Study Legal Issue Of Ship Registration System And Practice In China

Ship registration, which showing the existence of a ship, has deep impact on the development of a nation's shipping economy, the operating income of shipping enterprises and even individual interest of property. China is great-power shipping country in international community, and ship registration has important effect on sustaining and cooperating with national shipping economy and the project design of our national economic development, on regulating and preserving the healthy development of shipping industry.The rights pertaining to ships depend on ship registration, because ships have the characteristics of personification and real estate. Ship registration can be classified in different ways, and different categories do exist around the world, which have different function and significance. As far as the rights deriving from ship registration are concerned, the main function of ship registration is to confirm the property right (ownership, lien and bareboat charter) and ship nationality (the right to sail). The basis of Chinese ship registration is《Maritime Law》and《Ship Registration Ordinance of People's Republic of China》which was entered into force in 1994. China use single-strict ship registration system which is different from the practice of many foreign shipping countries. All of these practices have their pros and cons. On the contrast of different legal system and specific ways of ship registration, and combine with the contemporary problems in our ship registration, it is clear that this single-strict ship registration system is not suitable for the development of Chinese shipping industry. Some urgent problems, the overlap and conflict of each legal basis on ship registration, the ambiguous legal liability of China MSA-the ship register of China, should be improved and consummated. For the purpose of improving the development of shipping industry, defining legal basis of ship registration, and regulating the practice of ship registration, it is necessary to analysis and have a deep research on the contemporary issues of Chinese ship registration. This article suggests to establish a "the second ship registration", amend the exist《Ship Registration Ordinance of People's Republic of China》, orient ship registration as model audit, define the legal liability of ship register in associated laws and regulations and so on, and then provide constructive proposal and feasible scenario for the amendment of law and regulation relating to ship registration in the future and for the reformation of those specific working way.