by
MET Staff | Sunday, December 29, 2013 |
Vessel documentation is a national form of registration for vessels. The National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC), a division of the United States Coast Guard, manages vessel registration and will issue a vessel certification number to each eligible vessel owner who completes the application process.
The Purpose & Significance of Vessel Registration
Registering vessels was actually one of the first functions our government performed, dating all the way back to the 11th Act of the First Congress. It is detailed in Title 46 CFR part 67.
When a ship is registered and has a certificate, it essentially sails under its home country flag. The vessel documentation system is akin to passports; it binds the ship to the laws of that country. Obtaining a vessel certificate meets the international law requirement, which stipulates that all merchant vessels be registered in their flag state.
The NVDC explains the primary purposes of vessel documentation:
- Nationality – When a ship is registered, it serves as evidence of nationality for international purposes;
- Commerce – It allows states to take part in commerce without legal hindrances; and
- Trade – Documentation also allows vessels to participate in certain trades such as the fisheries.
Which ships need to be registered?
Vessels weighing five tons or more that are used in fisheries on U.S. navigable water or in the Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nautical miles from the coastline), in Great Lakes trade or in coastwise trade must be documented. Towboats that function on the above-mentioned waters must be registered.
In addition to meeting the above stipulations, in order to obtain a vessel certification, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen. Vessel owners can request that the NVDC endorse the vessel’s Certificate of Documentation for fishery, coastwise, registry or recreation.
Vessels that do not meet these guidelines are exempt from vessel certification requirements. Exempt vessels include:
- vessels that don’t operate on U.S. navigable waters, in the fisheries or in the Exclusive Economic Zone; and
- “non-self-propelled vessels used in coastwise trade within a harbor, on the rivers or lakes (except the Great Lakes) of the U.S. or the internal waters or canal of any state.”
To read more about vessel documentation regulations, you can call the U.S. government bookstore at (202) 512-2250.
Rules about Displaying Vessel Certificate Numbers
Vessel owners must display the name and hailing port of their vessels on the outside of the hull, but they are not required to display their official documented number there. Rather, they must display it in regular, Arabic numerals on the interior part of the hull in a clearly visible location. The numbers must be at least three inches high, preceded by the abbreviation “NO,” and affixed in a permanent fashion.
In addition to these federal regulations, all certified vessels have to comply with the laws of their home state. Vessel owners always must be prepared to show their documentation to state law enforcement upon demand.
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