These registration numbers are similar to what we ordinary seafarers have a number in seaman identification document or the number of Seaman Book. But instead of being issued by a national government’s maritime administration, it is done by Fairplay, a subsidiary of Lloyd’s Register.

·         The IMO Unique Company and Registered Owner Identification Number Scheme was

             introduced in 2004 through adoption of resolution Maritime Safety Committee of IMO as a measure to enhance maritime safety, security and environmental protection, and to facilitate the prevention of maritime fraud.

·         Its purpose is to assign a permanent number for identification purposes to each company and/or registered owner managing ships of 100 gross tonnage and above engaged on international voyages.

·         Additionally, Administrations are invited to participate in the scheme to the extent they desire by assigning an IMO Unique Company and Registered Owner Identification Number to each company and/or registered owner managing ships of 100 gross tonnage and above not engaged on international voyages.

·         The Number will remain unchanged upon transfer of a company and/or registered owner’s ship to another flag and will in the future be included on a ship’s certificate.

·         The Number remains unchanged, but unused, in the event a company and/or registered owner sells, or otherwise disposes, of its ship(s) and does not begin operating new ship(s).

·          The Number will remain unchanged in the event the company and/or registered owner, after having sold or otherwise disposed of its ships, renews ship management at a future time.

·         Lloyd’s Register-Fairplay (LR-F) maintains a full history audit trail of changes to company and/or registered owner information, with the date of each change recorded.

·         When companies and/or registered owners merge, LR-F assigns the Number of the larger company and/or registered owner to the new amalgamated entity, while the Number of the smaller entity will be frozen and not re-used.

·          LR-F maintains the history of companies and/or registered owners of ships on its database.

·         The Number begins with the letters IMO followed by either “Company” or “Registered Owner”, and seven digits assigned by LR-F.

·         The IMO Unique Company and Registered Owner Identification Number Scheme is managed in parallel with the IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme.