General inspection policy

The Belgian Maritime Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring compliance with international, European and national shipping legislation. 

As part of this monitoring, the Maritime Inspectorate performs statutory visits of seagoing ships flying the Belgian flag, verifying compliance with legislation. These are done in view of issuing, maintaining and renewing (statutory) certificates. Statutory visits can consist of surveys and audits.

In carrying out its inspection and certification tasks, the Maritime Inspectorate may call on recognised organisations. Recognised organisations are classification societies with Belgian recognition authorised to conduct statutory inspections, audits and certification of seagoing ships flying the Belgian flag. This is done in accordance with the Working Agreement where delegations are defined in the Work Matrix.

The inspection policy for ships flying the Belgian flag is based on two main objectives: safeguarding the quality of shipowners and ships on the one hand, and ensuring adequate monitoring of recognised organisations on the other. Maximum flexibility towards the shipowner is aimed for, enabling resources to be deployed more efficiently.

The inspection policy of the Maritime Inspectorate for seagoing ships flying the Belgian flag is based on the type of seagoing ship:

• Convention ships: these are ships with a gross tonnage of at least 500 that are mainly certified under international conventions.
• Non-convention ships: these are ships with a gross tonnage of less than 500 or ships with a gross tonnage of at least 500 but not engaged on international voyages or without their own propulsion.
• Fishing vessels

Convention ships

The main principles of the inspection policy are the following:

1. Audits of shipping companies at their offices as part of the issue, maintenance and renewal of the Document of Compliance are conducted exclusively by the Maritime Inspectorate.
2. Any ship wishing to be admitted to the Belgian register must first undergo an inspection conducted by the Flag State department.
3. At least 1 technical survey and 1 audit must be conducted on board each Belgian ship per 5-year cycle by the Flag State. The shipowner determines which surveys and audits are conducted by the Flag State, taking into account the location and availability of the ship.  
4. In addition to the inspections referred to in point 3, additional control measures (additional surveys or audits on board, at the shipping company or at the classification society...) may be imposed on ships, shipowners and classification societies where a risk has been identified (FSIR). These possible additional audits or inspections are not meant to replace the required Flag State inspections referred to in point 3. 

Read more about the practical implementation of the inspection policy for convention ships.
 

Non-convention ships

Ships certified by recognised organisations

1. Ships located in Belgian, Dutch and French waters are inspected annually by the Flag State.
2. Ships outside Belgian, Dutch or French waters are inspected twice every five years by the Flag State. Any interim or renewal survey must be notified to the Flag State. 

Ships not certified by recognised organisations and fishing vessels

1. The ships must be inspected annually by the Flag State, in Belgian, Dutch or French waters.
2. Ships must also be dry-docked annually under the supervision of the Flag State.

Read more about the practical implementation of the inspection policy for non-convention ships.
 

Fees applicable to seagoing ships flying the Belgian flag

The Royal Decree of 21 September 2020 determining the fees for shipping changed the fees for seagoing ships for all registrations, on-board surveys and issued documents. Below is an overview of the fees applicable to all Belgian seagoing ships, except fishing vessels and pleasure craft.
 
The fees indexed for the year 2025 for issuing documents and certificates and conducting on-board visits are as follows:

• An annual fee of €606 for convention ships and €121 for non-convention ships is due for administrative checks and the issue of all certificates for seagoing ships.
  • For seagoing ships registered on or after 1/9/2020, this fee is not due for the first 3 years after registration
  • This annual fee replaces the separate fees for ship-related certificates such as the fees for the sea letter / certificate of registry, tonnage certificate, certificates of insurance, ...
• A fee of €182 per hour for convention ships and €91 per hour for non-convention ships is due for visits on board a seagoing ship for the purpose of issuing ship-related certificates.
• A fee of €73 per hour is due for travel to and from the ship. This is limited to a maximum of 8 hours per calendar day for each trip. For convention ships, this fee is due regardless of the location of the ship. For non-convention ships, the fee is not due when the ship is located in Belgium.
• Both for visits and travel, each hour started is considered a full hour.
• For the checks and issue of an Authorisation of Departure and the checks and issue of a temporary derogation, a fee of €182 is due for both convention and non-convention ships.
• The amounts are indexed annually on 1 January.

 
Information on fees for registration in the Belgian Ship Registry can be found here.

CONTACT

Preferably by email: Ship.Belflag@mobilit.fgov.be
By phone: + 32 (0)2 277 42 50 (secretarial office Flag State)