You’re out on the water, enjoying your vessel. Whether you’re engaging in coastwise trade, fishery, foreign trade, or just having some recreational time with friends and family, you’re doing what you want to on the water. Suddenly, the Coast Guard vessels show up. They stop your craft to look it over. Nothing wrong with that, routine stop, and so forth — but, if you don’t have the right documentation, this can be a major headache. Here are some ways to keep that from happening.
Take Care of Your Documentation Ahead of Time
“I was about to take care of my documentation,” “it’s in the mail,” “I was just finishing it up,” – these are all things that you don’t want to have to say. Instead, take care of your documentation ahead of time. At the Maritime Documentation Center, we make it easy to finish all of the forms that you need quickly and comprehensively. Then, with just a few button presses, you can send them out to our professionals. We’ll make sure they get to where they’re supposed to go pronto.
When You Need to Get Your Documentation Done Even Faster
We understand that there are some customers who really can’t afford to wait that long. That’s why we have a “rush processing” option. With that, we’ll put your documentation right at the top of the queue. Then, you won’t have to wait as long to get back out on the water. Documentation isn’t really the kind of thing that you can put off or procrastinate, because when you need it, you really need it.
Take Care of Your Markings
Often, if the Coast Guard has pulled you over, it’s because your markings weren’t either visible or visible in the way that they should be. If your vessel is documented, then you need to have the name and hailing port of the vessel visible somewhere on the outside of the vessel. The letters have to be at least four inches tall as well as durable. For context, “durable” means that they’re unlikely to just come off in the course of a boat ride. If you’re a commercial vessel, they have to be visible on your starboard bow and stern. This might seem like a little thing, but it won’t seem that way if you get stopped while you’re out on the water. That can sap your time and, eventually, money.
Being in compliance with Coast Guard Vessels’ Regulations
The above are just a few ways that you won’t have to worry about Coast Guard regulations when you get your documentation through the Maritime Documentation Center. At our site, you can find each of the documentation forms you might need for varying stages of vessel ownership. From the initial registration, through the annual renewals, changing of addresses, hailing ports, and more, we have all of the forms you might need no matter where your journey takes you. For more information, call us at (800) 535-8570.