The MHA has volumes for colonial ports and the port of Liverpool. The certificates are the registration of ownership of the vessel and give descriptive information on each vessel as well as the name, occupation and residence of owners and builders, Captains are also frequently listed. Transactions are recorded in series BT 109. Arranged and listed by port, year and number of the registry. Under this system all the papers relating to a single ship, throughout the period that it remained on register, were kept together and filed under the date when it was taken off the register.
Indexes give the official number, year and port of the registry of the vessel.
The documents are filed in blocks alphabetically, eg. The name of the vessel is not included in the index. 2 reels of microfilm. An index by vessel name and port of registry is included on the microfilm. Collector of Customs.