Decree 247/2025/ND-CP amending Decree 171/2016/ND-CP on seagoing ship registration

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020

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Pursuant to the Law No. 63/2025/QH15 on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Law No. 95/2015/QH13 on Maritime Code of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Minister of Transport;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Government's Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020:

1. To amend and supplement Clause 10 Article 3 as follows:

“10. Ports of registration of seagoing ships include: Hai Phong, Da Nang and Sai Gon ports. The shipowners shall select a port for registration of seagoing ship in accordance with regulations.”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 11 Article 3 as follows:

“11. Age of seagoing ship shall be counted in years starting from the date of seagoing ship handover.

The date of seagoing ship handover is the day the first inspection is completed before the vessel is put into use, to serve as the basis for the issuance of technical certificates of maritime safety in accordance with the law regulations and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party and is recorded on those technical safety certificates.”

3. To amend Clause 1 Article 4 as follows:

“1. The Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration shall function as the ship registration agency.”

4. To amend Clause 2 Article 4 as follows:

“2. Maritime and Waterway Sub-Administrations and port authorities shall perform the task of registering seagoing ships as decentralized by the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration.”

5. To amend Clause 4 Article 5 as follows:

“4. To post on the website of the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration detailed information on addresses and accounts of seagoing ship registration agencies to serve the sending of dossiers by post and payment of charges and fees via bank transfer through the banking service system by related organizations and individuals.”

6. To amend Clause 1 Article 6 as follows:

“1. The Vietnam National Register of Ships is used to record information relating to registered or deregistered seagoing ships, official-duty seagoing ships, submarines, submersibles, floating storage and offloading units and mobile offshore units in accordance with regulations. The Vietnam National Register of Ships shall be in the form of a hard-copy logbook and a database”.

7. To amend and supplement Point c Clause 1 Article 7 as follows:

“c) In special cases, the age of used seagoing ships shall be decided by the Minister of Construction, to be specific: The age of used seagoing ships must not exceed 17 years for container ships with a capacity of 1500 TEUs or more; not exceeding 20 years for chemical tankers, liquefied gas tankers, oil tankers and floating storage; not exceeding 25 years for scientific research ships, training ships, or search and rescue ships that are given, donated, gifted, contributed, aided, or sponsored to the State of Vietnam.

Other special cases shall be decided by the Prime Minister.”;

8. To amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 7 as follows:

“2. The age limits of seagoing ships prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article do not apply to foreign-owned seagoing ships flying foreign state flags which are put up for auction in Vietnam under coercion decisions of competent agencies. Upon implementation of the procedures for registration for flying of the national flag of Vietnam, certificates of foreign seagoing vessels shall be exempt from consular legalization.”

9. To amend and supplement Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Approval of names of seagoing ships

1. Ship names shall be given by shipowners in accordance with Article 21 of the 2015 Maritime Code of Vietnam.

2. A dossier of request for approval of the name of a seagoing ship must comprise:

a) An application for registration of name, made according to the Form No. 5 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) The original, or a certified copy, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the seagoing ship purchase and sale contract or seagoing ship building contract, or other papers of equivalent legal validity proving the ownership of the seagoing ship (accompanied by the original or a certified copy or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the contract is made in a foreign language);

c) The original, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, an electronic copy certified from the original, or a certified copy or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the certificate of cooperative or cooperative union registration (in case the shipowner is a cooperative) or the Vietnam-based branch or representative office’s establishment license (in case the shipowner is a foreign organization);

d) A certified copy, or an electronic copy certified from the original, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the passport, in case the shipowner is a foreigner.

3. An organization and individual shall submit a dossier either directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send to the shipowner a written notice of approval of the name selected by the shipowner, using the Form No. 12 issued together with this Decree; in case of disapproval, issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.”

10. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Procedures for indefinite registration of seagoing ships

1. Certificates of registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship.

a) Certificates of registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship shall be granted to seagoing ships which apply for indefinite registration, meet all the prescribed conditions and have been registered in the Vietnam National Register of Ships in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this Decree;

b) A certificate of registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship shall be granted in 1 original, made according to the Form No. 6 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

c) A certificate of registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship shall be valid from the date of its issuance and become invalid from the date it is lost or the seagoing ship is deregistered.

