Rules and registration carrier vessel

What is a carrier vessel?

A carrier vessel tranships fish products caught by fishing vessels. A carrier vessel does not catch fish itself, but is legally considered a fishing vessel.

According to the Common Fisheries Policy, transhipping is a fishery activity. Therefore, many rules for fishing vessels that catch fish also apply to carrier vessels.

Rules for carrier vessels

The following rules apply to carrier vessels.

Carrier vessels of 12 metres or more

Is your carrier vessel 12 metres or more? Then these rules apply:

• You have an approved Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on board. Read more on Satellietvolgapparatuur aanmelden (in Dutch). Or send us an e-mail for more information in English: vr@rvo.nl.
• Register the data of your fishing trip and transhipments in an electronic logbook. Read more about this under Electronic logbook: fishing trip and transhipments on this page.

Carrier vessels of 15 metres or more

Is your carrier vessel 15 metres or more? In addition to a VMS and an electronic logbook, you also need an Automatic Identification System (AIS) on board that you have registered with the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure (in Dutch).

Register your carrier vessel

To use your carrier vessel for commercial transhipping, register it in the Dutch Register of Fishing Vessels. Go to Regels en registratie voor uw transportvaartuig and fill in the form Formulier - Aanvraag inschrijving vissersvaartuig. This form is only available in Dutch. Do you need help filling this in? Please send an e-mail to vr@rvo.nl.

Documents

Submit the required documents with your application. Some are mandatory, others depend on your situation.

Always include:

• a proof of ownership of the vessel. This can be a registration in the Kadaster, a deed of sale or a deed of transfer.
• a measurement certificate from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate.

Include these documents if the situation applies to you:

Fishing authorisations

You also need to have fishing authorisations. You can read more on this page under RFMO fishing authorisation.

Update your registration

If your vessel’s ownership, propulsion system, or tonnage changes, you must update your registration. Go to Regels en registratie voor uw transportvaartuig and fill in the form Formulier – Aanvraag wijziging gegevens vissersvaartuig. This form is only available in Dutch. Do you need help filling this in? Please send an e-mail to vr@rvo.nl.

We need some documents depending on your update. In this form, you can read which documents you need to send.

Cancel your registration

Cancel the registration of your vessel if:

• you transfer the vessel abroad;
• you no longer use the vessel for commercial fishing activities;
• the vessel has sunk or is being scrapped.

Go to Regels en registratie voor uw transportvaartuig and fill in the form Formulier - Aanvraag opheffing registratie vissersvaartuig. This form is only available in Dutch. Do you need help filling this in? Please send an e-mail to vr@rvo.nl.

Electronic logbook: fishing trip and transhipments

If you are the master of a carrier vessel and you tranship fish, you must use an electronic logbook to record your entire fishing trip

Use your provider’s software to send messages. For example Efice, or other software that supports transhipments. We receive the data from your provider, which is then registered in the catch register. We check if you have sent the reports on time and whether they are complete.

The master of the carrier vessel fills in the electronic logbook. This master must be registered with us. This can be done on Fisheries registrations.

Mandatory messages

Send the following messages using your electronic logbook:

Questions? Or reporting a technical issue?

Please send a message on WhatsApp or call us on (+31) 088 042 00 00. Or send an e-mail to vangstregistratie@rvo.nl.

We will answer as soon as possible during office hours. You can call us outside office hours, but only if your situation is urgent. For example: you cannot send a message on time due to a technical issue.

RFMO fishing authorisation

You may need a specific fishing authorisation depending on the location of transhipment. These are usually fishing authorisations to allow transhipments in areas managed by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). These areas are located worldwide. There are 2 types of RFMOs:

• RFMOs focusing on highly migratory fish stocks (tuna and other associated species)
• RFMOs managing other fish resources in specific areas

Do you want to apply for a fishing authorisation to tranship fish in one or more RFMOs? Ensure that your carrier vessel is registered in the Dutch Register of Fishing Vessels. Then send an e-mail to vr@rvo.nl to apply for a fishing authorisation. Specify in this e-mail for which RFMO(s) you are applying. We may ask you to send additional information.

Overview of areas managed by RFMOs

The images below show which areas fall under which RFMO.

Laws and regulations

• Common Fisheries Policy 1380/2013
• Council Regulation 1224/2009
• Uitvoeringsregeling Zeevisserij  (in Dutch)