INTRODUCTION
By the provisions of the relevant extant laws in Nigeria, it is a legal requirement for ships operating in Nigeria waters to be registered. The Merchant Shipping Act, 2007 provides that every ship wholly owned by persons qualified to own a registered Nigerian ship, shall be registered in Nigeria in the manner provided by the Act or in any other country in accordance with the laws of that country, unless the ship is such that is exempted from registration under this Act.

This requirement for ship registration in Nigeria is in synch with Article 91 of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 to which Nigeria is a party. It provides as follows: Article 91: Nationality of ships;

1. “Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to fly its flag. Ships have the nationality of the State whose flag they are entitled to fly. There must exist a genuine link between the State and the ship.

2. Every State shall issue to ships to which it has granted the right to fly its flag documents to that effect.”

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