§12102. Vessels eligible for documentation

(a) A vessel of at least 5 net tons that is not registered under the laws of a foreign country or is not titled in a State is eligible for documentation if the vessel is owned by-

(1) an individual who is a citizen of the United States;

(2) an association, trust, joint venture, or other entity-

(A) all of whose members are citizens of the United States; and

(B) that is capable of holding title to a vessel under the laws of the United States or of a State;

(3) a partnership whose general partners are citizens of the United States, and the controlling interest in the partnership is owned by citizens of the United States;

(4) a corporation established under the laws of the United States or of a State, whose president or other chief executive officer and chairman of its board of directors are citizens of the United States and no more of its directors are noncitizens than a minority of the number necessary to constitute a quorum;

(5) the United States Government; or

(6) the government of a State.

(b) A vessel is eligible for documentation only if it has been measured under part J of this subtitle. However, the Secretary of Transportation may issue a temporary certificate of documentation for a vessel before it is measured.

(c)(1) A vessel owned by a corporation is not eligible for a fishery endorsement under section 12108 of this title unless the controlling interest (as measured by a majority of voting shares in that corporation) is owned by individuals who are citizens of the United States. However, if the corporation is owned in whole or in part by other United States corporations, the controlling interest in those corporations, in the aggregate, must be owned by individuals who are citizens of the United States.

(2) The Secretary shall apply the restrictions on controlling interest in section 2(b) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 App. U.S.C. 802(b)) when applying this subsection.

( Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 585 ; Pub. L. 99–509, title V, §5102(b)(6), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1927 ; Pub. L. 100–239, §7(a), Jan. 11, 1988, 101 Stat. 1782 ; Pub. L. 100–710, title I, §104(a)(4), (5), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4750 ; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, §301(a)(2), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1920 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised section	Source section (U.S. Code)
12102	46:65b

Section 12102 provides that vessels of at least five net tons, not registered under the laws of a foreign nation, are eligible for documentation if certain ownership requirements are met, and lists the ownership requirements.

Amendments

1989-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(2)(A), inserted "that is" before "not" and "or is not titled in a State" after "foreign country".

Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(2)(B)–(D), redesignated former subsec. (b), relating to eligibility of a vessel owned by a corporation for a fishery license, as (c), substituted "fishery endorsement" for "fishery license" in par. (1), and struck out former subsec. (c) which provided that a vessel titled in a State was eligible for documentation only if the State certificate of title was surrendered.

1988-Pub. L. 100–710 directed insertion of "of Transportation" after "Secretary" in subsec. (b), which was executed by making insertion in subsec. (b) relating to eligibility of a vessel for documentation after having been measured under part J, as probable intent of Congress, and added subsec. (c).

Pub. L. 100–239, §7(a), directed that "(a)" be inserted before "A vessel", which was not executed because of a similar amendment by Pub. L. 99–509, and added at end subsec. (b) relating to eligibility of a vessel owned by a corporation for a fishery license under section 12108 of this title.

1986-Pub. L. 99–509 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b) relating to eligibility of a vessel for documentation after having been measured under part J.

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

Amendments by section 301(a)(2) of Pub. L. 101–225 effective Jan. 1, 1989, except that amendment by section 301(a)(2)(A) inapplicable to a vessel titled in a State until one year after the Secretary of Transportation prescribes guidelines for a titling system under section 13106(b)(8) of this title, see section 309(b)(1) of Pub. L. 101–225, set out as a note under section 12101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–710 effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as an Effective Date note under section 30101 of this title.

Application of Section to Fishing Vessels in California

Citizen of the United States to include an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, for purposes of applying this section to vessels operating in waters off the coast of California, subject to United States jurisdiction, see section 317 of Pub. L. 101–595, set out as a note under section 8103 of this title.

Applicability of Subsection (b)

Section 7(b) of Pub. L. 100–239 provided that: "Section 12102(b) of title 46, United States Code (as enacted by subsection (a) of this section) applies to vessels issued a fishery license after July 28, 1987. However, that section does not apply if before that date the vessel-

"(1) was documented under chapter 121 of title 46 and operating as a fishing, fish processing, or fish tender vessel in the navigable waters of the United States or the Exclusive Economic Zone; or

"(2) was contracted for purchase for use as a fishing, fish tender, or fish processing vessel in the navigable waters of the United States or the Exclusive Economic Zone, if the purchase is shown by the contract or similarly reliable evidence acceptable to the Secretary to have been made for the purpose of using the vessel in the fisheries."

Temporary Restriction on Documentation of Foreign-Built Fish Processing Vessels

Pub. L. 100–111, Aug. 20, 1987, 101 Stat. 733 , as amended by Pub. L. 100–151, §2, Nov. 3, 1987, 101 Stat. 884 , provided: "That notwithstanding chapter 121 of title 46 of the United States Code, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may not document a foreign-built vessel for which an application for documentation was submitted after July 20, 1987, for use as a fish processing vessel as defined in section 2101(11b) of title 46, United States Code. This prohibition is effective until November 15, 1987. The Secretary may issue regulations to obtain information about the intended use of a vessel for which an application for documentation has been submitted to prevent the documentation of a foreign-built fish processing vessel."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 12106, 12112, 31329 of this title.