Port of Registry

[Judders]

As I understanding, we are all registered in Cardiff unless otherwise specified. The guy I am buying my new boat from has given the same name to his new boat and we are going to both be racing in the same area, so I feel it might be better to put 'of Somewhere' on the end of her name. Can one just do so or does something official need to be done?

 

[FullCircle]

On an SSR you can call it what you like. 11 Full Circles on the SSR I think.
If you want to go Part 1, it must be unique, like Full Circle of Burnham, or Full Circle XII instead of just Full Circle.

I had a mate who bought one of the Fionas in the 90s. He registered it as Fiona of Kent when he bought it.

 

[Skylark]

Port of Registry implies that she's listed on Part 1 of the Ships Register. This is a legal document and confirms the status of the owner. Part of the requirement is to carry the vessel name and PoR to a defined script size and in defined locations, for a yacht one of the locations is usually the transom. Part 1 is very formal. There are other requirements including having the name and her Gross Tonnage engraved etc etc. As the owner, if you are not aware of all of this, it's likely that she's not on that register. She could be on Part 3 of the register. I've seen this described elsewhere that "you say it's your vessel and the Registry doesn't argue". I believe you are required to show her name and the SSR number but I'm not as sure of the detail.

The third option is to not have her on the Register at all. Perfectly legal and your choice but not acceptable to many, most, all overseas Authorities.

Putting a vessel on Part 1 is a formidable challenge (some owners may argue differently, it depends upon your threshold for chasing paper). You need, from memory, Original Builders certificate, RYA Certificate of Survey, all previous owners sales invoices and bills of sale, any mortgage entries and closures, carvings and marking certificate and so the list goes on. Check out the MCA website for full details.

In return, you get a laminated A4 sheet that tells whom ever it may concern that, unequivocally you're the proud owner. You can, of course, amend her name, port of registry whenever you like. Just make cheques payable to.......

Hope this helps!

David

 

[boatmike]

Quite right but not fully understood in some countries abroad where there is no equivalent of SSR. You can put anything you like but its better to put a known port like Portsmouth or Southampton to make filling in forms easier. In theory Ladybug of Cowes is a name which should appear on your SSR in full. Ladybug - Cowes means Name =Ladybird Port=Cowes. In practice I dont think anyone in the UK cares.

 

[ebbtide]

Do you mean Small Ships or Part I Registration? The difference is cost and paperwork:
Small Ships is administered by the RYA for £25; it's the minimum requirement for going foreign but names can be duplicated - finding a lookalike with the same name is quite disconcerting!
Part I comes out of Cardiff (Registry of Shipping & Seamen) and costs £124 PLUS Tonnage Survey £125 and 10 years history of ownership. The vessel is registered in whichever official Port of Registry you choose and names are 'unique' so Seagull II is not Seagull IV, Seagull of Portsmouth is not Seagull of Plymouth.
For and against?
There's much archived here already and I'm sure forumites will leap to advise you. For me I'm glad I plodded thro Part I: digging back through previous owners brought some interesting history to light, including that priceless VAT documentation!

 

[RestlessL]

[ QUOTE ]
Quite right but not fully understood in some countries abroad where there is no equivalent of SSR. You can put anything you like but its better to put a known port like Portsmouth or Southampton to make filling in forms easier. In theory Ladybug of Cowes is a name which should appear on your SSR in full. Ladybug - Cowes means Name =Ladybird Port=Cowes. In practice I dont think anyone in the UK cares.

[/ QUOTE ]

To add to the confusion - if Ladybug was Part 1 registered, she would need both her full name (Ladybug of Cowes) and her port of registry (e.g. Southampton) to be displayed on the transom.

John

 

[BoyBlue49]

I wouldn't trouble yourself, they will put your records on a CD post it and thats the last anyone will see of them /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[exfinnsailor]

I would get him to RENAME his OLD boat then the BAD LUCK that follows the renaming of a boat will be his .. OR .. My last one was called FLOOZY .. Not for long .. A bottle of good champagne .. A round of drinks at the sailing club .. and a lot of words uttered off the end of the jetty to the guy who lives at the bottom of the muddy creek .. After we had drunk the champagne and downed the drinks in the bar .. RESULT .. SEA MIST .. To save the same trouble again called new one SEA MIST II /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[cnh]

I am registered on the SSr, and handing over that laminated slip of paper in foreign ports can be interesting.

In Latvia, I was asked for my 'home port'. Made the mistake of saying I didn't have one. Many frowns. Every boat has a home port. The lady Border Guard tried reading the fine print on the SSR card, then gave up. I suggested London, and that was accepted.

Nicholas Hill

 

[Marmalade]

We were lucky and got the name of our choice on Pt1 - Marmalade. Had it been taken, the agent who managed the process for us pointed out that we could call her "Marmalade of London" and print the "of" in small letters on the stern (London is port of registry)

 

[damo]

Remembering that there are minimum sizes of lettering permitted...

