Future Learn, a MOOC consortium of 138 educational institutions and specialist organizations worldwide, is offering a free online course which examines the unseen legal and transactional structures behind the shipping industry.

The course examines the process of acquiring and financing of new vessels and secondary market tonnage: from the various perspectives of a buyer, a seller, a ship-builder and a bank. It also explores the concept of flags of convenience and modern practice of ship registration. Course participants will develop an understanding of how the merchant fleets of the world are bought, sold and securitized – and how international conventions regulate ships wherever they are registered.

Topics to be covered

• An introduction to the maritime sector
• How ships are sold and purchased
• The mechanics behind ship registration
• What flags of convenience are and how they are used
• International regulations and conventions
• Ship finance
• Shipbuilding contracts

The course has been developed by the Law Society of Scotland, the law firm Addleshaw Goddard, and the UK Chamber of Shipping.

Although the course is free, it is also possible to obtain a certificate of achievement in return for a small fee.

For full details, see the Future Learn website.