Owning a maritime vessel is a great privilege and can give you the opportunity to enjoy a vacation on the open waters or run a business over commercial waters in the United States. Just as is the case with operating a motor vehicle in the United States, there are government agencies and facilities that help to oversee the maritime regulations, enforce regulations and keep a registry of vessels so that there is documentation of the boats on the waters. The National Vessel Documentation Center, or NVDC as it is often referred to as, plays an important role in helping to keep the records of maritime commerce.
Tracking the Documentation of Vessels
It is the job of the National Vessel Documentation Center to keep records on all the vessels that are federally documented in the United States. This process includes documenting all the commercial vessels in the country, as is required by law, and documenting many recreational vessels as well. While recreational vessels do not have a legal requirement for documentation, many owners of large boats document them anyway for the advantages they can gain with documentation during international excursions. The center processes new applications, renewals, reinstatements and more each day to keep records current.
Supplying Information to the Public
The USCG NVDC can also be a valuable resource to you as a boat owner. The center can provide you with all the forms you may need that are involved in the documenting process, explain the process to you, so you know what you need to do, help you get an abstract of title for your vessel, and other practices related to documentation. Your documentation can be a vital tool to you when you are seeking financing for your vessel from a bank or other lending institution, and the information you get from the center can be useful to you.
Better Access to Documentation
While using the NVDC is important, it can be frustrating to go through the system as well. That is why we at Vessel Documentation Online, LLC can be there to help you. We are a service agency that will work as an intermediary between you and the center so that all your documents are filed correctly and expediently. You can learn more about the services that are available from us and perform your filing directly through our website.
