Do you want to use your vessel in a commercial capacity? Have you been planning on using your vessel as part of a maritime business? That can be a great, great way to make money, to live the life that you want. That said, to be able to do so, you want to be in compliance with the powers that be. We can help. With our vessel documentation portal, we make it easy to find the right endorsement for your vessel and maintain it.
Who Can Register Their Vessel and Who Must
You don’t have to use your vessel in a commercial capacity to register it. Indeed, a majority of registered vessel owners just use their vessels for recreation. To be eligible for vessel registration, your vessel has to be wholly owned by an American citizen (i.e. you) and has to measure at least five net tons (basically 25 feet in length, to simplify). If it meets those standards and you’re going to use it for commercial fishing or to transport people and goods, then you’re going to need to document your vessel.
The Right Endorsement for Your Vessel
When you fill out your application for your initial documentation, eventually you’ll get to a question that asks for your “endorsement.” Basically, this is a statement that says how you’re going to use your vessel. If you aren’t going to use it to make money, then just choose “recreation.” That’s the endorsement for using it to have fun with family and friends. If you plan on using it for commercial fishing, then choose “Fishery.” in the event you want to use your vessel to transport people and/or goods, then you’re going to want to choose “Coastwise” (as in “Coastwise Trade.”) Finally, if you plan on using it for international commerce, choose “Registry.”
Changing Courses: Picking a New Endorsement
One thing to remember about choosing an endorsement: you aren’t locked into it forever. Indeed, you can change it when you want. Better still, you can use our site to do it, too. For example, maybe you’re cashing out of commercial fishing, and just want to use your vessel to have a good time. Or, alternatively, maybe you have a vessel with a recreational endorsement and a great opportunity jumps into your lap, so to speak. If so, you can use the “Change of Trade Indicator/Endorsement” form at our site to make that alteration.
A Vessel Documentation Portal for Vessel Owners
Changing your endorsement is just one of the uses of the vessel documentation forms at our site. Indeed, you can use our forms to change so much else in regards to your vessel documentation: your vessel’s name, your hailing port, your address, the managing owner of your vessel, and so much more. To see all of the different forms that we offer for vessel owners like you, we encourage you to check out the rest of our site.