 

[jimbaerselman]

I'm afraid there's been an awful lot of horse-s**t written above among the good stuff. For the definitive information, go to The online registration scheme.

First, if you sail for pleasure only within UK in a vessel under 24 metres, you can call your boat what you like, and you don't have to register.

Second, if you travel outside UK, you may/will be asked for the original registration certificate, depending which country you're visiting, and if you don't produce it there will be an assumption that you don't own the boat . . .

To overcome this problem, the MCA (and only the MCA) runs two categories for registering pleasure vessels.

Part I requires, and gives, proof of ownership, evidence of build quality, evidence of any marine mortgages. The boat must have a unique name, and will be given a unique number. Part I registration makes a boat much easier to buy and sell . . .

Part III is a self certified statement that you live in UK and own the descibed boat. Like the owner, It doesn't have to have a unique name. It will be given a unique (SSR) number.

There is no longer such a thing as a port of registry since the system is now centralised in digital-land. Of course, in olden days, each port kept it's own list, it's own file of ownership of every vessel . . . and many foreign countries still do this. UK doesn't. If you wish, you may invent a port of registration for fun, or to create a unique name, or to travel back in time.

You may check everything I've said in the link above, and filter out many of the rumours above, too.

 

[Guest]

I'm afraid your source is giving you inaccurate information - unless the registration system has been radically changed in the last 5 years??? I suspect not. There is such a thing as a port of registry, at least under Part 1 registration. There is a list of ports that you are able to choose from. Of course, the actual registry itself is kept centrally, and no longer at the individual ports. In my case, Lymington is not an official port of registry, so I chose the closest available one from the official Part 1 registry list - Cowes.

Part III is more than a self certified statement - it is a full official registration. It is just that the registration is issued on the basis of a statement of ownership.

Part I doesn't - or didn't for my boat anyway - require proof of build quality. Maybe for big ships. It is necessary to get a surveyor however to measure and certify your boat for Thames Tonnage.

 

[jimbaerselman]

You're quite right, Part I does not require evidence of build quality for leisure vessels; but it does require independent evidence of registered dimensions though. My error.

And I should have said that a port of registry is 'not required' for part III, although the MCA ask for a 'port of choice' and give a list of about 120 for part I. Hmm. Choose a short name . . . save on paint.

I'll stick by my statement about Part III being a self certified scheme though. Unlike any other country's scheme that I know of, no third party validation of data is called for, though the results do go into an 'official' registration list.

I'm aware of SSR owners who have 'shrunk' the length of their vessels to keep marina charges down, and many others who don't live in UK (even some who are non-UK nationals), but use SSR as very cheap and flexible registration route for live-aboard accommodation overseas.

 

[RestlessL]

The actual rules are contained in the The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993 Link as amended by The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, and Tonnage) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 Link

As far as Part 1 vessels go, naming is covered in Para 2 of Schedule 1:
2. In respect of an application to register a ship, other than a fishing vessel, on Parts I or IV of the Register, the Registrar shall not approve the proposed name if it is:—
(a) already the name of a registered British ship, or
(b) a name so similar to that of a registered British ship as to be calculated to deceive or likely to confuse;
(c) a name which may be confused with a distress signal;
(d) a name which is prefixed by any letters or name which could be taken to indicate a type of ship or any other word, pre-fix or suffix which might cause confusion as to the name of the ship.

and the Marking requirements in Para 4 of Schedule 3:
4. A pleasure vessel which is under 24 metres in length is to be marked as follows:—
(a) the official number and registered tonnage are:—
(i) to be marked on the main beam or, if there is no main beam, on a readily accessible visible permanent part of the structure of the pleasure vessel either by cutting in, centre punching or raised lettering, or
(ii) to be engraved on plates of metal, wood or plastic, secured to the main beam (or, if there is no main beam, to a readily accessible visible permanent part of the structure) with rivets, through bolts with the ends clenched), or screws with the slots removed;
(b) the name and port of choice (unless an exempted ship), are to be marked on a conspicuous and permanent part of the stern on a dark ground in white or yellow letters, or on a light ground in black letters, the letters being not less than 5 centimetres high and of proportionate breadth, or, where this is not possible by the alternative methods given below:—
(i) by engraving on plates of metal or of plastic or by cutting in on a shaped wooden chock.Where a shaped wooden chock is used it should be secured to the hull through bolts, the ends being clenched, or
(ii) by individual glass reinforced plastic letters and numbers approximately 2mm in thickness.These to be fixed to the hull with epoxy adhesive, and painted with suitable paint and coated with translucent epoxy resin;
(iii) where metal or plastic plates have been used these must be fixed by the use of epoxy adhesives.Metal or plastic plates secured by adhesives should be coated with translucent epoxy resin after they have been fixed in position.