Government discusses change of ship registration rules

The registration of sea ships under Moldovan flag will be done only with an approval notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The Ministry must issue a notice withing 5 workdays. If a notice isn’t issued in these five days, the answer is considered an approval. The change of rules regarding the registration of sea ships was discussed during the Government meeting. Minister of Transports Anatol Salaru said that sea ships were registered under Moldovan flag because the law is tolerant and registration fees are small. Currently, there are about 400 ships flying the Moldovan flag. “Moldova is part of international conventions. These ships will be obligated to respect the provisions of these conventions and will be informed about the penalties stipulated by international law for the violation of these provisions”, said the Minister. The Government supports these changes in principle, but will approve them only after the formulation of a provision regarding the procedure of customs clearance of ships.