NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Rik van Waasbergen, Sander Metzelaar, Wiebe Wajer, Iris Stielstra and Daan Komen, HerikLegal
rights such as mortgages. Registration in these public registers provides legal certainty and publicity with regard to title and security interests. The entitlement to fly the Dutch flag is regulated under public law. Since 1 July 2025, this has been governed by the Kingdom Act on the Nationality of Seagoing Vessels, which introduced a modernised framework and a dedicated flag register. Registration in this reg - ister is required for a vessel to lawfully fly the Dutch flag and to obtain a certificate of nationality. The Kadaster is responsible for private law registra - tion, including the registration of ownership and mort - gages, while the ILT handles public law registration in the flag register and the issuance of certificates of nationality. 1.4 Requirements for Ownership of Vessels Ownership of vessels registered in the Netherlands is not restricted to Dutch citizens. Foreign ownership is permitted, provided that the statutory requirements are met. These requirements focus on the existence of a genuine link with the jurisdiction rather than on the nationality of the owner as such. In practice, particular attention is paid to establishment and organisational connections, especially where vessels are operated commercially. This may include requirements relat - ing to the place of establishment of the owner or the appointment of a qualifying ship manager. The purpose of these requirements is to ensure effec - tive regulatory oversight and enforcement, rather than to impose nationality-based restrictions. Both natural persons and legal entities from outside the Nether - lands may therefore own vessels flying the Dutch flag, subject to compliance with the applicable conditions. Vessels under construction may also be registered. A ship that is still under construction can be entered in the public registers maintained by the Kadaster , ena- bling the registration of ownership and limited rights, including mortgages, prior to completion. 1.5 Temporary Registration of Vessels The legal framework permits the temporary registra - tion of vessels through the issuance of a provisional certificate of nationality. This provisional certificate is
issued by the ILT and is valid for six months. It allows a vessel to provisionally acquire Dutch nationality while the requirements for full registration are being com - pleted. As a general principle, dual flagging is not permitted. A vessel that holds the nationality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is required to fly the Dutch flag exclusively and may not simultaneously fly the flag of another state. An exception exists in the form of bare - boat out registration. Under this arrangement, a vessel registered in the Netherlands may temporarily operate under a foreign flag while remaining registered in the Dutch ship register. Although this may resemble dual registration in a functional sense, it does not involve the simultaneous flying of two flags and is expressly regulated by law. 1.6 Registration of Mortgages Ship mortgages are registered in the public registers maintained by the Kadaster . These registers provide publicity and legal certainty with respect to security interests in vessels and form a central element of the maritime financing framework. The creation of a ship mortgage requires a notarial deed. The mortgage is constituted by execution of the deed before a civil law notary, followed by registration by the notary of a certified copy in the relevant pub - lic register. Registration is a constitutive requirement, meaning that the mortgage only comes into existence and becomes enforceable against third parties upon registration. 1.7 Ship Ownership and Mortgages Registry The ship ownership and mortgages registry is pub - licly accessible. The public registers maintained by the Kadaster contain information on registered vessels, including ownership details and registered rights of mortgages. Further, in the case of registered property such as ves - sels flying the Dutch flag, any (conservatory) arrests levied on such Dutch flagged vessels must, in princi - ple, be registered in the public register pursuant to 566 (1) DCCP and Article 728a (1) of the DCCP. There is no time limit for registering the arrest in the public reg - isters. Therefore, not all (conservatory) vessel arrests
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