(1) Where the owners of a ship intend to apply to have the ship registered as a Saint Lucian ship but there is no Registrar of Ships immediately available, a proper officer or other appropriate authority designated to act on behalf of the Government may grant to the owner or master of the ship, on his or her application, which shall include a statutory declaration, a provisional certificate stating—
(a) the name of the ship;
(b) the time and place of the purchase of the ship and the names of the purchasers;
(c) the name of the master of the ship;
(d) the best particulars respecting the tonnage;
(e) the time and place of the construction of the ship; and
(f) any other relevant particulars which can be obtained,
and shall forward a copy of the certificate at the first convenient opportunity to the Registrar of Ships.
(2) The statutory declaration referred to in subsection (1) shall include—
(a) a declaration as to ownership;
(b) a declaration as to seaworthiness; and
(c) 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 6 months after its date of issue or until the arrival of the ship at a port in Saint Lucia, whichever first happens, and on either or those events happening shall cease to have effect.
(4) The master of every ship in respect of which a provisional certificate of registry is granted under this section shall, within 10 days of the ship's first arrival thereafter at a port in Saint Lucia, or within 30 days after the expiration of the 6 months period referred to in subsection (3), deliver the certificate to the Registrar of Ships.
(5) Any master who fails to comply with subsection (4) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.