Glossary
Ship Registry
Definition: A ship registry is the official record in which a vessel or yacht is registered. The registry of the flag state = the flag administration. The registry records: owner identity, hull number, technical particulars, mortgage information, and prior sales.
Why it matters
The registry is official evidence of ownership + mortgage. On the financing side: banks perfect their mortgages by registering them; an unregistered mortgage is not valid. On a sale: until the ownership change is registered, the buyer is not the formal owner.
Turkish registry
- Bayrak Şahadetnamesi (classic Turkish registry)
- TUGS — Turkish International Ship Registry (Law no. 4490)
- Operated by port authorities
International registries
- Marshall Islands Registry
- Cayman Islands Shipping Registry
- Malta Ship Registry
- BVI Ship Registry
All under the jurisdiction of their flag state.
Registry change
The re-flag process happens in the registry: application to the new registry, deletion request from the old, re-registration.