Measurement of ships and boats

Every floating craft shall be measured and its tonnage has to be calculated before being registered on the Icelandic Ship Registry.

Ship gross tonnage measurement

The main dimensions of the ship are established:

• registered length

• registered width

• moulded depth

• overall length

Boats of less than 15 in length overall (LOA)

Those who are allowed to measure boats under 15 me LOA are maritime specialist employed by the Icelandic Transport Authority and the surveyors hired by accredited inspection bodies and who have completed a course held by the Icelandic Transport Authority on measuring boats.

After the measurements have been carried out, a report on the measurement shall be submitted for approval at the Icelandic Transport Authority. Subsequently, the Technical Department will submit a report to the Registration Department with information on the gross and net tonnage measurements. The reports will be archived at the Icelandic Transport Authority. Finally, the Registration Department will publish a joint Tonnage Certificate and a Certificate of Registry for the boat.

Ship 15 meters or longer

Private ship technology services or shipyards with marine engineers employed, calculate tonnage of ships according to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurements of Ships from 1969 (ITC69). The calculations shall subsequently be sent for approval to the Icelandic Transport Authority.

ITC69 (International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969) applies to ships of 24 m and over.

For ships of 24 m and less, Regulation No. 527/1997 on tonnage measurement of ships with a length of up to 24 m applies. That regulation is very similar to ITC69.

Maritime specialist from the Icelandic Transport Authority shall go on board the ship to conduct the following tasks:

• Check that the ship is built as indicated in data on measurements and calculations provided by the ship technology service

• measure the ship's main dimensions

• During the construction of new vessels abroad, certified parities are allowed to measure the ship according to ITC69, but employees from classification societies shall be present to witness the procedure.

Processing

Following the measurements, the Icelandic Transport Authority reviews the data and issues a tonnage certificate that identifies the spaces on which the gross and net tonnage of the ship is based.

The certified calculations are submitted to the ship technical service or the shipyard with an electronic stamp attached with additional data and archived electronically at the Icelandic Transport Authority.

Cost

The cost is according to the tariff of the Icelandic Transport Authority.

Laws and regulations

• Ship act. no. 66/2021

• Regulation No. on tonnage measurement of ships with a length of up to 24 m

• Regulation No. 244/1987, as amended, cf. the International Convention from 1969 (ITC69)

• Advertisement No. 11/1987 on the adoption of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969