The bill was earlier returned by President Johnson Toribiong for revision.
The Senate in a special session followed the president’s recommendations that the old measure raised unnecessary constitutional issues; that some provisions were too detailed and best left to the regulatory process and that it appeared to have been hastily put together or at least was not thoroughly reviewed before it was passed.
The president’s version also deleted some of the most egregious portions of the original bill that are best left for the regulatory process and has corrected all the internal inconsistencies.
Under the Bill, any sea-going vessel not operating exclusively in Palau’s waters may be registered on Palau’s registry, provided that a qualified person owns it.
A qualified person is defined as a Palauan citizen, a corporation wholly owned by Palauan citizens, the National Government, or any person or corporation that the Minister of Industries, Infrastructure and Commerce determines is a qualified person.
All vessels on Palau’s registry will have a home port of Malakal Harbor in the State of Koror except for fishing vessels, which will have a home part of Ngardmau Dock.
Under this Act, the government of Palau will be responsible for regulating ships on its registry,
By vessel owners will bear the burden of maintaining their vessels to meet international standards of seaworthiness.
The bill imposes tonnage taxes and fees for ship registrations.
It also calls for the appointment of an administrator to oversee Palau’s ship registry.
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