4.2 Vessel registered in NOR – requirements for flagging-out
MC Section 40c states that the same type of vessels, platforms or constructions described in 3 as being registered in Norway may, upon request from the owner, be given permission to bare boat registration in a foreign ship register. The time limitations are similar to those in MC Section 40 paragraph one (see 3.4.2). The right to grant extensions is in the hands of the registrar, and according to the travaux preparatoires it is also the registrar who has the competence to give the initial permission.(1) Prop. 32 L (2019‑2020) p. 26, What the registrar must take into consideration before giving permission, is primarily whether the necessary documentation is adequate. He is not entitled to deny registration because he considers registration in state A as being “unfortunate”.
A permission requires documentation (paragraph two):
a copy of the bare boat charter party,
a written consent to the flagging-out from the owner of the vessel and “all those having rights in the vessel”, which probably means all those with registered rights, and
documentation from the foreign register that bare boat registration there is accepted. There is no requirement as to what kind of rules are applicable in the selected register state and how effectively the rules are followed up.
The consequences of flagging-out are described in paragraphs three and four:
(i) For a temporary period, the vessel has the right to fly the flag of the bare boat register state. During such period, the vessel shall not be considered Norwegian, see MC Section 1 paragraph six. The vessel is not allowed to use the Norwegian flag, and furthermore, the vessel shall not have a Norwegian nationality certificate.
(ii) Paragraph four states that mortgages and other registered rights are not affected, and that such rights as are created during the flagging-out period may be registered in the Norwegian register.
Finally, paragraph five entitles the Ministry to issue regulations, similarly to those in Section 40 paragraph five.
The register transcript (headed: “vessel information”- Norwegian: “fartøysinformasjon”) will, in addition to the technical details of the vessel, including the name of the owner, state that the vessel is also registered in a named state on the basis of a bare boat charter party for an identified period. The transcript will give information on the registered encumbrances– all in order of priority. One of the encumbrances is the bare boat charter party, with information on the charterer.