2. A dossier for indefinite registration of a seagoing ship must comprise:

a) An application for registration made according to the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) The original of the certificate of deregistration of a seagoing ship, for seagoing ships flying foreign state flags, or the certificate of deregistration of an inland waterway craft, for used VR-SB inland waterway craft, or the ship handover record, for newly built seagoing ships;

c) The original of the seagoing ship purchase and sale contract or seagoing ship building contract, or other papers of equivalent legal validity proving the ownership of the seagoing ship (accompanied by the original or a certified copy or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the contract is made in a foreign language);

d) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the ship tonnage certificate;

dd) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the ship classification certificate;

e) A copy enclosed with the original for comparison, a certified copy, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of documents proving payment of registration fee under regulations, including the registration fee declaration, notification of the fee payment by a tax office and the document proving the fee payment into the state budget; or the registration fee declaration and notification of the fee payment by a tax office for the cases where the seagoing ship is not liable to registration fee;

g) The original, a certified copy, an electronic copy issued from the original register, an electronic copy certified from the original, or copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the certificate of cooperative or cooperative union registration (in case the shipowner is a cooperative) or the Vietnam-based branch or representative office’s establishment license (in case the shipowner is a foreign organization);

h) A certified copy, or an electronic copy certified from the original, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the passport, in case the shipowner is a foreigner.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a certificate; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance, directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results, and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

11. To amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Procedures for periodical registration of seagoing ships

1. Certificates of periodical registration of seagoing ships.

a) The period of registration of a seagoing ship corresponding to the term of the ship hire-purchase or bareboat charter contract or requested by the shipowner shall be stated in the certificate of such ship. In cases a seagoing ship has a certificate of registration suspension, the period of registration of a seagoing ship shall not be longer than the term recorded in the certificate of registration suspension;

b) A certificate of periodical registration of seagoing ship shall be granted in 1 original, made according to the Form No. 7 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

2. A dossier for periodical registration of a seagoing ship that is hire-purchased or hired in the form of bareboat charter by a Vietnamese organization or individual must comprise:

a) An application for registration of seagoing ship, made according to the Form No. 1 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the ship tonnage certificate;

c) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the ship classification certificate;

d) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the certificate of cooperative or cooperative union registration (in case the shipowner is a cooperative);

dd) The original of the certificate of registration suspension (if the seagoing ship has been registered overseas) or of deregistration;

e) The original of the ship hire-purchase or bareboat charter contract (accompanied by the original or a certified copy or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the contract is made in a foreign language);

g) The original of the ship handover record (accompanied by the notarized translation or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the ship handover record is made in a foreign language);

h) A copy enclosed with the original for comparison, a certified copy, an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of documents proving payment of registration fee under regulations, including the registration fee declaration, notification of the fee payment by a tax office and the document proving the fee payment into the state budget; or the registration fee declaration and notification of the fee payment by a tax office for the cases where the seagoing ship is not liable to registration fee.

3. The dossier for periodical registration of a seagoing ship whose owner is a foreign organization or individual must comprise the documents specified at Points a, b, c, dd, e, g and h Clause 2 of this Article; a certified copy, or copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of its Vietnam-based branch or representative office’s establishment license or his/her passport.

4. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier either directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

5. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a certificate; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

6. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance, directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results, and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

12. To amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Procedures for provisional registration of seagoing ships

1. Certificates of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship:

a) A certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship shall be granted in 1 original to the owner of a seagoing ship registered to provisionally fly the national flag of Vietnam; the certificate shall be made according to the Form No. 8 in the Appendix  issued together with this Decree;

b) A certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship shall be valid in 180 days after its issuance;

c) In case a certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship expires when the seagoing ship concerned is still unable to arrive to Vietnam to complete official registration procedures under this Decree, the seagoing ship registration agency granting the certificate shall extend the registration for once, with the extension period not exceeding 180 days, counting from the expiry date of the first certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship;

d) In case past the extension period of the certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship defined at Point c of this Clause but, for force majeure reasons, the seagoing ship is still unable to arrive to Vietnam to complete official registration procedures, the Director of the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration may decide to extend the period of provisional registration of the seagoing ship, with the extension period not exceeding 180 days.

