Change of ownership of a registered ship or ship part

The process

When ownership of a ship or part of a ship changes, the new owner shall register the new and amended certificate of ownership in the register of title-deeds. When completed, it will be necessary to apply for registration on the Icelandic Ship Registry.

The application must be accompanied by the following documents:

• Shipbuilding certificate or certificate of ownership (the certificate of ownership shall be registered if a vessel is 5 GT in size or over)

• A declaration of the share of foreign parties in a public limited company (if a public limited company is the owner of a vessel and foreign parties are among shareholders, a declaration of the size of their shareholding shall be included)

• copy of a registered authorisation

The previous owner shall be responsible for all fees in respect of the ship until transfer has been completed.

Fishing vessels may not be owned by people not residing in Iceland.