Federal or national registration of vessels was one of the first issues tackled by the first Congress of the United States. As one of the young country’s initial acts relating to revenue, the Coasting Act established procedures in 1789 for registering and clearing vessels to operate commercially in waters of the United States.
In the United States, vessel documentation is a national registration system operated by the Coast Guard used in part to prove boat ownership, admit vessels into specific commercial trades, and ensure a record of ownership for preferred vessel mortgages. Historically, major ports hosted Coast Guard documentation offices. A few years ago, all documentation activity was combined into a single office, the National Vessel Documentation Center found in Falling Waters, West Virginia.
Vessel Documentation Standards
To qualify for Federal documentation, a vessel must measure at least five net tons in size and be completely owned by the U.S. citizen. Not every vessel of this size needs to be documented. Sometimes it’s a requirement imposed to secure a boat loan or needed to facilitate international travel. Vessel documents can be endorsed for fishery, coastwise, registry, or recreational purposes.
Some vessels must be documented. Vessels fishing on navigable waters or within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States, or vessels engaged in coastwise trade must generally be documented to exercise their trade. Coastwise trade involves the carriage of cargo or passengers between ports. As with any law established more than 200 years ago, there are numerous exemptions to the documentation requirements.
What is a Net Ton?
The five net ton requirement refers to a vessel’s capacity, not its gross weight. It is generally determined by the volume capacity of the boat. There is a web-based interactive Abode Acrobat form, Application for Simplified Measurement (CG-5397), which can be used to calculate the net tonnage of a boat. Most vessels over 25 feet (7.6 meters) long are at least five net tons in size.
Requirements Made of Documented Vessels
Owners of documented vessels are required to comply with several requirements to satisfy Coast Guard regulations. Some of these include:
- Vessel name and hailing port must be marked on the hull
- Official Number (ON) must be clearly marked on an interior structural member of the vessel
- A Certificate of Documentation is valid for a year and must be renewed annually
- The managing owner must maintain a current address with the Coast Guard
There may be advantages for owners to documenting their vessels with the Coast Guard. Documented vessels are still subject to state law and can be required to register by a state. Tenders are not part of the documentation process and are covered under state law for powerboats. Regulations concerning vessel documentation are found in Title 46 Code of Federal Regulations Part 67. For those interested in learning about a particular boat, the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology has an on-line database that allows uses to search for documented vessels by their vessel name or Official Number.
Alan Sorum - Alan Sorum is the Maritime Operations Project Manager for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC). Alan is ...