dd) In case past the extension period of the certificate of provisional registration of Vietnamese seagoing ship defined at Point d of this Clause but, for force majeure reasons, the shipowner is unable to complete official registration procedures for the seagoing ship, the Minister of Construction shall decide to extend the period of provisional registration of the seagoing ship, with the extension period not exceeding 180 days.

2. A dossier of provisional registration of a seagoing ship must comprise:

a) In case charges and fees have not yet been paid, the registration dossier must comprise an application for registration of seagoing ship made according to the Form No. 1 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree; the documents prescribed at Points b, c, g and h Clause 2 Article 9 of this Decree, and electronic copies of the ship tonnage certificate and ship classification certificate;

b) In case the ship deregistration certificate has not yet been obtained, the registration dossier must comprise an application for registration of seagoing ship made according to the Form No. 1 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree; the documents prescribed at Points c, g and h Clause 2 Article 9 of this Decree and copies or electronic copies of the ship tonnage certificate and ship classification certificate;

c) In case of testing a newly built ship, the registration dossier must comprise an application for registration of seagoing ship made according to the Form No. 1 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree; the documents prescribed at Points c, g and h Clause 2 Article 9 of this Decree and the ship capacity factsheet;

d) In case of receiving a newly built ship for delivery to the place of registration on the basis of the ship building contract, the registration dossier must comprise an application for registration of seagoing ship made according to the Form No. 1 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree; the documents prescribed at Points c, d, dd, g and h Clause 2 Article 9 of this Decree.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a certificate; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The registration agency shall sign and provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receiving the results, and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

13. To amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Procedures for registration of seagoing ships under construction

1. Certificate of registration of seagoing ship under construction:

a) A certificate of registration of seagoing ship under construction shall be made in 1 original according to the Form No. 9 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) A certificate of registration of seagoing ship under construction may not be used as a substitute for a certificate of registration of seagoing ship.

2. A dossier of registration of a seagoing ship under construction must comprise:

a) An application for registration made according to the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) The original of the seagoing ship building contract or a contract on purchase and sale of a seagoing ship under construction (accompanied by the notarized translation or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the ship handover record is made in a foreign language);

c) The original of the certificate of keel laying, issued by the ship builder and bearing the certification of an inspection organization; in case the ship has no keel, there must be the certificate thereof issued by the ship builder, together with a written certification of the inspection organization supervising the ship building that 50 tons or 1% of the total estimated weight of the materials to be used for construction of the ship hull has been assembled;

d) The original, a certified copy, an electronic copy issued from the original register, an electronic copy certified from the original, or copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the certificate of cooperative or cooperative union registration (in case the shipowner is a cooperative) or the Vietnam-based branch or representative office’s establishment license (in case the shipowner is a foreign organization);

dd) A certified copy, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the passport, in case the shipowner is a foreigner.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a certificate; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall sign and provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results, and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

14. To amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Procedures for registration of small seagoing ships

1. A certificate of registration of small seagoing ship shall be granted in 1 original according to the Form No. 6 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

2. A dossier of registration of a small seagoing ship must comprise:

a) An application for registration made according to the Form No. 01 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) The original of the certificate of deregistration of a seagoing ship, for seagoing ships flying foreign state flags, or the certificate of deregistration of an inland waterway craft, for used VR-SB inland waterway craft, or the ship handover record, for newly built seagoing ships;

c) The original of the seagoing ship purchase and sale contract or seagoing ship building contract, or other papers of equivalent legal validity proving the ownership of the seagoing ship (accompanied by the notarized translation or an electronic copy certified from the original of a notarized translation if the contract is made in a foreign language);

h) A copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or a certified copy, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of documents proving payment of registration fee under regulations, including the registration fee declaration, notification of the fee payment by a tax office and the document proving the fee payment into the state budget; or the registration fee declaration and notification of the fee payment by a tax office for the cases where the seagoing ship is not liable to registration fee;

dd) The original, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or a certified copy, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the certificate of cooperative or cooperative union registration (in case the shipowner is a cooperative) or the Vietnam-based branch or representative office’s establishment license (in case the shipowner is a foreign organization);

e) A certified copy, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the passport, in case the shipowner is a foreigner.

