36Transfer of ship etc.

#### 36 Transfer of ship etc. (1) Subject to section 37, a ship or a share in a ship shall be transferred by a bill of sale made in accordance with the regulations. (2) Where a ship or a share in a ship is so transferred, the bill of sale and a declaration of transfer made by the transferee under subsection (3) shall be lodged by the transferee with the Registrar within 14 days after execution of the bill of sale or within such longer period as the Registrar, in special circumstances, allows. (2A) The Registrar shall, as soon as practicable after the lodgment by the transferee of a bill of sale relating to the transfer of a ship or a share in a ship together with a declaration of transfer, register the bill of sale by entering in the relevant register the name of the transferee as owner of the ship or share and shall endorse on the bill of sale the fact of the entry having been made, together with the date and time of the making of the entry. (3) A declaration of transfer for the purposes of subsection (2) shall be made in accordance with the regulations and, where the transferee is not the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, shall include: (a) in the case of the transfer of a ship, or a share in a ship, other than a small craft: (i) a statement specifying the nationality of the transferee or, where the transferee is a body corporate, the country in which it was incorporated; and (ii) a statement that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person making the declaration, the ship concerned will not cease to be an Australian‑owned ship by reason only of the transfer; or (b) in the case of the transfer of a ship, or a share in a ship, being a small craft: (i) a statement specifying the nationality of the transferee or, where the transferee is a body corporate, the country in which it was incorporated; (ii) a statement specifying the normal place of residence of the transferee or, where the transferee is a body corporate, the principal place of business of the body corporate; and (iii) a statement that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person making the declaration, the ship concerned will not cease to be an Australian‑owned ship or a ship referred to in paragraph 14(b) or (c) or 15B(b) or (c) by reason only of the transfer. (4) Subsection (3) applies in relation to ships on demise charter to Australian‑based operators as if the statement required by subparagraph (3)(a)(ii) or (3)(b)(iii) were a statement that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person making the declaration, the ship concerned will not cease to be a ship on demise charter to an Australian‑based operator by reason only of the transfer. (5) Bills of sale lodged under this section shall be registered in the order of their lodgment.