Title 46

SECTION 68.65

68.65 Annual ownership certification.

§ 68.65 Annual ownership certification.

(a) At the time of initial application for documentation and at the time for annual renewal of the endorsement as required by § 67.163 of this chapter, the person that owns a vessel with a coastwise endorsement under § 68.60 must certify in writing to the Director, National Vessel Documentation Center -

(1) That the person who owns a vessel with a coastwise endorsement under § 68.60 -

(i) Is a leasing company, bank, or financial institution;

(ii) Owns, or holds the beneficial interest in, the vessel solely as a passive investment;

(iii) Does not operate any vessel for hire and is not an affiliate of any person who operates any vessel for hire; and

(iv) Is independent from, and not an affiliate of, any charterer of the vessel or any other person who has the right, directly or indirectly, to control or direct the movement or use of the vessel.

(2) For vessels under paragraph (b) of this section, that -

(i) The aggregate book value of the vessels owned by that person and United States affiliates of that person does not exceed 10 percent of the aggregate book value of all assets owned by that person and its United States affiliates;

(ii) Not more than 10 percent of the aggregate revenues of that person and its United States affiliates is derived from the ownership, operation, or management of vessels;

(iii) At least 70 percent of the aggregate tonnage of all cargo carried by all vessels owned by that person and its United States affiliates and documented under 46 U.S.C. 12106 is qualified proprietary cargo;

(iv) Any cargo other than qualified proprietary cargo carried by all vessels owned by that person and its United States affiliates and documented under 46 U.S.C. 12106 consists of oil, petroleum products, petrochemicals, or liquified natural gas;

(v) No vessel owned by that person or any of its United States affiliates and documented under 46 U.S.C. 12106 carries molten sulphur; and

(vi) That person owned one or more vessels documented as of August 9, 2004, under § 67.20, as that section was in effect on that date.

(b) Paragraph (a)(2) of this section applies only to -

(1) A tank vessel having a tonnage of not less than 6,000 gross tons, as measured under 46 U.S.C. 14502 (or an alternative tonnage measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302 as prescribed under 46 U.S.C. 14104); or

(2) A towing vessel associated with a non-self-propelled tank vessel that meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, where the two vessels function as a single self-propelled vessel.

Note to § 68.65:

The Secretary of Transportation may waive or reduce the qualified proprietary cargo requirement of § 68.65(a)(2)(iii) for a vessel if the person that owns the vessel (or, if the vessel is owned by a trust or similar arrangement, the beneficiary of the trust or similar arrangement) notifies the Secretary that circumstances beyond the direct control of the person that owns the vessel or its affiliates prevent, or reasonably threaten to prevent, the person that owns the vessel from satisfying this requirement, and the Secretary does not, with good cause, determine otherwise. The waiver or reduction applies during the period of time that the circumstances exist.

---