g) A certified copy, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original of the certificate of technical safety and environmental protection of seagoing ship”

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a certificate; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results, and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

15. To amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. Procedures for change registration

1. In case there is any change in the information stated in the seagoing ship registration certificate prescribed in Clause 4 Article 3 of this Decree, within at most 30 days after such change occurs, the shipowner shall carry out procedures for registering such change and be granted a new certificate with the same form as that of the old certificate.

2. A dossier of change registration must comprise:

a) An application for change registration, made according to the Form No. 2 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

b) A certified copy, a copy enclosed with the original for comparison or an electronic copy certified from the original of the ship classification certificate, the ship tonnage certificate (in cases of change in technical specifications and utilities of the ship, or ship inspection organization);

c) If the seagoing ship is a mortgaged one, the written consent of the mortgagee is required.

d) The original seagoing ship deregistration certificate, in case of changing the ship registration agency.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency with which the seagoing ship has been registered or to the new seagoing ship registration agency, in case of changing the ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 02 working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall issue a new certificate to the organization or individual; and at the same time, shall revoke and cancel the original of the former registration certificate in the system. In case of refusal to renew a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results; return the original of the former registration certificate to the seagoing ship registration agency immediately after receiving the results; and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

16. To amend and supplement Article 16 as follows:

“Article 16. Procedures for re-grant of a certificate of seagoing ship registration

1. In case a certificate of seagoing ship registration is lost or damaged, the seagoing ship registration agency shall re-grant the certificate to the shipowner according to the ship’s previous registration form.

2. Dossier of request for re-grant of a certificate of seagoing ship registration:

An application for re-grant of certificate of seagoing ship registration, made according to Form No. 4 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a a new certificate to the organization or individual; revoke and cancel the original of the former registration certificate (for damaged certificates), concurrently send a notice of re-grant to the mortgagee; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay seagoing ship registration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receipt of results; return the original of the former registration certificate to the seagoing ship registration agency immediately after receiving the results; and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

17. To amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 18 as follows:

“2. For registration of an official-duty ship, the shipowner shall submit its establishment decision issued by a competent authority (a certified copy, or an electronic copy issued from the original register, or an electronic copy certified from the original, or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison) instead of the paper specified at Point c Clause 2 Article 8; Point g Clause 2 Article 9; Point d Clause 2 Article 10; Point g Clause 2 Article 12; Point d Clause 2 Article 13; or Point dd Clause 2 Article 14 of this Decree.”

18. To amend and supplement Article 20 as follows:

“Article 20. Deregistration procedures

1. A deregistration certificate shall be granted in 1 original to the shipowner according to the Form No. 10 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

In case the seagoing ship is mortgaged, the mortgage deregistration procedures shall be carried out before seagoing ship deregistration procedures are carried out.

2. A dossier for deregistration:

an application for deregistration made according to the Form No. 3 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

3. An organization or individual shall submit a dossier directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the seagoing ship registration agency.

4. The seagoing ship registration agency shall receive the dossier and proceed with the following steps:

a) If finding that the dossier, which is submitted directly, is invalid, the seagoing ship registration agency shall guide the applicant how to complete the dossier; if finding that the dossier is valid, the agency shall record it in the dossier register, issue a receipt and give an appointment to notify the result within the prescribed time limit;

b) If finding that the dossier, which is sent via the postal system, is invalid in accordance with regulations, within 2 working days after receiving it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant;

c) If finding that the dossier, which is sent through the online public service system, is invalid, within at most 8 working hours after the system receives it, the seagoing ship registration agency shall send the guidance on completion of the dossier to the applicant’s account on the online public service system;

d) Within 2 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the seagoing ship registration agency shall grant a seagoing ship deregistration certificate, concurrently revoke and cancel the original of the former registration certificate in the system; in case of refusal to grant a certificate, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason. The seagoing ship registration agency shall provide the notification of results directly or via the postal system, or through the online public service system to the shipowner.

