Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 74

74. (1) No clearance shall be granted for any ship until the master of such ship has declared to the officer from whom the clearance is required the name o f the nation to which he claims that she belongs, and that officer shall thereupon inscribe that nam e on the clearance. (2) If the ship attempts to p roceed to sea without such clearance she may be detained until the declar ation is made. Penalty for unduly assuming Maltese character.