Is it permissible to name ships of Vietnam in English? What are procedures for approval of names of ships in Vietnam?

Is it permissible to name ships of Vietnam in English?

Pursuant to Article 21 of the Vietnam Maritime Code in 2015 stipulating naming of Vietnamese ship as follows:

Vietnamese ship must be named and this naming process must adhere to the following rules:

1. Name of a ship must be given by its owner and is not allowed to be the same as other vessels' names which appear in the national register of ships of Vietnam;

2. Do not use name of the state agency, armed force unit, political organization or socio-political organization to create the whole or partial name of ship, unless approved by this agency, unit or organization;

3. Do not use words or signs in breach of historical, cultural, moral and traditional values.

There is no specific regulations on naming of Vietnamese ships in foreign languages. Therefore, you can name your ship in English as long as the name satisfies above regulations.

What are procedures for approval of names of ships in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 4 Article 8 of the Decree 171/2016/NĐ-CP stipulating procedures for approval of names of ships in Vietnam as follows:

4. Upon the receipt of the application, the registrar of ship shall carry out the following procedures:

a) With respect of applications received by hand, the registrar of ship shall provide instructions to the applicant to complete the application if it is invalid or record in the monitoring book and grant a receipt of application giving an appointment to the applicant for returning the application processing result within the prescribed period;

b) With respect of applications received by post, the registrar of ship shall, within 02 working days as of the receipt of the invalid application, provide instructions to the applicant to complete that application in conformity with regulations herein;

c) Within 02 working days as of the receipt of valid application, the registrar of ship shall give a written approval for the ship name given by the shipowner. If the application is refused, a written response indicating reasons thereof shall be given to the shipowner.

Best regards!