Ship Lists
THE CANADIAN REGISTRY
The Great Lakes Museum is pleased to host the Canadian Registry
Shipping registers 1787 – 1966
Containing over 2,000 records, the Shipping Registers are a system of general registration of vessels that were first introduced in Britain with the Navigation Act of 1786. Under this system, ship owners were required to register their vessels with the customs officer in their homeport. Each certificate of registry was numbered and entered into a registration book and copied. The copies or “transcripts” were then sent to the central registry. The register books for all Canadian ports are included in this series. The certificates are the registration of ownership of the vessel and give descriptive information on each vessel as well as the name, occupation and residence of owners and builders. Captains are also frequently listed.
Current registers are now held by Transport Canada and can be searched in The Vessel Registration Query System. Records for all vessels registered in Canada, as well as many vessels no longer registered, and a few in the process of being built are available on that system. A vessel that is larger than 15 gross tons, and is owned by a Canadian citizen, resident, or company, must be registered. Other vessels do not need to be registered, but may be.