Ghana Shipping Act, 2003 (Act 645)

Ships are restricted from trading in or from Ghanaian waters unless they are Ghanaian ships or have foreign registry documents; some local trade is limited to Ghanaian ships.

A ship is not a Ghanaian ship unless it is owned by one of the listed Ghanaian or registered joint-venture owners.

Some ships must be registered in Ghana, certain foreign and government ships may or must be registered, and unregistered ships lose Ghanaian recognition and privileges.

Applications to register a ship must be made to the Registrar of Ships, and the Registrar must require satisfactory proof of ownership before registration.

A person cannot be registered as owner of a Ghanaian ship or share unless a declaration of ownership in the prescribed form has been made.

Ghana building and selling new ships is restricted unless the required licence, approvals, and seaworthiness certificate are in place.

A person may not import a ship without written ministerial approval, and older ships are restricted by vessel type and age.

Builders of ships built in Ghana must give the owner a signed builder’s certificate, and applicants for first registration must file specified evidence.

A ship already registered in another country cannot be registered under this Act unless the foreign deregistration conditions are met.

The Registrar must cancel a ship’s registration if the ship is also registered in another country, no longer qualifies as a Ghanaian ship, or is considered lost or broken up.

A ship cannot be deregistered unless all registered mortgagees give written consent.

Takoradi and Tema are the ports of registry for registering Ghanaian ships, and the Authority may declare other Ghanaian ports as ports of registry by Gazette notice.

The Registrar of ships must keep the required register books, enter specified ship details, and keep certain ownership records. The Registrar must not register a ship acquired from a foreigner or corporate body if the transfer document restricts use or leaves foreign government control.

When a ship is registered, the Registrar of Ships must keep the listed registration documents.

Merchant ships must have unique names, Ghanaian ships must use only their registered names, and the Registrar can refuse a proposed ship name.

The Registrar controls ship name changes and may only approve them after all registered mortgagees have been notified. Violations can lead to a fine, imprisonment, or both.

The Registrar must give each fishing vessel an identity mark when it is registered, and registered fishing vessels must display it and the ship’s port of registry name in the required places.

Merchant ships and fishing vessels with certain radio equipment must also carry an internationally registered code designation.

A ship under construction may be entered in the register book for ships under construction starting when the construction contract is signed and ending when it is placed on another register after completion.

A ship must be surveyed and its tonnage determined before registration, and the surveyor must issue a Certificate of Survey.

The Minister may make Tonnage Regulations, and must include the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 (including amendments) when doing so.

If a ship’s tonnage has been ascertained under the Tonnage Regulations, that tonnage must be registered for the ship.

The Director-General can treat or order remeasurement of a foreign ship’s tonnage in defined cases, and a surveyor must remeasure and assign tonnage when the ship does not meet the Ghanaian standard.

A surveyor may use the latest register or Certificate of Survey figures for a ship, but must check that measurements have not changed and remeasure any changed parts.

The owner or master of a Ghanaian ship must tell the Registrar about any alteration or reconstruction within 30 days after it is completed, and provide details if it could affect classification, measurement, tonnage, or loading.

The Authority may appoint surveyors and nominate a classification society for ship tonnage measurement.

Ships must be permanently and conspicuously marked before registration in Ghana.

A Certificate of Registry must follow the form prescribed by the Minister and include specified ship and owner details.

The Minister may make regulations about new Certificates of Registry, replacement after loss, ownership changes, and handing in a Certificate of Registry in certain ship-loss situations.

The Registrar must issue a Certificate of Registry when a ship is registered, and the certificate must be kept on board and used only for lawful navigation.

A master or owner of a Ghanaian ship must not use or try to use an unlawfully granted Certificate of Registry for navigation.

If the Registrar is unavailable, an authorised officer may issue a provisional certificate for a ship registration application, and the master must deliver it to the Registrar within 10 days of the ship’s first arrival in Ghana.

The Director-General may direct the Registrar to grant a temporary pass for an unregistered ship, but only in special circumstances and where the ship’s country allows similar passes for Ghanaian ships.

If a Ghanaian ship’s tonnage details change, the alteration must be reported to the Registrar within 30 days and supported by a Certificate of Survey.

The Certificate of Registry must be produced to the Registrar within 60 days after an alteration to the ship, and the Registrar must record the alteration and update the certificate or endorse the existing one.

If a Ghanaian ship is outside Ghana and a new registration notice is given, the proper officer must issue or endorse a provisional certificate. The master must then deliver the certificate to the Registrar within the stated time, and the ship must be registered anew when it first arrives in Ghana.

The Registrar may direct a new registration when ownership of a Ghanaian registered ship has changed, if the owner applies.

If a ship is registered anew, the Registrar must re-register it and issue a Certificate of Registry, after the required documents and conditions are met.

A Ghanaian registered ship that was wrecked, abandoned, captured, or transferred to an unqualified owner cannot be re-registered until a surveyor inspects it and certifies it seaworthy.

Some ships must be licensed instead of registered, but specified small pleasure craft and already registered ships are exempt. The Authority may also exempt ships in writing on conditions set by its Board.

A ship can be licensed in Ghana only if it is wholly owned by the persons referred to in section 2, no more than eight joint owners may be recorded, and ownership changes must be notified in writing to the Registrar within 7 days unless the Director-General allows more time.

The Minister may make regulations about licensing Ghanaian ships.

A transfer of a registered ship or share to a person qualified to own a Ghanaian ship must be done by bill of sale.

