Guernsey
The island of Guernsey has a long and rich maritime history and
throughout has held on firmly to its British identity. There was a
British Customs & Excise presence in Guernsey from the late
seventeenth century. However, the precise date of the commencement
of recognition and operation of Guernsey as a port of British
Registry is unclear. Certainly, since the 1894 UK Merchant Shipping
Act, the Registry has been active in providing a much valued
service to commercial and private vessel owners.
In 1973 the UK Government passed responsibility for the Registry
to the States of Guernsey's Customs and Excise Department. In 1993
the UK Government transferred the function of Ship registration
from 15 registration offices throughout the UK to the Registrar of
Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff from March 1994. However, Guernsey
and Jersey are not part of the UK and continue to operate their
Registry operations as separate British territories within the Red
Ensign Group.
In 2000 the States of Guernsey's Board of Administration, which
was then responsible for both Customs and Harbour departments,
agreed that the Registry should transfer from Customs to the
Harbour Authority to create a new 'one stop shop'. This created a
single point of access for local boat registration, (which had
always been administered by the Harbour Authority) and bringing the
full British Register (Part I), Fishing Vessel Register and Small
Ships Register all under the same roof, from 1 January, 2001.
The Registry is administered under the provisions of the
Merchant Shipping (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002. From 1
February, 2009 new regulations were introduced governing
registration and tonnage. Part I Registration in Guernsey is valid
for 10 years and the 'blue book' certificate is still issued.
Further details on Part I registration can be obtained from our
website -
www.shipsregistry.gov.gg