Certificates of survey and certain exemptions from a certificate of survey (such as EX02 and EX40) show evidence that a vessel is compliant with Marine Safety laws and standards. They are not evidence of title or ownership of a vessel or an operator’s competence to operate a certain vessel and do not become invalid when a vessel changes ownership.

A certificate of survey, or an exemption from a certificate of survey, allows your vessel to be operated commercially in Australia and will identify:

• The service categories the vessel can be used in.
• The number of crew, passengers, and special personnel that can be carried (note that minimum crew requirements also apply).
• Any other conditions specific to the vessel.

To remove any confusion around the purpose of these certificates, AMSA is no longer publishing the name of the certificate holder on a certificate of survey, Exemption 02 and Exemption 40 approvals as it is being misconstrued as proof of ownership.

AMSA will however continue to keep a record of ownership so we know who to send survey reminders to and so you will still need to notify AMSA if you sell or transfer the vessel. These kinds of changes can be submitted by a vary application.

This change will only affect certificates issued by AMSA from 13 December 2018.

If you require a document as evidence of ownership, beyond your proof of purchase / bill of sale, your vessel can be registered on the Australian General Shipping Register. More information is provided on our shipping registration pages.