Learn About a Documented Vessel in Bermuda With Our Foreign Vessel Title Search
Interested parties can use the Foreign Vessel Title Search/Transcript of Registry to learn more about a vessel that has been marked in Bermuda.
This form can access information on vessel documentation of vessels in Bermuda as well as Canada, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the United Kingdom.
This form should include the vessel’s name, its official number, the port it hails from, information about the vessel’s owner, registration status, a description of the vessel, as well as if there are any liens and/or mortgages against the vessel.
A Foreign Vessel Title Search/Transcript of Registry detail varies based on how accessible maritime records are in that country as well as other factors.
While U.S. title searches are usually completed within 48 hours, foreign country title search processing can vary in time.
Use the following link to apply for a Foreign Vessel Title Search/Transcript of Registry.
To learn more about an American vessel, use this link to apply for an Abstract of Title.
Help With Your Documented Vessel in America
The Vessel Registrar Center makes it easy to learn more about vessels whether they’re in America as well as other countries around the world. Beyond the forms mentioned above, we also offer a vessel documentation search.
The following laws may provide greater clarity into your situation:
Subpart E—Acceptable Title Evidence; Waiver
- 67.70 Original owner.
The builder’s certification described in § 67.99 serves as evidence of the original owner’s title to a vessel.
- 67.73 Transfers prior to documentation.
A transfer of vessel title prior to documentation may be evidenced by:
(a) Completion of the transfer information on the reverse of the builder’s certification on form CG–1261;
(b) Completion of the transfer information on the reverse of the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin; or
(c) A bill of sale which meets the criteria for filing and recording set forth in subpart P of this part.
- 67.75 Transfers by sale or donation subsequent to documentation.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, transfers of vessel title must be evidenced by a bill of sale which meets the criteria for filing and recording set forth in subpart P of this part. Except as otherwise provided in subpart O of this part, each bill of sale must be accompanied by a declaration of citizenship from the new owner, executed on the appropriate Maritime Administration form described in § 67.211.
(b) The bill of sale form used may be form CG–1340 or form CG–1356, as appropriate.
(c) An applicant for documentation who cannot produce required title evidence in the form of an instrument eligible for filing and recording in accordance with subpart P of this part may apply for a waiver of that requirement in accordance with the provisions of § 67.89.
- 67.77 Passage of title by court action.
(a) When title to a vessel has passed by court action, that passage must be established by copies of the relevant court order(s) certified by an official of the court.
(b) When authority to transfer a vessel has been conferred by court action, that authority must be established by copies of the relevant court order(s) certified by an official of the court.
- 67.79 Passage of title without court action following death of owner.
(a) When title to a vessel formerly owned in whole or in part by an individual now deceased passes without court action, an applicant for documentation must present:
(1) When title passes to a surviving joint tenant or tenants or to a tenant by the entirety, a copy of the death certificate, certified by an appropriate State official; or
(2) Where the laws of cognizant jurisdiction permit passage of title without court action, evidence of compliance with applicable State law.
(b) Passage of title subsequent to devolutions such as those described in paragraph (a) of this section, must be established in accordance with the remainder of this subpart.
- 67.81 Passage of title in conjunction with a corporate merger or similar transaction.
When the title to a vessel has passed as the result of a corporate merger or similar transaction wherein the assets of one corporation have been transferred to another, the passage of title must be established by:
(a) Materials, such as a resolution of the board of directors or shareholders of the corporation which held title to the vessel before the transaction, which either unequivocally transfers all of the assets of the corporation or which specifically identifies the vessel as being among the assets transferred; and
(b) In jurisdictions where there is an official recognition of corporate mergers and similar transactions, a copy of such official recognition certified by the cognizant official of that jurisdiction.
- 67.83 Passage of title by extra-judicial repossession and sale.
When title to a documented vessel has passed by reason of an extra-judicial repossession and sale, such passage must be established by:
(a) A copy of the instrument under which foreclosure was made;
(b) An affidavit from the foreclosing party setting forth the reasons for foreclosure, the chronology of foreclosure, the statute(s) under which foreclosure was made, and the steps taken to comply with the relevant instrument and statute(s);
(c) Evidence of substantial compliance with the relevant instrument and statute(s); and
(d) A bill of sale which meets the criteria for filing and recording set forth in subpart P of this part from the foreclosing party as agent for the defaulting owner(s).
- 67.85 Change in general partners of partnership.
When the general partners of a partnership owning a documented vessel change by addition, deletion, or substitution without dissolution of the partnership, the change must be established by a written statement from a surviving general partner detailing the nature of the change.
- 67.87 Change of legal name of owner.
(a) When the name of a corporation which owns a documented vessel changes, the corporation must present certification from the appropriate governmental agency evidencing registration of the name change.
