Provisions of ship registration

Latvian Ship Register performs:

• Registration of ships (also foreign) and issue of related documents;
• Registration of ship mortgages;
• Registration of ownership.

Latvian Ship Register can register the following ships:

1. Cargo vessels, passenger vessels, vessels carrying passengers in commercial purposes, specific vessels (tugboats, icebreakers, pilots, rescue vessels, cable vessels, training and research vessels, dredgers, barges, auxiliary vessels, floating cranes etc.) regardless its length, and state service vessels (border guard, environment protection, rescue) which are 12 meters in length or over,
2. Ships under construction,
3. Recreational craft – sailing recreational craft of maximum length over 2.5 meters, motorized recreational craft of maximum length 12 meters and over, and motorized recreational craft of maximum length over 2,5 meters, but less than 12 meters if they are used for passenger transportation in commercial purposes,
4. Fishing vessels and fishing boats used for industrial fishing in territorial waters and economic zone waters.

Vessels described in par. 1 can be registered if at the moment of registration they are not older than 23 years. If at  the moment of registration the vessel is older than 23 years, but is not older than 30 years, it can be registered only if Maritime Safety Inspectorate has issued a separate confirmation regarding absence of detentions in ports, limited number of observations during inspections and minimal number of inspections.

Floating constructions (floating docks, floating workrooms, floating fuel filling stations, floating houses, cargo pontoons) shall be registered at the Ship Register, and they must comply with the requirements of Latvian legal acts applicable to ships. Registration of floating constructions made for specific works at sea, but not mentioned above, is not mandatory. These floating constructions, if the water displacement without cargo is more than 10 tons, can be registered at Latvian Ship Register basing on application of the owner, if they are completely located in the territory of Latvia. The only aim of this registration is to protect rights in relation to the floating constructions.

Condition of Ownership

The vessel may only be registered in Latvian Ship Register if:

1. It is 100% owned by Latvian citizen or person having permanent residence permit or legal entity established and registered in Latvia or any combination of these and , is operated by ISM certified technical manager having valid Document of Compliance for the type of the vessel (DOC Company) established in Latvia or another EU country ;
2. It is owned by foreigner or foreign legal entity from EU and is operated by DOC Company; established in EU (only authorized person must be from Latvia)
3. It is owned by foreigner or foreign legal entity outside EU and is operated by DOC Company; established in Latvia Person/legal entity qualified to be owner of Latvian ship can register ownership in LSR and receive the Certificate of Ownership

Please note, that Document of Compliance has to be issued by Maritime Administration of Latvia or recognized Organization

Technical Supervision of Latvian Ships

In order to register a ship, its technical condition and equipment must comply with international and local requirements. Maritime Administration of Latvia or classification society authorized by Maritime Administration of Latvia can carry out technical inspections.