places of business are located within the territory thereof；

（2） Ships owned by enterprises with legal person status established under the laws of the People's Republic of China and whose principal places of business are located within the territory thereof， provided that foreign investment is involved， the proportion of registered capital contributed by Chinese investors shall not be less than 50 per cent；

（3） Service ships of the Government of the people's Republic of China and ships owned by institutions with legal person status；

（4） Other ships whose registration is deemed necessary by the competent authority of harbour superintendency of the People's Republic of China.

Military ships， fishery ships and sports craft shall be registered in compliance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations.

Article 3 Sailing ships are allowed to fly the national flag of the People's Republic of China after being registered and granted the nationality of the People's Republic of China. No ship may fly the national flag of the People's Republic of China without being registered during navigation.

Article 4 A ship shall not have dual nationality. A ship registered abroad shall not be granted the Chinese nationality unless its former registration of nationality has already been suspended or deleted.

Article 5 The acquisition， transference or extinction of the ownership of a ship shall be registered at the Ship Registration Administration； no acquisition， transference or extinction of the ship's ownership shall act against a third party unless registered.

Where a ship is jointly owned by two or more legal persons or individuals， the joint ownership thereof shall be registered at the Ship Registration Administration. The joint ownership of the ship shall not act against a third Party unless registered.

Article 6 The establishment， transference or extinction of ship mortgage or bare boat chartering shall be registered at the Ship Registration Administration. No mortgage or bare boat chartering shall act against a third party unless registered.

Article 7 Ships of Chinese nationality shall be manned by Chinese citizens. In case it is neccessary to recruit foreign seafarers， their employment shall be approved by the competent authority of transport and communications under the State Council.

Seafarers on board ships of Chinese nationality who are required to possess certificates of competency shall hold the appropriate certificates of competency issued by the People's Republic of China.

Article 8 The Harbour Superintendency Administration of the People's Republic of China is the competent authority in charge of registration of ships.

The Harbour Superintendency Administrations at various ports are the proper agencies conducting the registration of ships （hereinafter referred to as the Ship Registration Administration）。 The scope of authority thereof shall be defined by the Harbour Superintendency Administration of the People's Republic of China.

Article 9 The port where a ship is registered shall be the port of registry of the ship.

The owner of a ship may choose a port closer to his residence or his principal place of business as the port of registry， but he is not allowed to choose two or more ports as the port of registry.

Article 10 Each ship shall have only one name.

The name of a ship shall be checked and approved by the Ship Registration Administration at its port of registry. A ship's name shall not be the same as any of those that have already been registered， neither in wording nor in pronunciation.

Article 11 The Ship Registration Administration shall establish a Register of Ships.

The Register of Ships shall be accessible to those having an interest therein.

Article 12 With respect to a State-owned ship operated by an enterprise owned by the whole people having a legal person status granted by the state， the provisions of these Regulations concerning the ship owner shall be applicable to that legal person.

Chapter II Registration of Ownership of Ships

Article 13 A ship owner applying for registration of the ownership of a ship shall produce to the Ship Registration Administration at the port of registry the documents evidencing his legal status， and submit the originals and/or copies of the documents evidencing his ownership over the ship and the technical information thereof.

For the registration of ownership of a ship purchased， the following documents shall be submitted：

（1） Seller's invoice， sales contract and delivery document；

（2） Document issued by the ship registration authority at the original port of registry certifying the deletion of the ownership；

（3） Document evidencing that the ship is not under mortgage or that the mortgagees agree to the transference of the mortgaged ship.

For the registration of ownership of a newly-built ship， the contract of ship construction and the delivery document shall be submitted. For the registration of ownership of a ship under construction， the contract of ship construction shall be submitted. For the registration of ownership of a ship built by oneself for one's own use， a document evidencing the procurement of ownership shall be submitted.

