Section 45: Provisional Certificate of Registry.

(1) Where an owner of a ship intends to apply to have the ship registered as a Sierra Leonean ship but there is noRegistrar immediately available, a proper officer or other appropriate authority designated to act on behalf of the Registrar grant to its owner or master, on his application, which shall include a statutory declaration, a Provisional Certificate stating— a) the name of the ship; b) the date and place of its purchase and the name of its purchasers; c) the name of its master; d) the best particulars respecting its tonnage, the time and the place of its construction which he is able to obtain, and shall forward a coy of the Certificate at the first convenient opportunity to the Registrar. (2) The statutory declaration referred to in subsection (1) shall include— a) a declaration as to ownership; and b) a declaration that the foreign registry, if any, of the ship has been closed. (3) A Provisional Certificate under this section shall have the effect of a Certificate of Registry, until the expiration of 3 months after the date of its issue, or until the arrival of the ship at a port in Sierra Leone or a permanent certificate of registry issued, whichever happens first and on either of these events happening the provisional Certificate shall cease to have effect. (4) The master or owner of a ship in respect of which a Provisional Certificate is granted under this section shall within 10 days of the ship’s first arrival at a p ort in Sierra Leone deliver the Certificate to the Registrar. (5) A master or owner who fails to comply with subsection (4) commits offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five million leones. Temporary pass in lieu of Certificate of Registry.