Guyana Shipping Act 2006

(1) A person shall not be registered as the owner of a Guyana ship or of a share therein until such person, or in the case of a body corporate the person authorized by section 92 (2) to make declarations on its behalf, has made and signed declaration of ownership the prescribed form referring to the ship as described in the certificate of a surveyor of ships and containing the following particulars – (e) a statement of the number of shares in the ship in respect of which such person or the body corporate, as the case may be, is entitled to be registered as owner, and (f) a declaration that to the best of his knowledge and belief no unqualified person or body of persons is entitled as owner to any legal or beneficial interest in the ship or any share therein.

In this Part the expression "beneficial interest" includes interests arising under contract, and other equitable interest and without prejudice to – (a) the provisions of this Act for preventing notice of trusts from being entered in the register book or received by the Registrar; (b) the powers of disposition and of giving receipts, conferred by this Act on registered owners and mortgagees; (c) the provisions of this Act relating to the exclusion of unqualified persons from the ownership of Guyana ships, interests arising under contract or other equitable interests may be enforced by or against owners and mortgagees of ships in respect of their interests therein, in the same manner as in respect of any other personal property.

Where any person has any beneficial interest otherwise than by way of mortgage in any ship or share in a ship registered in the name of some other person, the person having the beneficial interest in the ship and the registered owner of the ship shall be subject to all pecuniary penalties imposed by this or any other Act on the owners of ships or shares therein and proceedings may be substituted for the enforcement of any such penalties against both or either of the aforesaid parties with or without joining the other of them.

(1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 3, a ship shall not be registered in Guyana under this Act unless she is wholly owned by persons qualified to own a Guyana ship, that is to say –(a) nationals of Guyana; (b) persons domiciled or ordinarily resident in Guyana; (c) citizens of Caricom States residing in a member country of the Caribbean Community, where the ship is customarily engaged in international voyages; (d) a body corporate established under the laws of Guyana and having its principal place of business in Guyana or is a body corporate that is a national of a Caribbean Community state; (e) persons in bona fide joint venture relationships with any of the categories of persons described in paragraphs (a) and (c), or (f) such other persons as the Minister may by order determine.

(2) A ship acquired by bareboat charter by any of the categories of persons described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of subsection (1) may be registered in Guyana. (3) For the purposes of this section a body corporate shall mean a body corporate the majority of shareholders of which are persons referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1).

(1) Whenever a ship is owned wholly by persons qualified to own a registered Guyana ship, that ship shall be registered in the manner provided in this part unless - (a) it is registered in some other country; (b) the ship is recognized by the law of a country other than Guyana as a ship of that country, and is by the law of that country exempted from registration; (c) the ship is, pursuant to subsection (2), exempted from registration under this Act; (d) the ship is required to be licensed and operates solely within Guyana waters; or (e) the ship is exempt from being licensed.

Where the ownership of any Guyana ship is changed, the Registrar may on the application of the owner of the ship be registered anew, although registration anew is not required under this Act.