Page 29 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 01.19

processes operate. They have been involved right from the start and we consult them on everything that results from our work.”
That processes run more rapidly is one considerable advantage for shipowners. A considerable time sav- ing is expected on ship purchases. In addition, thanks to the online portal they are no longer dependent on County Court opening hours. Today, shipowners or notaries wishing to have a vessel registered in Ham- burg still have to submit the necessary applications on paper by post, or personally. In future, more-over, they will be able to view their files from their desks. In introducing this digital shipping register, Hamburg is taking a pioneering role. The application will be suit-able for use in other German federal states, or alternatively these can simply assign handling of their shipping registers to Hamburg.
This is an important step for Germany as a shipping country needing to assert itself against international competition. ■
FUTURE PORT ■
Some background
With entries for 6,985 vessels, Hamburg County Court maintains the largest shipping register in Germany. A ship does not need to originate from Hamburg to be registered here. A shipowner can himself select her home port – i.e., where she is registered. A ship does not necessarily need to call this port at some time or other. The shipping register entry serves as proof of ownership in the same way as an entry in the land registry does for property.
Registration is obligatory for seagoing ships with a hull exceeding 15 metres in length. The same applies to inland waterway craft displacing more than ten cubic metres or with a load capacity of more than 20 tons. In Hamburg 4,866 seagoing ships and 2,077 inland waterway craft were registered as at December 2018, plus 42 under construction. Last year 420 new entries were made, and around 3,500 enquiries handled. The staffing allocated to the County Court for handling the work comprises 5.25 full-time posts. The costs of the project run to 2.2 million euros.
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