BMA watermark crest

How to Register


Shipowners wishing to register their vessels under the Bahamas Flag may do so through our London, Nassau, New York, Hong Kong, Piraeus and Tokyo offices.

Full on-the-spot registration services, including mortgage transactions, may be undertaken through all our BMA offices.

The friendly and efficient Registration Team and its Registrars are always available to assist with any questions the shipowners and/or their agents may have. Their needs will be addressed promptly!

To start the registration process, the shipowner, who may be an individual or a corporation, must complete and submit to the Registrar an Application to Register Form (R102) giving the name and general details of the vessel. A Registration of Managing Owner Form (R104) which provides full contact details of the managers responsible for the day to day management of the ship should also be submitted together with a copy of the Bahamas ISM DOC, class status report and copies of the vessel’s current class certificates. Click on the link below to view technical procedures and requirements for registration of ships.

The application will be reviewed and the Registrar will then confirm the vessel’s suitability for provisional registration on to the register (as applicable). Further, the Registrar will reserve the vessel’s name and issue Bahamas identification details i.e. official number, call sign and MMSI number.

The remaining registration forms and required documents listed in Form R101a (Form R101a (Under Construction), Form R101b (New Builds) and Form R101c (Existing Ships) should then be submitted together with the applicable registration fees.

Once all registration requirements are fulfilled, the vessel will be registered and Bahamas certificates and documents will be issued. Vessels are provisionally registered for a period of six months to allow owners to complete all flag change formalities and fulfil BMA requirements for permanent registration (Form R101b and Form 101c).

Mortgages may be registered over a vessel following its provisional registration.