SHIP REGISTRY, MORTGAGES AND LIENS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

By Glen Oxton, Healy & Baillie, LLP

The internet changes everything. Undoubtedly ship registries eventually will be affected. This article reviews the potential benefits of a digital registry, how one might work, and some of the present obstacles to going digital.

An electronic registry would make the ship registry process faster, more convenient and reliable. It would reduce expenses for the owners both directly by reducing transaction costs, and indirectly by reducing risk to lenders. In addition, since more deals are done when deals are easier to do, it could provide increased liquidity in the purchase, sale and finance markets for ships. Registries will not become fully digital, however, until rules and standards for certification authorities are established and digital signatures become more widely used. The drive to eliminate paper records, as reflected in adoption by the courts of electronic filing systems, is likely to spur use of digital signatures.

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