5. The shipowner shall pay deregistration fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Finance directly or via bank transfer to the seagoing ship registration agency’s account or through the online public service system before receiving the results, return the original of the former registration certificate to the seagoing ship registration agency immediately after receiving the results and shall bear all the dossier sending and bank transfer expenses.”

19. To amend Clause 1 Article 21 as follows:

“1. Purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships covered by the state budget funds in accordance with the Law on State Budget, the Law on Public Investment, or capital from lawful sources under the law regulations of state agencies, public non-business units, state-owned enterprises in accordance with the Enterprise Law and enterprises of which 100% charter capital is held by state-owned enterprises shall comply with the Bidding Law and other relevant regulations.”

20. To add Clause 1a Article 21 as follows:

“1a. Organizations and individuals engaged in the purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships that do not fall into the cases defined in Clause 1 of this Article shall decide themselves to apply all or specific articles, clauses and points of the Bidding Law and other relevant regulations.”

21. To amend Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 29 as follows:

“1. Pursuant to decisions and contracts on purchase, sale or building of seagoing ships, written records of handover of seagoing ships, customs offices shall carry out procedures for import and export of seagoing ships. Organizations and individuals must carry out the procedures for import of seagoing ships purchased from a foreign country at the first entry from the time of completing the ship purchase procedures to register to fly the national flag of Vietnam.

2. When necessary to carry out procedures for export of a seagoing ship which has departed from the country, the shipowner must carry out the procedures for seagoing ship export within 30 days from the date of signing the purchase and sale contract; customs offices shall carry out export procedures without having to bring the ship back to Vietnam. The shipowner shall be responsible before the law for ensuring that all departure procedures for the shipowner’s seagoing ship have fully completed in accordance with regulations.”

22. To amend Clause 2 Article 30 as follows:

“2. Seagoing ships of Vietnamese organizations or individuals without state funds may register to fly a foreign state flag as decided by their owners. Within 30 days after a seagoing ship is registered to fly a foreign state flag, or after there is a change in the information or validity of the registration, or the deregistration occurs, the shipowner shall send a notification and a copy of the certificate of seagoing ship registration or seagoing ship deregistration to the Vietnamese national seagoing ship registration agency to serve management work.”

23. To replace the Forms No. 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05 in the Appendix issued together with Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP with Forms No. 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

24. To add the Form No. 12 in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

Article 2. Repealing Clauses 12, 13, 14, and 15 Article 3; Point i Clause 2 Article 10; Clause 5 Article 12, Point c Clause 2 Article 15, Point b Clause 2 Article 16, Point b Clause 2 Article 20 and Articles 22, 23 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships.

Article 3. Transitional provisions

1. Dossiers of request for grant of seagoing ship registration certificates, deregistration of seagoing ships that have been received by the seagoing ship registration agency before the effective date of this Decree may be further handled in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020.

2. Projects for seagoing ship purchase, sale or building that have been approved before the effective date of this Decree may be further implemented in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020.

3. For a seagoing ship flying the foreign state flag which is purchased by a Vietnamese organization or individual in the form of loan or hire-purchase and for which the loan or hire-purchase contract was signed before the effective date of this Decree, upon registration in Vietnam, its age shall further comply with the Government's Decree No. 171/2016/ND-CP dated December 27, 2016, on registration, deregistration, purchase, sale and building of seagoing ships, which was amended and supplemented by the Decree No. 86/2020/ND-CP dated July 23, 2020.

4. Registration certificates issued before the effective date of this Decree shall continue to be legally valid and are not required to be re-issued in the new form until it is re-issued in accordance with regulations.

Article 4. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on October 30, 2025.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall, within their ambit of functions and tasks, guide and implement this Decree.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.