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The Vessel Registry Service

In Canada, it is required for all commercial vessels, to be registered in order to comply with a variety of regulatory requirements.

On order to register their vessels, clients submit required documentation to the Vessel Registry office in Ottawa, where the documents are verified for correctness and completion by Registrars acting on behalf of the Chief Registrar. Once the documents have been validated and all necessary information has been received, the vessel and owner are entered into the Registry (which, in its current form, is a computer system with on-premises database), and a Certificate of Registry is then issued to the client, sent by mail.

The Vessel Registry office provides the service of registering these vessels, and supports clients in submitting the required documentation by assisting with completing forms, and providing guidance on what information is required to support their applications.

It is the client's responsibility to report any changes to the information on the certificate of registry (vessel details, owner details, etc.) so that the Registry is kept up to date.

There are a variety of secondary services provided by the Registry office, including but not limited to, mortgage registration, bareboating chartering, and issuance of documentation such as Transcripts of registry, deletion certificates, etc. A full list of services provided can be found here.

In addition to registering vessels so that owners are in compliance with regulations, Vessel Registry also acts as a data intake for Marine Safety and Security, and ensuring that this data is available to the necessary parties (enforcement, policy, inspection, etc.) is a very important function of the service. More information about other business lines and parties that use vessel registry data can be found here.

Inspectors and enforcement in particular rely upon the Registry being up to date and accurate in order to effectively perform their duties.

More information on the Registry in general can be found here.

For information on the regulations supporting the Registry, head over here.

Canadian Register of Vessels (Large Vessel)

This register applies to vessels of all types and sizes including pleasure and commercial. This type of registration is required for:

• vessels more than 15 gross tonnes used for commercial purposes, including government-owned vessels (if unsure of tonnage, check this explanation of tonnage measurements)

• vessels that require marine mortgages

• if you are planning to travel outside of Canada for extended periods of time

You may also choose to register your pleasure craft in the Canadian Register of Vessels if you wish to have an approved name and port of registry for your vessel or show proof of ownership.This type of registration is not required if:

• your vessel does not or will not have a mortgage

• you do not wish to register an “official” name

• you don’t intend to travel outside of Canada

Small Vessel Register

This registry only applies to commercial (non-pleasure) vessels that are 15 gross tons or less.This type of registration is required for:

• vessels less than or equal to 15 gross tonnes used for commercial purposes with propulsion motors of 10 horsepower (7.5kW) or more (if unsure of tonnage, check this explanation of tonnage measurements)

• commercial river rafts

• government-owned vessels with propulsion motors of 10 horsepower (7.5kW) or more