Unique boat names & Part I Register: How to check?

I've been reading the thread with interest and was pleased that I took the "easy" route and registered my new boat, in 2013, on the SSR. Now I'm in retirement, I'm thinking about leaving the UK shores (nothing definitive, as yet).

My certificate makes reference to The Merchant Shipping Act and the cover letter states that it is valid throughout the world.

Recognising that what's written on MCA / UK Ship Register letterhead and the will of other countries Port Officials may well be at odds, what do the SSR owning, well travelled members of the forum do when completing foreign entry formalities?

The reverse of the certificate shows the SSR address. Hence giving Cardiff as port of registry so there's an element of consistency.

Of the difficulties sometimes experienced, does it ever go as far as looking for the port of registry on the transom and bow or is it mostly paperwork / bureaucracy?
 
doug748 said:
You are wise to put a new, larger boat onto part 1 in my view.

The documentation asks you to put forward a number of alternatives, in case your favoured ones are taken. .
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I have heard that you should put your preferred option at n°2 on the list.
 
pvb said:
Looks like "Never Again 3" might be available. :rolleyes:
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We had owned Mistroma for about 23 years and thought we'd use Mistroma II for our new boat after she was sold. I remember being told that wasn't possible as we didn't own Mistroma. Mistroma II or 2 also Too weren't allowed. The lady I spoke to said that it would have been OK to buy more vessels and name them Mistroma II, Mistroma II etc. and immediately sell them on to someone else.

We went for Mistroma of Gair (Gare, Gaireloch, or Gareloch as alternatives). She wouldn't confirm if any name was currently in use and we just had to provide a list of alternatives. I also seem to remember that she wouldn't give details of minimum letter sizes as that would come with the registration information. It's already been mentioned that "of something" can be anything as long as it isn't considered to be rude or confusing. That probably rules out Mistroma of Portsmouth registered in Leith :D

Our old boat never appeared in the Mars database so owner either let the radio licence lapse or renamed the boat. We called a few years ago to ask if Mistroma might be available to register. Same response as before and the lady I spoke to said that they couldn't give out that information and I'd need to apply for a name change. Decided not to bother.

When I said earlier that their processes were antiquated, I didn't mean IT specifically. I was referring to their way of operating.
 
davidjackson said:
I've been reading the thread with interest and was pleased that I took the "easy" route and registered my new boat, in 2013, on the SSR. Now I'm in retirement, I'm thinking about leaving the UK shores (nothing definitive, as yet).

My certificate makes reference to The Merchant Shipping Act and the cover letter states that it is valid throughout the world.

Recognising that what's written on MCA / UK Ship Register letterhead and the will of other countries Port Officials may well be at odds, what do the SSR owning, well travelled members of the forum do when completing foreign entry formalities?

The reverse of the certificate shows the SSR address. Hence giving Cardiff as port of registry so there's an element of consistency.

Of the difficulties sometimes experienced, does it ever go as far as looking for the port of registry on the transom and bow or is it mostly paperwork / bureaucracy?
Click to expand...

Home port is almost always asked for in foreign parts but you can mostly put anything you like as nobody checks. I have seen posts mentioning fines for not displaying port of registry on the stern. No first hand knowledge of that but I have frequently seen officials peering around my dinghy to read the port of registry on the stern.

I might be tempted to put "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch" as port of registry if I had a SSR registered catamaran.

I wonder if New Zealanders get to use "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu". Now that would really slow things down with customs guys. :D:D
 
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muddywater said:
We didn't really want to display our 'Port of Choice' on our transom. This Port had to be one from a limited list of Ports of Registry which doesn't actually seem to be published anywhere readily accessible - they could only read out the options when I called to try and get a copy of this to see what the options were!
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When I bought my boat I changed her port of registry from Portsmouth to Glasgow, and there was a list with the form which gave the options. I was intrigued to see that Dumfries is a port of registry, even though it has never been a significant port.
 
In Faro, the Port Captain refused to allow boats which were ashore to be lifted in until the Port of Registry was painted on the stern.
Don't,t know if that is still enforced, but don't,t understand why you wouldn't want to have it.
 
davidjackson said:
I've been reading the thread with interest and was pleased that I took the "easy" route and registered my new boat, in 2013, on the SSR. Now I'm in retirement, I'm thinking about leaving the UK shores (nothing definitive, as yet).

My certificate makes reference to The Merchant Shipping Act and the cover letter states that it is valid throughout the world.

Recognising that what's written on MCA / UK Ship Register letterhead and the will of other countries Port Officials may well be at odds, what do the SSR owning, well travelled members of the forum do when completing foreign entry formalities?

The reverse of the certificate shows the SSR address. Hence giving Cardiff as port of registry so there's an element of consistency.

Of the difficulties sometimes experienced, does it ever go as far as looking for the port of registry on the transom and bow or is it mostly paperwork / bureaucracy?
Click to expand...

SSR is perfectly acceptable world wide, although Part 1 is perhaps more commonly recognised the further you go away from Europe.

