46 U.S.C. § 12502 — Identification numbers, signal letters,

Page 225 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 12502 (3) identifying the State in which it is titled or numbered; (4) indicating whether the vessel is num- bered or titled, or both; (5) if titled in a State, indicating where evi- dence of a lien or other security interest may be found against the vessel in that State; and (6) information assisting law enforcement of- ficials. (c) The Secretary may maintain information under this chapter in connection with any other information system maintained by the Sec- retary. (Added Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 101(a), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4735; amended Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 302(1), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1922; Pub. L. 101–595, title VI, § 603(10), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 2993.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section 12501 Subsection (a) of section 12501 requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a system of information concerning vessels of the United States for law enforce- ment and other purposes. The Secretary is required to make available information from the system relating to the ownership of vessels documented under chapter 121 of title 46, numbered under chapter 123 of that title, and titled under the law of a State. The information is available under section 12503 for use by the public, similarly under the Ship Mortgage Act, 1920. Subsection (b) lists the vessel identification informa- tion which is required to be maintained by the Sec- retary. The Secretary has the authority to prescribe other information to be maintained in addition to the items listed. For example, the Secretary may identify vessels issued fisheries permits by the Department of Commerce. The Secretary may also monitor trans- actions involving vessels that require approval by the Secretary under section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 App. U.S.C. 808) before interest or control in the vessel may be transferred to a noncitizen. Subsection (c) clarifies that the Secretary has the flexibility to maintain this system in connection with any other information system maintained by the Sec- retary, including the Federal Aviation Administration system containing aircraft ownership information. This would also permit the Secretary to combine various systems and data bases maintained by the Secretary such as documentation and numbering of vessels, and safety, casualty, and law enforcement statistics. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1990—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 101–595 amended sub- par. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: ‘‘the owner’s social security number; or’’. 1989—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–225 amended par. (2) generally, adding subpars. (A) and (B). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as a note under section 31301 of this title. RECORDS AND OTHER INFORMATION; ESTABLISHMENT, CENTRALIZATION AND COMPUTERIZATION Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 104(e)(2), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4751, provided that: ‘‘To establish, centralize, and computerize records and other information maintained under chapters 121, 125, and 313 of title 46, United States Code, from the effective date of this title [Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as a note under section 31301 of this title] through September 30, 1993, the Sec- retary of Transportation shall spend (out of amounts appropriated for the Department of Transportation under an appropriations law) not less than an amount that is equal to the amounts estimated to be— ‘‘(A) collected under section 9701 of title 31, United States Code, for fees paid for services and things of value provided under chapter 313 of title 46, United States Code (as enacted by section 101 of this Act), and for documenting vessels under chapter 121 of title 46; and ‘‘(B) transferred to or collected by the Secretary under chapter 125 of title 46, United States Code (as enacted by section 101 of this Act).’’ PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT; RECRUITMENT, COMPENSA- TION, TRAINING, PURCHASING, OR DEPLOYMENT Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 104(g), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4751, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in this section [amending sections 2101, 2110, 12102, 12103, 12105, 12110, 12112, 12117, 12119, and 12120 of this title and sections 808, 1242, and 1271 of the Appendix to this title, and enacting provi- sions set out as notes under sections 12501, 12502, and 12505 of this title] requires the Coast Guard to recruit, compensate, train, purchase, or deploy any personnel or equipment to carry out chapter 125 of title 46, United States Code (as enacted by section 101 of this Act), ex- cept to the extent that appropriations are made avail- able in an appropriations law for the Department of Transportation.’’ [For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relat- ing thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Secu- rity, and the Department of Homeland Security Reor- ganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.] § 12502. Identification numbers, signal letters, and markings (a) For the identification of a vessel of the United States, the Secretary of Transpor- tation— (1) shall maintain a unique numbering sys- tem and assign a number to each vessel of the United States; (2) may maintain a system of signal letters for a documented vessel; (3) shall record a name selected by the owner of a documented vessel approved by the Sec- retary as the vessel’s name of record; and (4) may establish other identification mark- ings. (b) The manufacturer or owner of a vessel shall affix to the vessel and maintain in the manner prescribed by the Secretary the number assigned and any other markings the Secretary may require. (c) Once a number is assigned under this sec- tion, it may not be used by another vessel. (d) Once a documented vessel’s name is estab- lished, the name may not be changed without the approval of the Secretary. (e) A person may not tamper with or falsify a number or other marking required under this section. (Added Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 101(a), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4736.) Page 226 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 12503 HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section 12502 Subsection (a) of this section requires the Secretary to maintain a unique numbering system for vessels of the United States. The Secretary may use existing ves- sel numbering systems such as the hull identification number for this purpose, but must ensure that no two existing vessels of the United States have the same number. The Secretary should consider and propose the use of a 17-digit number to implement this require- ment. This subsection also requires the Secretary to maintain a system of signal letters and to record vessel names for documented vessels. The Secretary is author- ized to establish other vessel identification markings for vessels of the United States, such as hailing ports. Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) contain other require- ments and restrictions concerning vessel identification markings. This section consolidates the requirements of sec- tions 12114, 12115, 12116, and 12118 of title 46. For this reason, section 106 of this bill repeals those sections. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as a note under section 31301 of this title. VESSELS NOT HAVING UNIQUE NUMBER; APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS FOR NUMBER ASSIGNMENT Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 104(f), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4751, provided that: ‘‘Section 12502(a)(1) of title 46, United States Code (as enacted by section 101 of this Act), applies to a vessel of the United States that does not have a unique number as prescribed by the Sec- retary of Transportation under that section until the earlier of the following: ‘‘(1) the next time the vessel is documented, num- bered, or titled. ‘‘(2) January 1, 1995.’’ § 12503. Information available to the system (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a State or a State’s delegate approved by the Secretary of Transportation may make information available to the Sec- retary if, in a manner and form prescribed by the Secretary, the State— (1) identifies the vessel; (2) identifies the owner of the vessel, includ- ing by— (A) the owner’s social security number or, if that number is not available, other means of identification acceptable to the Sec- retary; or (B) for an owner other than an individual— (i) the owner’s taxpayer identification number; or (ii) if the owner does not have a taxpayer identification number, the social security number of an individual who is a corporate officer, general partner, or individual trustee of the owner and who signed the application for documentation or num- bering for the vessel; (3) identifies the State in which it is titled or numbered; (4) indicates whether the vessel is numbered or titled, or both; (5) if titled in a State, indicates where evi- dence of a lien or other security interest may be found against the vessel in that State; (6) includes information to assist law en- forcement; and (7) includes other information agreed to by the Secretary and the State. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary also may accept informa- tion under conditions and in a manner and form prescribed by the Secretary. (c) The Secretary shall— (1) retain information on a vessel with a pre- ferred mortgage under section 31322(d) of this title that is no longer titled in a State making information available to the Secretary under this chapter until the mortgage is discharged or the vessel is sold; and (2) accept information under section 31321(h) of this title only if that information cannot be provided to a State. (Added Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 101(a), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4736; amended Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 302(2), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1922; Pub. L. 101–595, title VI, § 603(10), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 2993; Pub. L. 109–304, § 15(24), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1704.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section 12503 Subsection (a) of section 12503 allows a State or ap- proved State delegee to make vessel identification in- formation available to the Secretary. Participation in the system is voluntary on the part of a State. A ben- efit to boat purchasers and financiers in States with approved titling systems participating in this system is that vessel mortgages or financing instruments made in those States are deemed to be preferred mortgages under chapter 313 of title 46, United States Code (as codified and enacted by this Act). Under subsection (a), the Secretary may prescribe the manner and form in which the information is made available by the States. In this regard, the Committee intends that the Secretary employ the most efficient, up-to-date computer technology in maintaining infor- mation made available from the States to avoid dupli- cation of effort in maintaining information and to re- duce the costs of the system. In addition to the vessel identification information made available by States under paragraphs (1)–(6), the Secretary and a State may agree that the State make available other information. For example, the purpose for which a vessel is rou- tinely used would be valuable information for the sys- tem. The Committee intends that most of the information in the system will become available directly and exclu- sively from the States to the greatest extent possible. However, under subsection (b), the Secretary may ac- cept information from others under conditions and in a manner and form prescribed by the Secretary. Thus, if the Secretary discovers a valuable and reliable source of data that can be conveniently made available to the system, the Secretary can approve it. Under paragraph (c)(1), the Secretary must maintain information on a State-titled vessel with a preferred mortgage that moves to a nonparticipating, nontitle State, until the mortgage is discharged or the vessel is sold. Under paragraph (c)(2), the Secretary must accept information submitted under section 31321 of title 46 (as enacted by this Act) concerning a discharge of a pre- ferred mortgage on a vessel title under State law. This would be necessary if the vessel moves to a nonpartici- pating State, and information on that vessel would not be provided to the system by that State. This sub- section will allow the Secretary to keep the vessel in- formation system current on these matters and purge files no longer required to be maintained. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–304 substituted ‘‘dele- gate’’ for ‘‘delegee’’ in introductory provisions.