1

Why change to Danish flag

Danish International Register and Shipping

  • Quality Flag (Paris MoU number 1 – Tokyo MoU number 15 – Qualship 21 Nation)
  • Fixed tonnage tax
  • No registration fee
  • Seafarer’s tax agreement
  • Point of contact
  • Qualified service 24/7
  • Change of flag is easy – your key account manager acts as coordinator in-house and with other relevant authorities
  • Electronic certificates
  • Inspection and certification is fully delegated to RO
  • Port State Control support
  • National regulation is kept to a minimum
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Point of Contact

If you consider registration in DIS we will appoint a Point of Contact dedicated to you. Send an e-mail to cfs@dma.dk to request a Point of Contact.

The point of Contact will assist and guide you during the whole process.

The DMA offers to meet with the owners to review the documentation and plan the forthcoming approval process. During this meeting the DMA will, insofar as possible, identify if anything onboard the ship has to be modified or upgraded.

3

Registration

Detailed information on registration and company requirements for having vessels registered in DIS may be obtained from our colleagues in register of Shipping either by e-mail srg@dma.dk or by telephone +45 72 19 60 00, ask for the Register of Shipping.

There is no registration fee when registering in Denmark.

4

The approval procedure

The owner must sign and submit the official notification form to the DMA. The owner will then receive detailed information about the approval and certification process.

Ships built or transferred to the Danish International Ship Register

  • Approval, survey and certification are fully delegated to the recognized classification societies (ABS, BV, DNV, KR, LR, NK, PRS, CCS, IRS and RINA).
  • When the approval process has been completed, the DMA will issue the national certificates for the
  • The DMA will charge a fee (currently approximately EUR 230.00) for each hour spent on issuing certificates not issued by the classification society.
  • The DMA will require non-asbestos documentation for ships built before 1 July 2002.
  • The owners must request the classification society to carry out a Change of Flag Survey in accordance with IMO Resolution 1140(31) and to issue provisional Danish statutory certificates to the ship.
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Regulation

The ship must be constructed and certified in compliance with the relevant international conventions, including the SOLAS, MARPOL, LOAD LINE and MLC Conventions.

The ship must be constructed and certified in compliance with the rules of a recognized classification society.

Ships registered in an EU country must comply with the “EU Directive on Marine Equipment” (the “Wheel Mark Directive”) regarding certain equipment. Equipment which is not wheel-marked is acceptable if the classification society on behalf of DMA finds that this equipment is of a standard equivalent to that of wheel-marked equipment.

Maritime Labour Convention

Danish ships must comply with the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). Parts of the MLC’s international requirements have been implemented in Danish legislation via national regulation on occupational health and accommodation.

The operational national regulations on occupational health in ships are found in Notice A, which is available from the DMA webpage.

Technical regulations on occupational health and accommodation are found in Order No. 172 of 2022.

Danish regulation and interpretations above international regulations ect.

Danish regulation and interpretations which are above international regulations, requirements and standards – e.g. IACS standards – are listed below.

  • People trapped inside a refrigerated room must be able to raise an alarm and escape the rooms even if doors are locked.

  • Noise regulation: If the ship is not covered by the new international requirements on noise - SOLAS, regulation II-1/3-12, a noise measurement report shall be submitted to DMA for evaluation. A noise measurement from the time of the building of the ship will be sufficient.

  • In all new ships approved to carry carcinogens in bulk (e.g. crude oil, petrol, benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene, etc.), a separate bathroom/changing room must be provided if it is assessed that there is a risk of work clothes being contaminated. There shall be direct access from open deck to the room. The crew must be able to take off contaminated clothes and get cleaned in order to avoid contamination of the accommodation. Separate laundry facilities for contaminated clothes must be available.

    If the crew is to work with epoxy resins or isocyanates on board, a bathroom/changing room, with hand free faucet for washbasin, shall be provided. This can be a common changing room equipped with hand free faucet and wash basin.

  • Local point ventilation / extraction systems must be installed at permanent workstations where dust, fumes, gases, aerosols or similar unhealthy substances or matter are produced – e.g. welding benches, cleaning tubs, chemical mixing areas, mixing tables in paint shops and test benches for fuel injectors. The air outlet must be led to the open deck.

  • Vertical ladders of more than 5 meters must be fitted with wire or rails for fixing the fall arrest harness.

  • Galley
    • Galley equipment must be of the same standard as CE certified equipment.
    • It must be possible to lock tilting pans in all the positions used during cooking and cleaning.
    • Point extraction must be fitted above the galley range.
    • Floors must be fitted with non-skid material.
    • Rotating/cutting equipment and large mixers must be shielded/safeguarded.

The  DMA  is  prepared  to  consider  equivalent  solutions,  as  long  as  the  intentions  behind  the provisions are complied with.

Hospital accommodation

In case where the ship is equipped with cabins for each individual seafarer and each cabin is equipped with toilet and bath, a hospital need not be installed. In its stead a treatment room which is suitably equipped including washbasin and emergency treatment area to be provided. Only one bed need be installed in the treatment room. 

