Introduction: Ship Registration in Cambodia
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The registration of vessels was previously granted and governed by the International Ship Registry of Cambodia (“ISROC”), a South Korean-based Company, to which it was given the sole and exclusive authorization to decide to register or refuse to register foreign-owned vessels as a Cambodian-flagged vessel. The Royal Government of Cambodia has decided in 2015 to end the agreement with the IS- ROC handling the Cambodian ship licensing procedures due to the lack of proper mecha- nisms including the national regulations to monitor the vessels flying Cambodian flag. Following the decision to close down the Cambodia’s ship registry with the ISROC, the for- eign-owned vessels were no longer available for registration by filing a simply online form through the ISROC’s website. To this day, Cambodia does not accept any foreign-owned ships for registration except for any vessels owned by foreign nationals residing tempo- rarily or permanently in the Kingdom of Cambodia. According to Notification No. 045 MPWT dated 17 August 2016, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (“MPWT”) notified the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) that any foreign-owned vessels flying Cambodian flags after the end of August 2016 are considered illegal and subjected to applicable international laws and regulations. |