However there is some ambiguity about the SSR for worldwide use as it was never intended for this. Its purpose was to provide a cheap way of identifying boats (and owners) based in the UK for short term trips to Europe, and Particularly France who insisted on this from visitors. It therefore is open only to residents of UK (irrespective of nationality). So if you moved your residence outside the UK you would no longer be eligible, although you would be for Part 1 as a UK citizen.

Up until recently there has been little attempt to enforce the residency and many people, even if they live abroad maintain a UK address and renew registration from this. However there have been reports, including some here of more scrutiny and refusal for those who no longer qualify.

It would not surprise me in there is a change to this easy arrangement when we leave the EU, although probably not high on the priority list. So I think anybody contemplating moving abroad and wanting to keep UK registration should bite the bullet and go on Part 1. Not a big deal on a newer boat with a good title trail.
 
Thanks, Tranona, very helpful.

I'm not planning to give up UK residence so that should be of no concern.

So from other posts it seems that SSR risks being unable to complete an arrival form and also that of not having PoR shown on the vessel.

It seems a bit crazy that Part 3 is a legitimate form of registration but seemingly not accepted by certain overseas port authority officials. Of course, there is no requirement to have PoR shown on the transom and bow of a Part 3 / SSR registration except in the eyes of Jobs Worth Bureacrats.
 
davidjackson said:
Thanks, Tranona, very helpful.

I'm not planning to give up UK residence so that should be of no concern.

So from other posts it seems that SSR risks being unable to complete an arrival form and also that of not having PoR shown on the vessel.

It seems a bit crazy that Part 3 is a legitimate form of registration but seemingly not accepted by certain overseas port authority officials. Of course, there is no requirement to have PoR shown on the transom and bow of a Part 3 / SSR registration except in the eyes of Jobs Worth Bureacrats.
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It really is not a problem. SSR is fully accepted, certainly around Europe. Put your port on the transom as I have with mine. Some people produce a "data sheet" for their boat with name, registration no, length, insurance certificate number and name of insurer etc and attach their original documents in a folder to hand to officials. Currently around the EU there is no systematic entry procedures, although you may well be asked randomly for documents, particularly in France. virtually all marinas will ask for documents and in some states that is the mechanism used for monitoring the movements of boats (and collecting taxes!).
However, easy for you as first owner to register on Part 1. Just the cost of the survey and the higher registry costs.
 
Tranona said:
Some people produce a "data sheet" for their boat with name, registration no, length, insurance certificate number and name of insurer etc and attach their original documents in a folder to hand to officials.
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I have all my stuff like that in a red faux-leather bound book - the kind of thing used to hold the menu in a restaurant trying to look swankier than it really is :)

Pete
 
For those who've had poor experiences telephoning, you've either been unlucky or belligerent because the three times I've rung I've spoken to helpful, knowledgeable people who've sorted out the problem/issue then and there on the phone, each time bending their rules to deal sympathetically with issues such the death of the PO's wife before she could sign the form; to a port of registry issue; and a problem with a missing payment. Really decent people to speak to.
 
Colvic Watson said:
For those who've had poor experiences telephoning, you've either been unlucky or belligerent because the three times I've rung I've spoken to helpful, knowledgeable people who've sorted out the problem/issue then and there on the phone, each time bending their rules to deal sympathetically with issues such the death of the PO's wife before she could sign the form; to a port of registry issue; and a problem with a missing payment. Really decent people to speak to.
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Sounds as if you weren't calling to ask if they'd let you know if a name was already registered. I'd hope most places would be helpful when a death is involved or money has gone astray. I was very polite and tried to be a little chatty but it didn't help, so I must have been unlucky each time.

Responses do seem to be mixed with some people getting help or a hint and others getting nowhere.

ColvicWatson found them helpful (don't know if this applied to information about a name).
doug748 was given a hint
pvb found them helpful

KellysEye said just call (but I don't know if this was from personal experience)
muddywater had both positive and negative responses on different calls

I had 2 failures to get any information (3 if I count a request regarding letter sizes)
JumbleDuck had a negative response
laika didn't get the information he needed
A1GSS found the person grumpy, unhelpful and standoffish
dgadee ran into this proble several times (didn't actually mention phoning to be honest)

It would obviously be a very bad idea to be belligerent and I'd hope that all of the people posting their experiences were polite. I still don't see why it's not easy to find out if a name is already registered. I got the impression that they have a rule preventing release of the information and that seems weird.
 
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Mistroma said:
I still don't see why it's not easy to find out if a name is already registered. I got the impression that they have a rule preventing release of the information and that seems weird.
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It could be that the list of pending applications, each with a number of alternative names, makes it difficult for them to be precise.
 
Surely the only reason they have alternatives is because you can't tell what's acceptable (whether for content style or non-duplicate or whatever) when you submit the form. Surely would be best to have an online service where you put your chosen name in, it's checked there and then and if all OK is then reserved for you eg for 7 days, pending payment and the rest of the required info.
 
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