Ships' medicine chests

Danish national regulations stipulate rules on the contents of the medicine chest and the training of the person in charge of medical care (Notice A, chapter IX). The master and the person in charge of medical care (it can the same person) must have medical training according to EU regulation. Officers in charge of medical care from outside EU/EEA must have a 4-days supplementary course. The course can be obtained in Denmark, Manila and Mumbai.

More about it on our website

Danish Recognition Certificate (DRC)

In general, masters and officers must hold an appropriate Danish Recognition Certificate (DRC).

Officers other than the master can serve on Danish vessels with a Certificate of Receipt of Application (CRA) without holding a DRC for a period of three months if so requested by the ship owner after the application is submitted and validated by the DMA.

Nationality of master, other officers and crewmembers

As a general rule, a master can acquire a DRC if s/he is a citizen of an EU/EEA country. It is also possible to get permission to engage non-EU/EEA citizens as masters of specific vessels. For other officers and crewmembers they must be from the list of countries with a recognition agreement. If the institute from which the crew member holds certification is not approved s/he must go through an operational interview.

Courses in Danish shipping legislation

Management-level officers must pass relevant courses in Danish shipping legislation. Masters are required to pass Danish Maritime Legislation course for Foreign Masters, whereas other senior officers are required to pass Danish Maritime Legislation course for Senior Officers.

Courses in Danish shipping legislation are arranged by Danish Shipping’s Danish Shipping Academy in Manila, Mumbai, Gdynia and Copenhagen and by the maritime academies in Denmark.

This course is offered as an online/e-learning course by Danish Shipping.

For more information, please visit:

Medical examination

Seafarers serving on Danish vessels must hold a Health Certificate for Seafarers. The certificate can be obtained from authorized medical staff abroad.

Please consult our website for further information

Safety and Health Course

In cargo ships where the safe manning, including the master, numbers five persons or more, a safety organization must be established. One officer and one ship's assistant must have successfully completed a §16 course (Notice A Ch. XI). The courses are offered by approved training providers in Denmark as well as abroad. For example, the maritime academies in Denmark offers §16 course. Abroad Danish Shipping’ Danish Shipping Academy in Manila, Mumbai, Gdynia offers §16 courses. This course is also available as an online e-learning course by Danish Shipping or by Sea, Health and Welfare.

Ship’s cook

Persons may serve as ship's cooks without holding a Danish certificate of competency if they hold a valid certificate of endorsement pursuant to Order No. 1305 of 05/12/2019.

Further information on our website

Minimum safe manning

Information about the safe manning document is also available on our DMA website

Please note that the DMA will have to make an individual assessment of the safe manning requirements.

 

Remember – your Point of Contact will help you with all the information and assistance you need.

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Special requirements for Change of Flag at Sea

Purpose

Change of flag (COF) shall as far as possible be carried out in port, in order to facilitate that COF survey, reprogramming of radio equipment, changing of Port of Register on hull and changing of relevant certificates are carried out collectively. The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) has however been approached on several occasions for permission to carry out COF at sea.

This guidance is to give ships owners, managers and ROs guidance on the requirements for changing flag to Danish flag while the ship is at sea.

This guidance shall be seen as an addition to the First technical letter. All matters addressed in the First technical letter shall as usual be in place by the time of COF.

Regulation

  • Order 1154/2019 Ch.I R.6 (e)(ii)
  • Regulation (EC) No 789/2004 on the transfer of cargo and passenger ships between registers within the EEC.
  • A 1156(32) HSSC, 2021

Instruction

Upon notification of a ship to the Danish flag, the notifying body should as soon as possible reach out to the DMA in case they wish to perform the COF at sea.

In connection with COF at sea, the DMA can accept the COF survey to be carried out by the RO either in the last port of call prior to COF or at the next port of call after COF.

In case of survey after the COF date, the RO may issue statutory certificates reflecting the new Flag State on behalf of the DMA on the COF date. In that case the DMA will issue a flag state letter which can be presented to the port state in question.

When preparing for COF at sea the RO and Owner shall be aware of the following:

  • All GMDSS radio equipment including LRIT, SSAS must be reprogrammed on the day of COF.
  • Reprogramming of SSAS shall be done in accordance with DMA Ro Circ. 007.
  • Owner shall obtain RO acceptance for COF at sea based on an prepared action plan
  • RO shall confirm their attendance for survey either prior to or after COF.
  • In case COF survey is carried out after COF date, the COF date should be arranged as close as possible to the next port of call.
  • In case marking of Port of Register on the vessel hull cannot be completed at COF date, Owners shall arrange for acceptance from the DMA. Acceptance may be granted until next port of call. The same applies in case of new name of the vessel.
  • The ship shall be able to receive certificates issued electronically from DMA and RO.

BECAUSE THERE IS MORE TO QUALITY SHIPPING
THAN CLEAN CERTIFICATES

www.dma.dk