Who is entitled to register an Irish Ship?
The following are entitled to be registered as owner or part owner of a ship:
the Government;
a Minister of the Government;
a national of a Member State of the European Union;
a body corporate* established under and subject to the law of a Member State of the European Union and having its principal place of business in a Member State of the Union;
Am I entitled to fly the Irish Flag on my Yacht?
The Act says:
The following ships shall be known as Irish ships and shall, subject to subsection (3) of section 18 of this Act, be entitled to wear the proper national colours and assume national character-
State-owned ships;
ships which are wholly owned by persons being citizens of Ireland (hereinafter referred to as Irish citizens) or Irish bodies corporate and are not registered under the law of another country;
other ships registered or deemed to be registered under this Act
I want to register my yacht - how do I go about it?
A ship can be registered at any port which has been nominated as a port of registry under Section 32 of the Principal Act. There are currently 13 ports of registry viz.: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Skibbereen, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford, Westport and Wexford. You need to make contact with the Registrar at your chosen port. Enquiries may be made at your nearest Custom House, please see local telephone directory or at your local Customs & Excise Office, details are available from telephone directories. The Registrar of the port of Westport is located at Castlebar, the Registrar of the port of Skibbereen is located at Bantry and the Registrar of the port of Arklow is located at Dublin. Registrars of Ships are those Officers of Customs & Excise who have been allocated responsibility for the administration of registry procedure. In accordance with Section 23 of the Principal Act, the Collector or Chief Officer of Customs and Excise at any of the designated ports of registry is a Registrar of Ships.
What are the requirements for Registry
Before a ship can be registered, the owner/agent must arrange to have it surveyed and measured by a Surveyor of Ships to ascertain its tonnage and build and such other particulars as may be required. The owner will also be asked for documents establishing ownership such as a Builders Certificate and a Bill of Sale.
I intend to use my boat on the inland waterways, what must I do.
Please look up the excellent Inland Waterways Association of Ireland website, in particular the following page http://www.iwai.ie/boating/boatonthewater.html
My yacht is exempt under the Act and I don't want to register. Is there anything else I can do?
You can register your yacht under the ISA's Certificate of Identity and Origin Scheme. This will provide you with a bi-lingual document detailing your yacht's particulars. While it is not a substitute for registration, it may assist you with foreign formalities. Please see our website for detail.
Enquiries for the Ships register should be directed to the Merchantile Marine Office, Dept of Transport here.
ISA Submission to Maritime Safety Directorate