Flying the Ghanaian flag

THE law and practice of the registration of ships in Ghana is governed by the Merchant Shipping Act 1963 (Act 183). According to the act, a ship shall not be deemed to be a Ghanaian ship unless it is;

• owned wholly by a Ghanaian or a body corporate established under the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) and having its place of business in Ghana, or
• owned by a Ghana Statutory Corporation, or
• owned by any of the combination of the above, or
• the subject of a bareboat charter under which the lessee is any of the persons stated above.

Every ship owned by the persons named above shall be registered in Ghana.

The above provisions satisfy the conditions set by the UN conference on the conditions of registration of ships that flag states should provide, in their laws and regulations, for the ownership of ships flying their flags. The laws and regulations should include appropriate provisions for participation of nationals as owners of such ships, and such provisions should be sufficient to permit the flag state to exercise effectively its jurisdiction and control over ships flying its flag.

A person shall not be entitled to be registered as the owner of a ship until, in the case of a body corporate, there is a declaration made on behalf of the body corporate. The declaration must contain, inter alia, a statement as to when and where the ship was built. If the ship is foreign-built and the time and place of the build are unknown, a statement to this effect must be made. In the case of foreign-built ships, a statement of the foreign name must also be made.

In addition to the declaration of ownership, the applicant is required to produce a builder’s certificate and a bill of sale under which the ship became vested in the applicant. The registrar shall, when satisfied that the requirements preliminary to registration have been complied with, enter in the register book the following particulars;

(a) the name of the ship;
(b) the details in the surveyor’s certificate;
(c) the particulars respecting its origin as stated in the declaration of ownership, and;
(d) the name and description of its registered owner and, if there is more than one owner, the proportions in which the owners are registered in the ship.

After a ship has been duly registered, it will be issued with a certificate of registration and an official number boldly embossed on the ship. The ship then has the right to fly the national flag. The Ghana red ensign is the proper national identification for all ships registered in Ghana. The nationality of a ship will depend upon the flag it flies.

The only prohibition to registration of a ship under the Merchant Shipping Act 1963 (Act 183) is provided by Section 17 of the act, which states that, “No ship purchased or otherwise acquired from a foreign subject or body corporate where any bill of sale or other document under or by virtue of which a ship became vested in the applicant for registration contains any provisions express, implied or constructive restricting the use of the vessel or imputing any measure of continued control thereof by the government of a foreign country, shall be registered under the act”.

In effect, unless there is foreign government control over a ship intended to be registered under the Ghanaian law, once all the other requirements of the act have been satisfied, a ship can be registered under Ghanaian law.

It is important to note that there is a new Merchant Shipping Bill currently being debated by the legislature. The provisions in the bill relating to the registration of vessels in Ghana is, in substance, the same as the present law on the matter.