The US National Vessel Documentation Center issued a bulletin about a new provision on recreational vessel Certificates of Documentation (COD) and the US Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018.
The 2018 Act incorporates a provision to provide recreational COD holders the ability to select a multi-year renewal (1-5 years) during an implementation period that will start from January 1, 2019 until December 31, 2021. After this period, a five-year document, for recreational vessels only, will become automatic.
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Implementation of this provision needs an update to NVDC’s automated systems in order to accommodate multi-year renewals. Additionally, the US Coast Guard is evaluating what revisions to current regulations may be needed to include the provisions of the Act.
Recreational vessel owners should continue to follow the current process for requesting/renewing CODs.