As a boat owner, you are probably aware by now that registration and paperwork are essential components to secure your vessel and remain in compliance with both state and federal requirements. When it comes to federal permits, the Maritime Documentation Center offers complete services of registration and lets you conduct a United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel search, making the procedure pretty straightforward. Read on and find out!
Why to Get USCG Documentation
Like we said, boat owners, know that they should maintain the proper paperwork if they don’t want to risk themselves having to pay costly fines. Having your boat documented with the USCG basically gives you three advantages that distinguish you from sailors who are not registered.
On one hand, it makes the process of entering and leaving foreign ports much more simple. This is because USCG documentation is worldly recognized. Not only lets you to federally register your vessel: but it also works as proof of ownership of your vessel. Given that many times that is required when navigating abroad, this helps to make the process faster and easier.
On the other hand, USCG documented that vessels have access to preferred ship mortgages. This is used to safeguard the ship-owner from either defaulting on the loan or relocating the vessel outside of the jurisdiction of the United States without fully repaying the loan balance.
Finally, this method of registration is also chosen for aesthetic purposes: if you are USCG documented, you can display your vessel name and hailing port instead of the state registration numbers.
Let us mention that this type of licensing is voluntary for recreational vessels and mandatory for commercial vessels that exceed 5 net tons (around 26 feet long boats).
How to Use the USCG Vessel Search Tool
If the boat you are looking for is USCG documented, then it will come up on the USCG vessel search registry. People normally use this tool when they want to double-check the data that was written in the bill of sale, for example. To be able to use this tool you will need some details from the vessel you are trying to find information about. This can be either its HIN number or official number. Keep in mind that, even the obtained data can be useful for you, if what you are looking for is an official USCG document, you will need to get an Abstract of Title instead. This document will have all the details from the vessel or changes it suffered, during the period it was registered with the USCG.
USCG Documentation Forms Online!
Whether you are trying to conduct a USCG vessel search, trying to get an abstract of title, or any other type of boating documentation, you have come to the right place: the Maritime Documentation Center has got your back. We are a third-party agency that processes any type of boating paperwork, from abstracts of title to the initial USCG registration form. Additionally, we allow you to get it completely online while someone from our friendly staff makes sure no mistakes are made, which would therefore delay the overall process. Contact us today for any other assistance you may need!