UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Abdelhak Attalah and Ghassan Hidar, Attalah Legal Consultancy
Foreign ownership of vessels is now permitted under Article 13(1)(b) of the ML, which allows vessels owned by foreign entities or individuals to be registered under the UAE flag, a privilege that was historically reserved for UAE nationals and companies with a majority of Emirati share - holders. Vessels can now be registered under the UAE flag not only when the majority of shares are held by UAE nationals or companies from other GCC countries, but also when owned by individuals or entities with a domicile, business centre or office managing the vessel within the UAE. This broad - ens the scope of who can register vessels under the UAE flag, making it accessible to foreign nationals and GCC companies residing in the country. As a result, under the new ML, coastal service providers and supply vessels, which pre - viously had the option to operate under foreign flags, will now be required to register under the UAE flag. Bareboat Charter In Article 18(1) of the ML allows the charterer of a ship registered abroad, which meets the reg - istration criteria for a UAE-flagged vessel (as outlined in Article 13), to request its registra - tion with the Ministry provided that (i) the ship is “not equipped” and (ii) the charter period lasts at least six months. Bareboat Charter Out Article 19(1) grants the owner of a UAE-flagged vessel the licence to have the ship fly the flag of another country if the owner wishes to lease it “unequipped” to a charterer who intends to reg - ister the ship abroad. At a minimum, the licence application must include (i) the bareboat char - ter agreement for the unequipped vessel and (ii) a letter from the ship’s registration author - ity abroad confirming that the charterer’s state
has approved the ship’s registration and the flag under which it will sail as stated in Article 19(2) of the ML. 1.5 Temporary Registration of Vessels The laws of the UAE do not permit the tempo - rary or dual registration of vessels. There are no provisions in the applicable legislation that allow for such registrations. 1.6 Registration of Mortgages The authority responsible for maintaining the registration of maritime mortgages in the UAE is the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, as stated in Article 13(1) of the ML. According to Article 24(4) of the same law, all legal transac - tions and rights, including mortgages, affecting a ship must be documented in the ship register. The documentary requirements for registering a maritime mortgage are outlined in Articles 41 and 42 of the ML. Article 41(3) specifies that a ship may be mortgaged even while under con - struction, and the executive regulations estab - lish the procedures for registering such mortgag - es. Additionally, Article 42 stipulates that a ship mortgage must be accompanied by certified sig - natures from the parties involved to be valid. The law also allows the use of modern technological means for carrying out mortgage transactions. The maritime mortgage register maintained by the Ministry is an official record, and access to it is restricted to owners unless authorised by official documentation. 1.7 Ship Ownership and Mortgages Registry The registers are official records maintained by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. As outlined in Article 7 of the ML, the Ministry is responsible for creating and managing the ship
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