15/10/2026
It is not every day that a government form says hello. 👋
In 1983, the Dutch cargo ship GLOBE received her Certificate of Registry: a green linen booklet, filled in by hand. The text begins with Queen Beatrix in person. She greets everyone who reads the certificate with a cheerful "saluut!".
At the end, she orders her own officials to receive the captain, his ship and his cargo in a friendly way. The rest of the world, she only asks.
Today's Dutch certificate is three A4 pages, on paper or as a PDF. Same legal job. Very little else in common.
Do you have an old Certificate of Registry in a drawer? We would love to see it.
https://buff.ly/UBSC1S0