What does the introduction of a digital ship register entail?

As of 16 January 2023, ship registration in Denmark will be digitized. This means, among other things, that ship owners and mortgagees themselves must or can declare digital documents for registration in one of the Danish ship registers or the vessel register. Among many other things, it is expected that many customers will experience a shorter processing time from report to registration. This is, of course, due to the fact that some registrations can be made automatically. But it is also expected to be due to the fact that the need for rectification of reports will decrease a lot.

Reports and registration no longer happen on a date, but on a date and time. Date and time is added on all digital reports as they are received in DSRG, the Self-service solution. Reports which originate outside of DSRG, the Self-service solution, are augmented with a date and time when the Ship Register enters the report into DSRG, Self-Service. In the Executive Order you can read more about reporting dates in Chapter 5.

The transition to digital mortgage documents will take place on 16 January 2023. All mortgage documents are then continuously dematerialized by the Register of Shipping as the documents are submitted for registration of changes or solely to be digitized.

Owner mortgage certificates must be digitized within 5 years of the transition to digital ship registration. All owner mortgage certificates that are not digital or dematerialized after that time will be dematerialized and digitized by the Register of Shipping. As something new, sub-mortgages can be registered in digital or dematerialized owner mortgage certificates from 16 January 2023 onwards.

Certificates can be ordered and paid for in DSRG, self-service with bank cards around the clock – and you will receive what was ordered immediately after payment. If you do not have MitID, you can as before order and pay certificates by contacting the Danish Ship Register. Everyone must continue to order non-registration certficates and copies of paper documents by mail srg@dma.dk and pay by bank transfer.

You can issue power of attorneys in DSRG, self-service, you can use the Register of Shipping's Form II, 24 – but you can also submit a physical power of attorney on paper, as before.

If you have questions or would like a preliminary opinion on a document, you are as always welcome to contact the Danish Register of Shipping at srg@srg.dk

Going forward, everyone who is eligible for MitID must report digitally in the DSRG Self-service solution. Anyone who cannot get MitID may report using paper, but can by giving power of attorney to a person who has MitID nevertheless submit digital reports.

If a signatory or a reporter cannot get MitID, which so far is the only digital signature that can be approved and verified in DSRG, the Self-service solution, then reports can be physicaly submitted on paper as before, but according to the new rules. Those who cannot get MitID are predominantly foreigners. Anyone who cannot get MitID can give power of attorney to a person who has MitID and who can then report and sign for you or your company.

If you have MitID yourself, you cannot report submit reports physically on paper by choosing a reporter who does not have MitID.

In practical terms, digitization means that rights and obligations that have previously been established in a physical document are now established in DSRG, the Self-service solution.

Before 16 January 2023, the Danish Register of Shipping required the person who wanted to be registered as the owner of a ship to provide documentation in the form of an original document of title to the ship. The document had to be signed by the seller and witnesses had to confirm the seller's signature, identity and authority.

Now the seller must sign, in DSRG, the Self-service solution, that the information about the ship and who it is transferred to is correct. The system then checks that the parties involved in the transfer are the ones who have signed, and that this has been done with MitID. The registration is then either automatic and happens shortly after the last of the required signatures has been received and a notification has been sent with a request for registration, or it is done after the Register of Shipping has manually verified parts of the report. - Link- Overview of Automatic or Manual Registration

Reports where all involved parties are Danish or have MitID can be done fully digitally.

You should be aware, that even if you have MitiD there will be situations where not all parties who need to sign digitally have MitID and therefore the report can only partially be made digitally and the report must be processed manually.

First of all, you can find guides for all kinds of reports here and you can find guides in the lower left corner on the front page of DSRG, the Self-service solution.

The person who starts a report by logging in with MitID on – link – is called "reporter". The reporter must enter all the required information into the system. Once the report is complete, the report must be signed by the relevant parties. This is done by the applicant in DSRG, sending an invitation to everyone who is going to sign. They then receive an invitation in MitID to sign. The reporter receives an email notification when all signatures have been submitted. The reporter can then continue or cancel the report to the Danish Register of Shipping.  

Overall, the system is built up in different "flows". This means that as you create a report you must provide some information, and depending on the information / answers you provide, you will be brought further on in the flow.

The different flows reflect what is wanted to be registered. Depending on what you want to report, you must therefore choose the appropriate flow. There are flows for mortgages, for negative pledges, and a flow that covers both cadastral conditions and ownership rights.

If you have previously worked a lot with reports for the Register of Shipping, it is useful to keep in mind that the system here works slightly differently compared to the previous one. However, it is considered practical to have merged all information about both ship and owner in one flow. This way, the many repetitions that are necessary on the paper forms from the Register of Shipping related to reports of the ship and owner are avoided.

There is no field called cadastral information. However, the cadastral information still exists. This is the information displayed in the yellow-framed text box at the top of the page when a ship is opened in DSRG. Self-service solution. Similarly, the cadastral information is at the top of the view of the Ship Register.

There are a few types of reports that can only be done outside the DSRG Self-Service solution. These are:

(1) Report of frequent changes of register, which must continue to be reported on a form, II No 20. The form can be signed with MitID. The report is processed manually.

2) Report that a ship, that is subject to reporting/registration obligations, cf. The Danish Maritime Act § 10(3), will be registered in a non-Danish register, cf. section 17(5) of the Danish Maritime Act. This must be reported to the Danish Register of Shipping at "Declaration on Danish owner's registration of ships under foreign flag". The form, no. II, 21 can be signed with MitID, but you can now find it on the Danish Maritime Authority's website under forms. This type of report is processed manually. Please note that the same form is used regardless of whether the ship is deleted from the Danish register for registration in a foreign register, or whether the ship has never been registered in a Danish register.

Power of attorney for registrations in the ship register can be reported in DSRG, the Self-service solution using MitID, but can also be reported by anyone as a physical original document. A registered power of attorney can be withdrawn in DSRG, the Self-service solution using MitID, but can also be withdrawn without DSRG, the Self-service solution. However, the different withdrawal methods imply different legal effect dates for the withdrawal.

If you report a used vessel for registration within 30 days from the time you acquired it, the report must be made digitally in DSRG and signed by the owner and transferor. If the ship is reported more than 30 days after the date on which you have acquired the ship the report may instead be made by submitting an original document of title signed by the transferor to the registrar of the ship.  This is most relevant for ships with a GT below 20, which can only be registered when used for commercial purposes.

The requirement for digital reporting when using the Self-Service solution does not apply if one of the parties signing the report cannot obtain a digital signature. In these situations, the report and original signed documents must be sent to the Register of Shipping, which then report and registers in DSRG.  

In some situations, digitization can pose a major vulnerability, especially if some systems break down. In such situations, you can contact the Register of Shipping if your request is urgent, and we will see if we can help you with our emergency procedures.