Shipping 2026

DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen, Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Lars Rosenberg Overby and Malthe Hersom Kløft, Bech-Bruun

With regard to pollution, the Danish Maritime Author - ity co-operates with the Danish Environmental Pro - tection Agency. Thus, the Danish Maritime Authority performs port state control of adherence to regula - tions concerning sulphur emission. The Danish Mari - time Authority’s findings are reported to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency for consideration. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency will also decide whether to report a breach to the Danish police for further investigation and possible criminal charges. The Master of the ship must report occupational acci - dents and cases of poisoning to the Danish Maritime Authority that have occurred on board the ship if: • the accident or poisoning has resulted in incapac - ity for work for one day or more beyond the day of injury; or • the injured person has been unable to perform their usual work for one day or more beyond the day of injury. 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration The Danish ship registers are handled by the Dan - ish Maritime Authority, and Chapters 2 and 2 (d) of the Danish Merchant Shipping Act contain the Danish rules on ship registration. In Denmark, there are three different ship registries: • a national registry for Danish-owned tonnage (the Register of Shipping; Dansk Almindeligt Skibsregis- ter , or DAS); • a national registry for specific Danish-owned com - mercial ships ( Fartøjsfortegnelsen FTJ); and • an international registry for ships engaged in foreign trade (the Danish International Register of Shipping; DIS). Danish vessels with a gross tonnage of 20 GT or high - er are obliged to register in the DAS or the DIS. Dan - ish vessels with a tonnage of between 5 GT and 20 GT have a right to register in the DAS, but cannot be registered in the DIS. Furthermore, warships, fishing vessels, boulder fishing vessels and recreational crafts cannot be registered in the DIS. A ship registered in

the DIS that is engaged in regular services between Danish ports may not carry passengers. Certain Danish commercial ships (including passenger ships, cargo ships, fishing vessels and barges) with a GT between 5 and 20 GT, and which have not been registered in the DAS, must be registered in the FTJ. Certain barges, lighters, dredgers, floating cranes and similar crafts used for commercial purposes must also be registered in the FTJ. A vessel registered in the DAS, DIS or FTJ flies the Danish flag. Newbuilds can be registered in the DAS if the build is at a stage where it can be sufficiently iden - tified, and if it is estimated to be at least 5 GT in size. 1.4 Requirements for Ownership of Vessels For a ship to be registered in the DIS or the DAS, it is a requirement that economic activity in Denmark be carried out in one of three ways: • the ship’s technical or commercial operations are handled from Denmark; • the unit responsible for the operation of the ship meets the requirements to be covered by the Dan - ish tonnage tax regime; or • the shipping company, organisation or person who holds or has applied for the ship’s compliance document in accordance with the Code of Compli - ance (“document of compliance”) is established in Denmark. Furthermore, it is a requirement that the ship-owner appoints a Danish entity – either a natural or legal per - son – who can be contacted for inspection purposes and who can be sued on behalf of the ship-owner. For foreign ship-owners, the appointed managing owner must either be a citizen or a legal person from a coun - try within the EU or European Economic Area (EEA). Managing ship-owners from outside the EU or EEA are not eligible. Both conditions must be fulfilled for the ship to remain registered in Denmark. The Danish Maritime Authority carries out random checks to determine whether ships are registered with a non-Danish owner, and whether the ship and owner meet the registration conditions, on an ongoing basis.

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