The online Ship and Boat Registration System has become operational, allowing vessel owners to file registration applications electronically without visiting government offices. Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said in a statement on Friday that the ship and boat registration modules are now fully open for online applications after the necessary measures were completed. The Mercantile Marine Department, which works under the ministry, is responsible for registering merchant ships, fishing boats, sailing vessels and harbour crafts under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance and related laws.
The minister said the move will modernise maritime administration by cutting paperwork, saving applicants time and money, improving transparency and helping maintain an updated national database of registered vessels. For vessel owners, particularly fishing boat owners based in coastal areas far from the offices that handle registration, an online process removes the need to travel and to submit papers in person. A single national database of registered vessels also gives the authorities one reliable record of which vessels exist and who owns them, which is useful for licensing, safety checks and planning.
The ministry is also working on online payments for applicants. A meeting between officials of the Mercantile Marine Department and the State Bank of Pakistan has been scheduled to discuss building an electronic payment mechanism into the system. The minister said the facility is expected to go live within the next 15 days, letting applicants pay registration fees electronically through a single payment link. Until the payment feature is added, applicants can file their applications online, and a single link for fee payment would remove another step that now requires a visit.
The minister added that digital registration could also help build climate resilience in coastal areas by creating a centralised database of fishing vessels and their owners. If it is linked with climate risk mapping, cyclone early warning systems and fisheries management, the database could help authorities identify vulnerable fishing communities, improve emergency response and allow timely evacuations during extreme weather events. He described the initiative as part of the government’s wider push to digitalise maritime administration and improve public service delivery, though the ministry has not yet said when the database might be linked to those other systems. The launch follows other moves to bring government registration services online, such as digital property registration through the Pak App in Islamabad.
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