Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The amendments in group 4 - Nos. 9 to 14, inclusive - relate to section 49, which provides that the transfer of a registered ship or a share in such a ship to another qualified person must be by means of a bill of sale, which must be in approved form. The original wording of section 49 did not specifically allow for circumstances in which a bill of sale is not produced during a transfer of a ship, nor did it allow for the acceptance of a description of a ship based on a declaration of measurement, as proposed in the case of registration on certain parts of the register. In the cases of some smaller ships, where the owner may have difficulty in producing a bill of sale, it is proposed to accept a declaration of ownership. This refers to some circumstances in which an actual bill of sale might not be available. It could have been lost, or it might not be available in different circumstances. This amendment proposes that in such circumstances, a declaration of ownership will be accepted in the place of a bill of sale. Amendment No. 9 recognises that there will be exceptions to the requirement to have a bill of sale and allows for the acceptance of alternative documents of transfer, such as a declaration of ownership in some cases. The detail of the documents of transfer will be set out in ministerial regulations. Amendment No. 14 arises as a consequence of the previous amendment and introduces a new subsection (6). To remove any doubt, the new subsection (6) confirms that any reference in section 49 to a bill of sale includes a reference to a document of transfer prescribed under subsection (1).

Section 49(2) establishes that one of the requirements for a bill of sale is that it must contain a description of the ship. This involves consistency with the certificate of measurement relating to the ship. It is proposed to allow for declarations of measurement in the case of some smaller ships that will be registered on certain parts of the register. The specific details and requirements in this regard will be set out in regulations. Amendment No. 11 amends the wording of subsection (2) to recognise that the description of the ship may in certain prescribed circumstances be set out in a declaration of measurement rather than a certificate of measurement. Amendments Nos. 10, 12 and 13 are technical amendments to section 49. Amendment No. 10 amends subsection (2) to clarify that the requirements in relation to a bill of sale or other document of transfer apply equally to such documents in respect of a share in a ship as well as documents in respect of a ship. Amendment No. 12 corrects the placing of the last comma in subsection (2). Amendment No. 13 corrects the wording in the first line of subsection (3) to replace the word "therein" with "in it" and the word "subsection" with the more accurate "subsections".