For the registration of ownership of a ship procured through heritage， presentation， auction under legal process， or court judgement， a document with appropriate legal effect evidencing the ship's ownership shall be submitted.

Article 14 The Ship Registration Administration， having examined and verified the application for registration of ownership， shall issue to the ship owner whose application meets the requirements of these Regulations the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership within 7 days after the date of receipt of the application， whereupon an official registration number shall be granted to the registered ship and the following particulars shall be recorded in the Register of Ships：

（1） Ship's name and its call sign；

（2） Port of registry， official registration number and identification mark of the ship；

（3） Name and address of the ship owner and name of his legal representative；

（4） Way in which the ship's ownership was procured and the date of procurement；

（5） Date on which the ship's ownership was registered；

（6） Name of ship builder， and time and place of building；

（7） Value of the ship， material of ship's hull and ship's main technical information；

（8） Original name and port of registry of the ship and the date of deletion or suspension of its original registration；

（9） Information about joint ownership if the ship is owned by two or more owners；

（10） Name and address of bare boat charterer or ship operator， and name of his legal representative， if the ship owneris not the one who operates or actually controls the ship；

（11） Information about the establishment of mortgage， if any.

The Ship Registration Administration shall inform the shipowner in writing of any non-compliance of his application with these Regulations within 7 days after the date of receipt of the application.

Chapter III Nationality of Ships

Article 15 A shipowner applying for the nationality of a ship shall， in addition to the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership， submit the following documents according to the ship's navigation zone：

（1） For ships engaged in international voyages， the valid technical documents of the ship issued by an authorized organization for survey of ships in accordance with the type of the ship：

（a） Tonnage Measurement Certificate；

（b） Load line Certificate；

（c） Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate；

（d） Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate；

（e） Passenger Quota Certificate；

（f） Passenger Ship Safety Certificate；

（g） Cargo Ship Safety Radiotelegraphy Certificate；

（h） International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate；

（i） Ship Safety Navigation Certificate；

（j） Other relevant technical certificates.

（2） For a ship engaged in domestic voyages， the ship survey book issued by an authorized organization for survey of ships and other valid technical certificates according to the type of the ship.

A shipowner applying for the Chinese nationality of a ship of foreign nationality purchased abroad which still has the foreign nationality， shall submit a certificate issued by the original ship registration authority at the former port of registry to the effect that the former nationality has been deleted or that the former nationality will be immediately deleted at such time as the new registration is effected.

The Ship Registration Administration shall issue a Certificate of Ship's Nationality to the ship whose application has been examined and approved to be in compliance with these Regulations.

Article 16 Subject to its approval， the Ship Registration Administration shall issue the Certificate of Ship's Nationality to a ship registered under Article 13 of these Regulations. The validity period of the Certificate of Ship's Nationality shall be 5 years.

Article 17 For a ship newly built in this country and sold overseas， the shipowner shall apply to the Ship Registration Administration at the place of construction for a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality by submitting the document evidencing the ownership of the ship， and the valid technical certificate thereof.

For a newly-built ship purchased from overseas， the shipowner shall apply to the local Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China for a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality by submitting the document evidencing the ownership of the ship and its valid technical certificates.

For a ship built in a place of this country other than its intended port of registry， the shipowner who needs a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality， shall apply to the Ship Registration Administration at the place of shipbuilding for the certificate by submitting the contract of ship construction， the delivery document and its valid technical certificates.

For a ship built overseas， the shipowner shall apply to the local Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China for a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality by submitting the contract of ship construction， the delivery document and the valid technical certificates of the ship.

For a ship bare boat chartered overseas， the bare boat charterer shall apply to the Ship Registration Administration for a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality by submitting the bare boat charter party and the certificate issued by the ship registration authority at the former port of registry to the effect that the former nationality of the ship has been suspended or deleted， or that the former nationality of the ship will be suspended or deleted immediately at such time as the new registration is effected.

