Documentation and Identification of Vessels Act.

This Act provides for the registration and documentation of vessels, defines rights and duties of a registered vessel and provides rules relative to ownership and transfer of vessels.
The Act shall apply to various types of vessels including any decked commercial fishing vessel of 24 meters or more in length, engaged in foreign trade, wherever built, owned by a citizen or national of the Republic, or a foreign maritime entity qualified in the Republic. Home ports are assigned for fishing vessels. Vessels operating exclusively within the waters of the Republic shall be documented under the provisions of the Domestic Watercraft Act. Vessels shall be registered with the Maritime Administrator. The Act contains special provisions relating to fishing vessels. It establishes conditions at which a fishing vessel is entitled to be registered and how fishing vessels shall be documented. The Maritime Administrator may refuse or terminate registration of a fishing vessel on the basis of specified criteria.