Privacy policy.

01 Introduction

The New Zealand Vessel Register is operated by NZBP Limited ("we", "us", "our"), a New Zealand limited company (NZBN 9429053933454) of 25 Cheviot Road, Lowry Bay, Lower Hutt 5013. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

02 What this policy covers

This policy covers the vesselregister.nz website, public records on the New Zealand Vessel Register, and the applications, enquiries and reports you send us. When you apply, the service terms you accept also apply. We may update this policy from time to time; the date above is the date of the current version.

03 Information we collect

We collect the information you provide in an application, enquiry or report, including your name and contact details, where the vessel is kept, and details and photographs of the vessel and of any engines and trailer you register. If you do not provide the information an application requires, we cannot process it. We receive the information in a form when you submit it. Our payment provider processes your payment; we do not hold your card details.

When you record that your plates are fitted, we collect any photographs of the fitted plates you send and, if a hidden plate was supplied, where you fitted it. We keep these private and do not publish them.

We may receive information about you from another person, such as a person reporting a concern about a vessel, or an inspector recording their work. Where we do, we will let you know that we hold it, unless the law provides that we need not.

Our website providers process technical details of your visit, such as your IP address and browser type, to operate the website and to confirm that a form is submitted by a person. We do not use advertising or analytics tracking.

04 Public vessel records

The New Zealand Vessel Register exists so that anyone can check a vessel. A public record is available to anyone who looks it up or scans the plate. It shows the identifying, build and plate details of the vessel and the identifying details of anything registered with it, such as engines and a trailer, the professional who signed any assessment, and the photograph you nominate for publication. Nothing is published before we have reviewed your application.

The New Zealand Vessel Register records the vessel's owner but does not publish the owner's identity. "Owner" means the person recorded on the New Zealand Vessel Register as the owner; we do not verify legal title. Your name, contact details, where the vessel is kept, and the other details, photographs and documents you supply as evidence are not published. Please do not provide personal information the New Zealand Vessel Register does not need.

A public record is intended to remain with the vessel. We may correct it by adding a correction or replacement entry, so that its history remains clear.

We may refuse to publish, redact or remove information on a public record as our service terms allow. We keep what you supplied, but do not publish it.

If you are a professional who signs an assessment or inspection, your name and professional credential appear on the records you sign.

05 How we use information

We use information to register vessels and supply registration plates and certificates, to publish vessel records and keep them accurate, to deal with applications, enquiries and reports, to carry out any inspection you request, to notify you of amendments to terms you have accepted, to protect the service, and to comply with the law.

We send you messages about your application and the services we provide to you. We do not send you marketing messages unless you agree to receive them.

06 Sharing

We do not sell, trade or rent personal information for marketing.

We share information with providers who help us operate the service or perform the work, and give each only what it needs. Some providers hold information on our behalf outside New Zealand. They hold it as our agents, and we remain responsible for it under the Privacy Act 2020.

Our payment provider also uses your payment information for its own purposes, such as preventing fraud, under its own privacy policy and outside New Zealand. It may not be required to protect that information in a way that, overall, provides safeguards comparable to those in the Privacy Act 2020. By paying through it, you authorise that disclosure.

If you choose global hull identification number registration, we send the details that registration requires to the international registration body, which is located in Australia. That body may not be required to protect the information in a way that, overall, provides safeguards comparable to those in the Privacy Act 2020. By choosing global registration, you authorise that disclosure.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or to protect legal rights, safety or security.

If we cease to provide the New Zealand Vessel Register, we may transfer its records to a successor that agrees to handle them in accordance with this policy, or otherwise deal with them as the law requires.

07 Retention and security

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the record it supports, to meet our legal obligations and to deal with any claim, and then securely delete or anonymise it. Vessel records are kept for longer because they remain with the vessel.

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards. No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure. If a privacy breach has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify you and the Privacy Commissioner as the Privacy Act 2020 requires.

08 Your rights

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and request its correction. If we do not make a correction you request, you may ask us to attach a statement of the correction sought. A correction to a public record may be made by adding a statement or replacement entry rather than by erasing the earlier entry. Email info@buildersplate.nz to make a request.

09 Security cookies

The website may use strictly necessary cookies or similar small files to operate and protect the website, including a check that distinguishes people from automated traffic. They are not used for advertising. See Security cookies in our website terms of use.

10 Contact and complaints

New Zealand Vessel Register
Operated by NZBP Limited
NZBN: 9429053933454
Email: info@buildersplate.nz

If you have a concern about how we handle personal information, please contact us first so that we can look into it. You may also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.