Provisions Regarding Call Sign for a Ship

 According to the Regulation of the Minister of Transportation Number PM.26 of 2011 regarding Shipping Telecommunications (“Permenhub PM 26/2011”), the Call Sign is the identification of radio transmissions or emissions to indicate the identity of the name of the radio station and ownership of the Indonesian national ship. This Call Sign is important because it is required to be owned by business entities that have shipping telecommunications procurement activities placed in shipping lanes and public port waters carried out by the Director General of Sea Transportation.

The Call Signs given to ships measuring gross tonnage GT 300 or more are arranged according to the allocations in the International Radio Regulations for Indonesian ships. Meanwhile, the Call Sign for ships measuring gross tonnage less than GT 300 is determined by the Director General of Sea Transportation, which consists of 2 or 3 letters for Indonesian ships, followed by 4 numbers or 4 letters, and followed by 1 number.

What is the process to get Call Sign for a Ship ?

As stipulated in regulation of the Minister of Transportation Number PM 39 of 2017 regarding the Registration and Nationality of Ships (“Permenhub PM 39/2017”) there are some steps to get Call Sign are as follows:

1. The Call Sign shall be determined by the Director General of Sea Transportation by taking into account the provisions stipulated in the International Radio Regulations.
2. Ship owners must submit an application through the Electronic Ship Registration System (Sistem Pendaftaran Kapal Elektronik/SPKE) to the Director General of Sea Transportation, by completing several required documents:

1. Letter of Measurement for ships with a minimum gross tonnage of GT 7 or more; or
2. Certificate of size for ships with gross tonnage of less than GT 8; or
3. Ship radio certificate or report on inspection result of ship radio communication equipment; and
4. Grosse of ship registration certificate or grosse of ship name transfer certificate.

3. Then, the Director General of Sea Transportation has 5 days to check the completeness and correctness of the required documents.
4.  In the event that the ship is under construction, the application to obtain a Call Sign is also through SPKE to the Director General of Sea Transportation by completing the following required documents:

1. Shipbuilding contracts;
2. Statement letter about where the ship will be registered; and
3. Specifications of radio communication equipment to be used.

The brief description above is a general description of Call Sign for a Ship. If you are interested in knowing more about the issuance of Call Sign for a Ship, we Suria Nataadmadja & Associates Law Firm can help you.

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