
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 46USC12111]

 
                           TITLE 46--SHIPPING
 
                     Subtitle II--Vessels and Seamen
 
                    Part H--Identification of Vessels
 
                  CHAPTER 121--DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS
 
Sec. 12111. Surrender and invalidation of certificates of 
        documentation
        
    (a) A certificate of documentation is invalid if the vessel for 
which it is issued--
        (1) no longer meets the requirements of this chapter and 
    regulations prescribed under this chapter applicable to that 
    certificate of documentation; or
        (2) is placed under the command of a person not a citizen of the 
    United States in violation of section 12110(d) of this title.

    (b) An invalid certificate of documentation must be surrendered as 
provided by regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation.
    (c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, until the 
certificate of documentation is surrendered with the approval of the 
Secretary, a documented vessel is deemed to continue to be documented 
under this chapter for purposes of--
        (A) chapter 313 of this title for an instrument filed or 
    recorded before the date of invalidation and an assignment after 
    that date;
        (B) sections 9 and 37(b) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 App. 
    U.S.C. 808, 835(b));
        (C) section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 
    1242); and
        (D) any other law of the United States identified by the 
    Secretary by regulation as a law to which the Secretary applies this 
    subsection.

    (2) This subsection does not apply when a vessel is forfeited or 
sold by order of a district court of the United States.
    (3) The Secretary may approve the surrender of the certificate of 
documentation of a documented vessel covered by a mortgage filed or 
recorded under section 31321 of this title only if the mortgagee 
consents.

(Pub. L. 98-89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 588; Pub. L. 100-710, title I, 
Sec. 103(a), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4749; Pub. L. 104-324, title III, 
Sec. 301(d)(2)(A), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3916.)

                      Historical and Revision Notes
                                1983 Act
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Revised section                Source section (U.S. Code)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12111.............................  46:65o
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under section 12111, a certificate of documentation becomes invalid 
if the vessel for which it is issued no longer meets the requirements 
for issuance of the certificate or is placed under the command of a 
person who is not a citizen of the United States. It also requires the 
surrender of invalid certificates but gives protection to preferred 
mortgages.

                            1988 Act

    This amends section 12111 of title 46, United States Code, 
concerning surrendering and invalidation of certificates of 
documentation. This section clarifies the requirement that an invalid 
certificate of documentation must be surrendered to the Secretary. 
However, until the surrender is approved by the Secretary, the vessel is 
still a documented vessel for certain purposes such as for commercial 
instruments that have been recorded, foreign transfer restrictions, and 
requisitioning in time of war or national emergency. It also requires 
the Secretary to obtain the mortgagee's approval of the surrender if 
there is a mortgage on the vessel that has been filed or recorded with 
the Secretary.


                          house floor statement

    Section 12111(c)(3) is changed to prohibit the approval of the 
surrendering of a certificate of documentation for any vessel with a 
mortgage filed or recorded with the Secretary, not just a vessel with a 
preferred mortgage.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104-324 inserted ``in violation of 
section 12110(d) of this title'' before period at end.
    1988--Pub. L. 100-710 substituted ``Surrender and invalidation'' for 
``Invalidation'' in section catchline, added subsecs. (b) and (c), and 
struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: ``Except as 
provided by section 30(O) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 App. 
U.S.C. 961(a)), an invalid certificate of documentation shall be 
surrendered as provided by regulations prescribed by the Secretary.''


                    Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 100-710 effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain 
exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100-710, set 
out as an Effective Date note under section 30101 of this title.


         Application of Section to Fishing Vessels in California

    Citizen of the United States to include an alien lawfully admitted 
for permanent residence, for purposes of applying this section to 
vessels operating in waters off the coast of California, subject to 
United States jurisdiction, see section 317 of Pub. L. 101-595, set out 
as a note under section 8103 of this title.


                Documentation Surrender and Invalidation

    Pub. L. 101-225, title III, Sec. 301(b), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 
1922, provided that: ``Section 12111(c)(3) of title 46, United States 
Code, does not apply to a mortgage that--
        ``(1) was filed or recorded before January 1, 1989; and
        ``(2) was not a preferred mortgage (as that term is defined in 
    section 31301(6) of that title) on that date.''
