15Provisional certificates for ships becoming entitled to be registered when abroad

15 Provisional certificates for ships becoming entitled to be registered when abroad (1) A provisional registration certificate granted under subsection 22 (1) or (6), or subsection 22A (1), (2) or (6) of the Act must be in accordance with: (2) Subject to subregulation (3), a provisional registration certificate must not be granted by a proper officer under subsection 22 (1) of the Act or by the Registrar under subsection 22A (1) or (2) of the Act in relation to a ship unless: (a) there is lodged with the proper officer or the Registrar, as the case requires, an application in writing duly signed by the owner or the master of the ship specifying: (i) the existing name (if any) of the ship; (ii) where the ship is unnamed, the builder’s identification of the ship; (iii) the proposed name of the ship; (iv) the proposed home port of the ship; (v) the call sign (if any) of the ship; (vi) the name and address of the builder of the ship; (vii) the year of completion of the ship; (viii) particulars of the prescribed characteristics of the ship; (ix) if the ship is a ship to which subsection 16 (1) of the Act applies and a tonnage certificate is not in force in relation to the ship: (A) an estimate of the gross tonnage of the ship; (B) an estimate of the net tonnage of the ship; and (C) the identity of the person by whom those estimates were made; (x) particulars of any previous registration of the ship; (xi) in relation to each person to whom the ship belongs: (A) the name, address and nationality of the person; and (B) the extent of the interest of the person in the ship; (xii) if the application is in respect of a ship the registration of which under the Act depends upon its being a ship on demise charter to an Australian‑based operator: (A) the name, address and nationality of each charterer under the charterparty; and (B) the extent of the interest of each charterer in the demise charter of the ship; (xiii) the date and manner of acquisition of the ship by the present owner; (xiv) the name, address and description of each of the persons from whom the ship was acquired; (xv) details of any application, being an application for the registration of the ship under section 15 of the Act, that has been lodged in accordance with regulation 7; and (xvi) in relation to each person authorized by the owner to be, at any time during the currency of the provisional registration certificate, the master of the ship: (A) the name and address of the person; and (B) where, under the Navigation Act, the person is required to be the holder of a certificate of competency, the number of that certificate; and (b) there is produced to the proper officer or the Registrar, as the case requires, for noting: (i) the instrument (if any) by which ownership of the ship passed to the owner named in the application; (ii) where the application is signed by the master of the ship, documentary evidence of his appointment as master and of his authority to sign the application; (iii) the tonnage certificate (if any) that is in force in relation to the ship; and (iv) where the ship has, at any time, been registered under the law of a foreign country, documentary evidence that: (A) the ship is no longer registered under the law of that country; or (B) steps have been taken, or are proposed to be taken, to close the registration of the ship under the law of that country on or before the grant of the provisional registration certificate. (3) A statement in an application under subregulation (2) to the effect that the person signing the application is unable to supply the information referred to in subparagraph (2) (a) (ii), (vi), (vii), or (x), together with a statement of the reason for that inability, is taken, for the purposes of that subregulation, to satisfy the requirements of that subparagraph and, where that inability is in respect of the information referred to in subparagraph (2) (a) (x), subparagraph (2) (b) (iv) does not apply in relation to that application. (4) Where a provisional registration certificate granted in respect of a ship ceases to have effect before the ship first arrives at, or returns to, an Australian port after the grant, the person who has possession of the certificate must, within 30 days after the certificate so ceases to have effect, lodge the certificate with the Registrar. (5) A person who fails to comply with subregulation (4) is guilty of an offence. (6) An offence against subregulation (5) is an offence of strict liability. (7) It is a defence to a prosecution under subregulation (5) that the defendant had a reasonable excuse. > Note A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to whether or not he or she had a reasonable excuse for his or her conduct (see subsection 13.3 (3) of the Criminal Code).