Merchant Shipping (Registration of Foreign Vessels) Act (No. 316 of 2012).

This Act makes provision for the registration of foreign ships, including fishing vessels, and related matters. It also declares various maritime conventions to have the force of law in Niue.
Ships shall be registered in the Register of Ships held by the office of the Registrar of Ships, i.e. the Foreign Vessel Administrator. The Foreign Vessel Administrator shall be appointed by the Niue Public Service Commission and shall be the head of the Niue Foreign Vessel Administration, which is created under this Act. A foreign vessel which is not registered under this Act shall not be recognized: (a) in Niue or for the purposes of this Act as a Niue ship; or (b) as being entitled to the rights and privileges accorded to Niue ships. The Act also provides with respect to survey and measurement of ships proposed to be registered, mortgages, transfers, enforcement, etc.
Conventions that shall have the force of law in Niue include: the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 and Protocols, the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, the Protocol of 1992 relating to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, the Protocol of 1992 relating to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, the International Convention on the Control of harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on ships, 2001, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, and the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001. The Cabinet may make Regulations for the purposes of the implementation of any or all of these Conventions.