(b) When the name of an individual who owns a documented vessel changes for any reason, competent and persuasive evidence establishing the change must be provided.
- 67.89 Waiver of production of a bill of sale eligible for filing and recording.
(a) When the evidence of title passage required by this subpart is a bill of sale which meets the criteria for filing and recording set forth in subpart P of this part, and the applicant is unable to produce a bill of sale meeting those criteria, the applicant may request that the Director, National Vessel Documentation Center waive that requirement.
(b) No waiver of the requirement to produce a bill of sale eligible for filing and recording may be granted unless the applicant provides:
(1) A written statement detailing the reasons why an instrument meeting the filing and recording criteria of this part cannot be obtained; and
(2) Competent and persuasive evidence of the passage of title.
- 67.91 Passage of title pursuant to operation of State law.
When title to a documented vessel has passed by operation of State law for reasons other than those specified in this subpart, such passage must be established by:
(a) A copy of the statute permitting transfer of title to the vessel and setting forth procedures to be followed in disposing of the vessel;
(b) An affidavit from the party acting against the vessel, setting forth the basis for selling the vessel, and the steps taken to comply with the requirements of the statute under which title passes;
(c) Evidence of substantial compliance with the relevant statute(s); and
(d) A bill of sale which meets the criteria for filing and recording from the acting party as agent for the owner(s) of record.
Note:
State law authorizing a marina to dispose of abandoned vessels is an example of passage of title by operation of law contemplated by § 67.91.
- 67.41 Governmental entity.
A governmental entity is a citizen for the purpose of obtaining a vessel document if it is an entity of the Federal Government of the United States or of the government of a State as defined in § 67.3.
- 67.43 Evidence of citizenship.
When received by the Coast Guard, a properly completed original Application for Initial Issue, Exchange, or Replacement of Certificate of Documentation; or Redocumentation (form CG–1258) establishes a rebuttable presumption that the applicant is a United States citizen.
- 67.47 Requirement for Maritime Administration approval.
(a) The following transactions, among others, require approval of the Maritime Administration in accordance with 46 CFR part 221:
(1) Placement of the vessel under foreign registry;
(2) Operation of the vessel under the authority of a foreign country; and
(3) Sale or transfer of an interest in or control of the vessel from a citizen of the United States to a person not a citizen of the United States, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 50501.
(b) A Certificate of Documentation may not be issued for a vessel which subsequent to the last issuance of a Certificate of Documentation has undergone any transaction listed in paragraph (a) of this section, even if the owner meets the citizenship requirements of this subpart, unless evidence is provided that the Maritime Administration approved the transaction.
(c) The restriction imposed by paragraph (b) of this section does not apply to a vessel identified in § 67.11(b).
Subpart D—Title Requirements for Vessel Documentation
- 67.50 Requirement for title evidence.
The owner of a vessel must present title evidence in accordance with one of the methods specified in this subpart:
(a) When application is made for a coastwise endorsement for a vessel which has not previously been qualified for such endorsement;
(b) For initial documentation of a vessel;
(c) When the ownership of a documented vessel changes in whole or in part;
(d) When the general partners of a partnership owning a documented vessel change by addition, deletion, or substitution, without dissolution of the partnership; or
(e) When a vessel which has been deleted from documentation is returned to documentation and there has been an intervening change in ownership.
- 67.53 Methods of establishing title.
Title to a vessel may be established through one of the following methods:
(a) Simplified method without evidence of build. The owner must produce a copy of the last registration of the vessel (State, Federal, or foreign) and evidence which establishes chain of title from that registration to the present owner.
(b) Simplified method with evidence of build. The owner must produce a copy of the last registration of the vessel (State, Federal, or foreign) and evidence which establishes the chain of title from that registration to the present owner along with evidence of the facts of build in accordance with subpart F of this part.
(c) Complete chain of title, without evidence of citizenship for each entity in that chain of title. The owner must provide evidence which establishes:
(1) The facts of build in accordance with subpart F of this part; and
(2) A complete chain of title for the vessel from the person for whom the vessel was built to the present owner.
(d) Complete chain of title, with evidence of citizenship for each entity in that chain of title. The owner must provide evidence which establishes:
(1) The facts of build in accordance with subpart F of this part; and
(2) A complete chain of title for the vessel from the person for whom the vessel was built to the present owner, accompanied by competent and persuasive evidence establishing the citizenship of each entity in the chain of title.
- 67.55 Requirement for removal from foreign registry.
The owner of a vessel must present evidence of removal of the vessel from foreign registry whenever:
(a) The owner applies for initial documentation of a vessel that has at any time been registered under the laws of a foreign country; or
(b) The owner applies for reentry into documentation of a vessel that had been registered under the laws of a foreign country since it was last documented under the laws of the United States.