necessary papers presented at all legal inspections of a ship, and containing the owner's name, description of cargo, destination, etc.
Origin
1655-65
Examples from the web for ship's papers
Although no crew members were lost in the evacuation, all of the ship's papers, property and many valuables were.
British Dictionary definitions for ship's papers
ship's papers
plural noun
1.
the documents that are required by law to be carried by a ship for the purpose of ascertaining details of her ownership, nationality, destination, and cargo or to prove her neutrality