A transferee cannot be registered as owner of a transferred ship or share until a required declaration is made and signed; if the transferee is a body corporate, an authorized person must do this.

A transfer bill of sale for a registered ship or share must be produced to the Registrar, who must record the transferee and endorse the bill.

When a registered ship or share passes on death, insolvency, or another lawful means, the recipient must sign a declaration and provide required details; the Registrar must then record the new owner(s) in the register.

If a Ghanaian ship is transferred to someone not qualified to own it, the High Court may order a sale on application, and the application must be filed within 30 days unless the Court allows more time.

If the High Court orders a ship sold, it must name a person who can transfer the ship or share as if registered owner.

The High Court may order that no one deal with a ship or a share in it for a specified time, and the Registrar must obey the order once served.

A ship mortgage must be recorded by the Registrar when the security instrument is produced, and the Registrar must note the recording time and date.

For provisionally registered ships, a mortgage executed outside Ghana may be shown to a consular officer, who must notify the Registrar, and the Registrar must record the parties, amount secured, and make the register entry.

If a registered mortgage is discharged and the required documents are produced, the Registrar must enter the discharge in the register.

If more than one mortgage is registered for the same ship or share, the mortgagees rank by the date each mortgage is recorded in the register.

A mortgagee is not treated as the owner of a ship, or share in a ship, just because of the mortgage.

Registered mortgagees may sell the ship or share and receive payment, but later mortgagees and mortgagees of Ghana Government ships need a High Court order in the stated cases.

A registered mortgage on a ship or ship share is not affected by the mortgagor’s bankruptcy and takes priority over other creditors’ claims.

A registered mortgage of a ship or a share in it may be transferred, and the transfer instrument must follow the prescribed form.

If a mortgagee’s interest in a ship is transmitted on death, bankruptcy, or another lawful means, the transmission is limited to the person receiving it, and the Registrar must record the transferee on receiving the required declaration and evidence.

A registered owner of a Ghanaian ship or share may apply in writing to the Registrar to sell or mortgage it outside Ghana; the Registrar must record the application and issue the appropriate certificate.

A certificate of sale may only be granted for the sale of an entire ship, and only when all interested owners or mortgagees apply in writing.

This section sets out the steps for recording a Ghanaian ship’s sale and what happens if the buyer is not qualified to own the ship.

A foreign-registered ship sold under a foreign certificate of sale may be registered in Ghana if the buyer is qualified to own a Ghanaian ship.

Certificates of mortgage must be used and registered as directed, and registered mortgages get priority based on registration timing.

If a sale or mortgage certificate is lost, destroyed, or so damaged that it is useless, the Registrar may issue a replacement certificate or make related register book entries.

The owner of a Ghanaian ship, or a share in it, may authorise the Registrar to notify officers that a sale or mortgage certificate is revoked.

Certain claims against a vessel’s owner, demise charterer, manager, or operator are secured by a maritime lien on the vessel.

Maritime liens listed in section 66 rank ahead of registered mortgages, but only if the mortgages meet the listed registration and disclosure conditions and the rule in section 74(5) and (6) does not apply.

Maritime liens generally rank in the order listed in section 66, but salvage liens rank ahead of all earlier maritime liens. Salvage liens also rank among themselves by reverse order of accrual.

A ship builder or ship repairer in possession of a ship for secured claims may have a preferential right, but it is postponed to maritime liens in section 66 and may outrank certain registered mortgages or other preferential rights while possession continues.

Subject to section 68, maritime liens continue to attach to the vessel even if ownership, registration, or flag changes.

A vessel cannot be subject to a maritime lien to secure certain claims arising from hazardous oil-related damage or from radioactive properties of nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste.

Maritime liens under section 66 expire after one year unless the vessel is arrested or seized before then and the arrest or seizure leads to a forced sale.

Before a forced sale of a vessel in Ghana, the Authority must serve notice and meet timing, content, writing, delivery, and publication requirements.

On a forced sale of a vessel in Ghana, most mortgages, liens, and encumbrances stop attaching to the vessel, and the sale proceeds must be used to pay specified costs and claims before any remainder goes to the owner.

After a ship is arrested and sold, court-awarded costs from that arrest and sale are paid first from the sale proceeds, and the rest is then distributed to specified lien, preferential right, and mortgage holders.

The Authority must issue a certificate stating a sold vessel is free of registered mortgages, liens, and encumbrances, except any mortgages the purchaser assumes, if the sale meets the listed conditions.

A court may appoint a guardian or committee for an incapacitated person connected with ship registration, and the appointee must act and make declarations on that person’s behalf.

A notice of a trust must not be entered in the register or received by the Registrar. Registered owners of a ship or share must dispose of it as the Act requires and give a valid receipt for consideration money.

This section says “beneficial interest” includes contractual and other equitable interests.

A beneficial owner of a ship, other than a mortgage interest, and the registered owner can both be liable for the penalties that apply to the owner.

The managing owner of a ship registered at a port in Ghana must register their name and address with the port Registrar; if there is no managing owner, the person entrusted with management must be registered instead.

The Registrar may allow a required declaration or evidence to be waived if the person cannot provide it for a reasonable cause, with the Director-General’s approval and other evidence produced.

Declarations required under this Part must be made before the Registrar, a proper officer, or another person authorized to administer oaths. A body corporate may have the declaration made by its Secretary or another authorized officer.

Fees charged under this Part must be used to pay the general expenses of carrying out the Authority’s functions, unless this Act says otherwise.

The Registrar of Ships must send the Director-General returns about ship registrations and related dealings, including the names of persons concerned and other required particulars.