2.1 The purpose of the registration
Ship registration serves two objectives: it gives the state the possibility of controlling the public law aspects of shipping – with regard to both state obligations as well as rights. Consequently, ship registration should be obligatory. The other objective is of a private law character and is twofold: the contractual counterparty to the owner ought to be able to determine whether the person appearing to be the owner is really the owner, and whether there are other rights conflicting with his own in rem right to the vessel. A creditor of the owner has similar interests: Is the debtor the owner of the vessel, and what is the value of an attachment on the vessel? These private law interests can hardly indicate an obligation to register ownership and encumbrances on the vessel.