The history and development of the Maltese ship registration procedure under the Merchant Shipping Act

Abstract

It is truly exceptional for Malta to have had a practically continuous success story in any international field for over a span of almost 40 years. The Merchant Shipping Act is one such example. With a little bit of effort this success could be improved upon even further. The purpose of this study is intended to document the historical changes that took place on the Merchant Shipping Act since its first enactment in 1973 from a procedural perspective. This thesis further investigates other Conventions and the views on their positive or negative impact on the Maltese ship registration procedure. Although the Malta flag has nearly always showed increase in tonnage year after year, it is equally true that increasing the market share becomes ever more difficult, the more a flag grows. Therefore, other measures which could be taken in order to render the Maltese flag more attractive to ship owners and operators are also analysed. Most of this study is carried out by examining the Merchant Shipping Act and its amendments through the various Acts, Legal Notices, and Resolutions of Parliament adopted over the years, together with international Conventions ratified by Malta in the past and others coming into force in the near future, and relevant cases.