Buying a recreational or commercial vessel is a big step for you to take. Whether you are starting up a commercial fishing or charter business, or just purchased the yacht of your dreams so that you can sail where you want when you want, you have a lot of time, money, and effort invested in your new boat. As you go through the purchasing process, you may be made aware of your necessity to deal with the U.S. Coast Guard so that your vessel can be appropriately documented and registered. The office that handles this for the Coast Guard is the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, and you will find they can assist you with many tasks for your new boat.
A Commercial Vessel and the Documentation Center
Before you even finalize a deal for a commercial vessel, you will have to investigate what you will need to do to get paperwork filed with the Coast Guard. According to current U.S. laws, all commercial ships in the United States must be registered and documented with the Coast Guard before they can legally operate in the waters. It is a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with the paperwork that you will need to file, and the information you will need to gather so that you can fill out the proper forms to send to the Documentation Center. Make sure you fill out everything correctly so that you can avoid potential delays in getting your certificate that can keep you from starting your business on time.
A Recreational Ship and the National Center
Those who own a recreational vessel may not necessarily have to deal with the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center. There is no legal requirement for you to register your vessel with the center, but in some cases, the financial institution you are working with to get a loan for your purchase (assuming you are doing this process) can require documentation so that they have guarantees regarding their mortgage. There are benefits to you for documentation, including facilitation through security areas when visiting other countries, so that you may want to opt for this and file paperwork.
Filing with the Documentation Center
If you need documentation and are worried about doing things correctly with the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, here at Maritime Documentation Center, we can assist you. We are a private agency that takes care of the paperwork with the USCG for our clients, allowing you to fill out forms quickly on our website so that you can transmit them to us. We go over your documents for accuracy before sending them to the USCG, making your life much easier and avoiding errors that may cause delays. Look at the different forms we have available on our website so that you can fill them out and send us everything right away, allowing you to get the documentation you need promptly so you can start using your vessel.