Here at The Bahamas, we are asked numerous questions every day, although probably the most frequently asked is whether we ever go to The Bahamas? Sadly not for most of us!
Here are some of the questions that come up most frequently, of course, there are countless more than we can show here but answers to many of the technical queries we receive can be found on our website www.bahamasmaritime.com There you will also find expanded answers to some of those shown on this page.
The Bahamas Appointment of Authorised Officer Form R103, Mortgage Registration Form R208 and Bahamas Bill of Sale Form R209 must be executed and attested when presented.
The Declaration of Ownership Form R105 may be attested by an acceptable witness or signed in the presence of the Registrar of Bahamian Ships. The witness must be a disinterested party, independent of the body corporate or the individual executing it, such as a Notary Public, Consular Officer, Magistrate or Justice of Peace. A director, officer or employee of an owner that happens to be a body corporate should not be an attesting witness.
The witness should confirm the identity, capacity and authority of the signatory. Supporting documents will be required where the authority of the signatory is unconfirmed.
We recognise in some jurisdictions a Notary Public may not be authorised to attest a foreign document. It’s acceptable to us if a Notary in another jurisdiction notarises the original Bahamas form(s).
The flag administration has an obligation under the applicable Conventions to ensure the accuracy of the CLCs and insurance certificates that they issue for vessels. it’s important that the Blue Cards submitted to us match the details for when the insurance period begins.
For new registrations, the period of insurance ‘start’ date should reflect the date the vessel is registered with the flag administration under the new ownership. If the ‘start’ date pre-dates the sale/delivery of the vessel and its immediate registration with the Bahamas under the new ownership, the Blue Card will not have the correct ownership and flag state information.
Likewise, we require correct information if, for example, ownership or the name of a Bahamas-flagged vessel changes.
We will accept Blue Cards issued with the applicable ‘start’ date for when the vessel’s registration or named transaction was confirmed. In this instance, the Blue Cards would need to be forwarded to us by the insurer.
We have all types of vessels in our fleet, from passenger ships, where we are market leaders, to general cargo which forms the largest percentage of our fleet, to bulk carriers, container ships, oil tankers, gas carriers, various types of offshore units and yachts.
Notably, when it comes to their most expensive assets, owners trust the Bahamas. For example, cruise liners carry the most expensive and precious commodity (‘human lives’) and the majority consider the Bahamas to be their preferred flag. The Bahamas is also a major player in the offshore sector which has some of the most technologically advanced ships.
The BMA is the government agency, established in July 1995 by The Bahamas Maritime Authority Act, responsible for ships registered in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The Authority falls under the auspices of the Ministry for Transport and Housing and all funds go towards maintaining our quality customer service delivery, enabling compliance with our international commitments and building national capacity as a part of our corporate social responsibility and strategic, long-term sustainability objectives.
Registering with The Bahamas is easy and efficient. We continue to introduce additional online services to enhance our customer service and also to align with our environmental goals. In fact, providing all registration requirements have been satisfied, a ship may be registered within an hour.
To further speed up the process, we encourage our clients to submit draft copies of the registration documents to us for our review and comments, before the documents are executed and notarised.
With offices worldwide, The Bahamas Registration Team continues to be available to provide support and assistance throughout the registration process with the customer retaining the option of which office to use for transactions.
Absolutely! The original notarised Mortgage Registration Form R208 can be registered at any BMA office. Our dedicated registration staff in Nassau, London, New York, Hong Kong, Piraeus and Tokyo are equipped to register, discharge and/or transfer a Bahamian mortgage on production of the original, duly executed and attested, mortgage instrument.
It is usual for the mortgage instrument to be attested by a Notary Public.
No, you do not need a new Minimum Safe Manning Document if the ship is not in operation, but you need to make an agreement with the local port authorities on the manning level that you plan to keep onboard or that you have no crew onboard.
We can issue several Minimum Safe Manning Documents and all will be valid until the expiry date on the certificate.
Electronic Certificates are the original documents.
The certificate(s) are signed electronically in accordance with IMO FAL.5/Circ.39/Rev.2. Validation and authentication can be obtained from https://public.bahamasmaritime.com/verifycertificate using the QR code or Unique Tracking Number shown at the top of each certificate. Please be guided by our Marine Notice No 53 MN053-Electronic-Statutory-Certificates-v2.1-ID-359648.pdf (bahamasmaritime.com).
We have all types of vessels in our fleet, e.g. Passenger ships, general cargo, bulk carriers, containers, oil tankers, gas carriers, yachts etc.
Notably, when it comes to their most expensive assets, owners trust the Bahamas. For example, cruise liners carry the most expensive and precious commodity (human lives) and the majority consider The Bahamas to be their preferred flag. The Bahamas is also a market leader in the Gas and Offshore sectors, markets which have some of the most technologically advanced ships.
