Transport Malta has issued a notice to inform all concerned parties about the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2025, outlining updated guidelines for the registration and seaworthiness requirements of Maltese ships.
As explained, the Directorate has reviewed the guidelines for ascertaining the seaworthiness required in terms of Article 12(a) of the Merchant Shipping Act for vessels being registered as Maltese ships. As a rule, in terms of Article 3(8), merchant ships of 20 years and over will not be registered, while applications for the registration of other ships will be considered subject to:
Furthermore, registration of merchant ships of 15 years and over is also subject to the outcome of a prior-to-registration inspection by an authorised flag State inspector.
The Directorate may require the inspection to be carried out in dry-dock. When the Directorate allows the inspection to be carried out on registration, only a non-operational provisional certificate of registry will be issued.
Ships of 10 years and over but less than 15 years shall also be presented for inspection by an authorised flag State inspector within one month of registration. On payment of the relevant fees, owners may opt to have their ship inspected prior to registration. A negative outcome of an inspection of a registered ship may lead to the immediate closure of registry.
The fee for pre-registration inspections, even when allowed to be carried out on registration, shall be:
Payments must be made prior to the authorisation of the inspection. The pre-registration fees are a once-only payment. However, unforeseen costs not covered by these amounts, such as higher inspection fees, travel expenses, supplementary inspections, etc., will be charged separately. Ancillary costs which may arise as a result of these inspections will be additional to the stated pre-registration inspection fees.
It is emphasised that the final decision on the registration and seaworthiness of a vessel remains at the discretion of the Directorate.