The Ship Registration Administration or the local Embassy or Consulate of the People's Republic of China， having examined and verified that the application is in compliance with these Regulations， shall issue a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality to the ship.

Article 18 The validity period of a Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality shall generally not exceed 1 year.

For a ship which is bare boat chartered overseas， the validity period of the Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality can be determined according to the charter period， but shall not exceed 2 years. Where the charter period exceed 2 years， the charterer shall， within the period of validity， apply to the Ship Registration Administration at ship's port of registry for the renewal of its Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality.

Article 19 The Provisional Certificate of Ship's Nationality shall have the same legal effect as the Certificate of Ship's Nationality.

Chapter IV Registration of Ship Mortgage

Article 20 Where mortgage is established with respect to a ship of 20 tons gross tonnage or over， the mortgagee and the mortgagor shall apply to the Ship Registration Administration at the ship's port of registry for the registration of ship mortgage by submitting the following documents：

（1） Written application signed by both mortgagee and mortgagor；

（2） Certificate of Ship's Ownership or contract of ship construction；

（3） Contract of ship mortgage.

If there are other mortgages established on the ship， the relevant certificates shall be submitted.

Where mortgage is established on a jointly-owned ship， the joint owners shall， in addition， submit a document evidencing the agreement by the joint owners holding more than two-thirds or contracted proportion of shares thereof.

Article 21 After the application has been examined and verified to be in compliance with these Regulations， the Ship Registration Administration shall， within 7 days after the date of receipt of the application， record matters regarding the mortgagee， the mortgagor and the ship as well as the date of mortgage registration in the register of ships and the Certificate of Ship's Ownership， and issue the Certificate of Registration of Ship Mortgage to the mortgagee.

Article 22 The registration of ship mortgage shall specify the following items：

（1） Name and address of mortgagee and name and address of mortgagor；

（2） Name and nationality of the mortgaged ship， the number of the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership and the title of the administration that issued the certificate；

（3） Amount of debt secured， interest rate and payoff period.

The Ship Registration Administration should make the information about the registration of ship mortgage available to the public.

Article 23 In case of mortgage transference， the mortgagee and the transferee shall apply to the Ship Registration Administration at the ship's port of registry for registration of the mortgage transference by submitting the contract of ship mortgage transference.

After the application has been examined and verified to be in compliance with the requirements of these Regulations， the Ship Registration Administration shall record the transferee as the mortgagee in the register of ships and in the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership， issue to the transferee a Certificate of Registration of Ship's Mortgage， and seal up the former Certificate of Registration of Ship's Mortgage.

The mortgagee shall notify the mortgagor of the mortgage transference prior to its registration thereof.

Article 24 Where two or more mortgages are established on the same ship， the Ship Registration Administration shall make the registration in sequence of the dates on which the applications were registered， and indicate the dates of registration in the Register of Ships.

The date on which the application is registered shall be the date of registration. In case two or more applications are made on the same day， the dates of registration shall be the same.

Chapter V Registration of Bare boat Charter

Article 25 In any of the following cases， the shipowner and the charterer shall apply for the registration of bareboat charter：

（1） A ship of Chinese nationality bareboat chartered to a Chinese enterprise；

（2） A ship of foreign nationality bareboat chartered to a Chinese enterprise；

（3） A ship of Chinese nationality bareboat chartered overseas.

Article 26 Where a ship is chartered within the territory of this country， the shipowner and the charterer shall， prior to the commencement of the charter， apply to the Ship Registration Administration at the ship's port of registry for the registration of the bareboat charter by submitting the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership， the Certificate of Ship's Nationality and the text and the copy of the bareboat charter party.

After the application has been examined and verified to be in compliance with the requirements of these Regulations， the Ship Registration Administration at the port of registry shall record the main points of the bareboat charter in the Certificate of Registration of Ship's Ownership and the Register of Ships respectively， and issue the Certificate of Registration of Bareboat Charter to the shipowner and the charterer.