lector may require the production of a certificate of acknowledgment by the builder before an officer having a seal. (b) Any certificate in which the requirements of the law are fairly and fully complied with may be accepted; and where from any cause it is found impracticable to obtain the certificate of the builder, other competent evidence establishing the particulars and facts required to be certified by him may be aceepted, with the approval of the Commissioner of Navigation. 8233. (c) The place of build is where the hull was built. T. Ds. 5009, 5479, The time of build is the year of completion. Both must appear in all marine documents. U. S. C., title 46, Art. 25. Measurement of vessels.-(a) Before a vessel is R. S. 4148. documented she must be measured by the surveyor of the sec. 71. port or, if there be no surveyor, by the collector. U.S. C., title 46, (b) The officer making such measurement will grant a R. S. 4149. certificate (commerce Form 1414) specifying the build sec. 72. of such vessel, and whether she be a steam vessel or otherwise, whether her hull be of iron, steel, or wood; and if a steam vessel, whether she has side wheels or a screw; also the number of her decks and masts, her length, breadth, depth, the number of tons she measures; that her name is painted on each side of her bow, and that her name and hailing port are painted on her stern, and also that her tonnage is deeply carved or otherwise marked on her main beam, in conformity to law, and such other particulars as are descriptive of the identity of a vessel, according to the form prescribed. This certificate must be countersigned in token of assent by an owner, or by the master, or by an agent of the owner or owners, and preserved as a permanent record in the customhouse, together with the builders' certificate (commerce Form 1261). (c) The regulations governing the measurement of vessels are contained in a separate publication, Measurement of Vessels, issued by the Department of Commerce. Art. 26. Official number and signal letters.-(a) Every R. S. 4177. documented vessel is required by law to have an official, title 46, number awarded by the Commissioner of Navigation. Application therefor shall be made on commerce Form 1320 by the master or owner, through the collector of customs. In addition to the information therein required, the application must state the name of the former owner, if any, and that the bill of sale has been examined by the collector of customs, or has not, as the case may be. T.D. 5816. R. S. 4153. Act June 19, 1886, secs. 5, 6. R. S. 4177. secs. 45, 77. (b) All seagoing vessels of 100 tons or over, in addition to an official number, may have signal letters awarded. Signal letters may also be awarded to seagoing vessels of less than 100 tons where special application is made therefor through the collector. Art. 27. Marking of official number and net tonnage.(a) The official number of a vessel must be carved or U.S.O., title 46, marked permanently on her main beam, preceded by the abbreviation "No.," and her name, number, and signal letters must appear in all her documents. The net tonnage must also be carved or marked permanently on her main beam. T. D. 5816. T.D. 5816. (b) Such marking must be upon the face of the beam under the forward side of the main hatch of seagoing and lake vessels, and on the face of the beam under the afterside of the starboard forward hatch of western river steamers. On river steamers of the coast which carry passengers both above and below main deck, where there is a hatch to the main deck, the marking should be upon one of the deck beams in a conspicuous place, and as near as possible to the middle of the vessel. (c) The marking must be done at the expense of the owner, in Arabic numerals, thus: 825, at least 3 inches in height, when the size of the beam will permit, and not less than three-eighths of an inch deep. If at any time such vessel ceases to be so marked, it shall be liable to a fine of $30 on every arrival in a port of the United States. (d) On vessels whose main beam is of wood the marking should be deeply carved or branded, and on vessels whose main beam is of steel or iron it should be plainly cut, or marked in oil paint, outlined by punch marks, white when the beam is black, and black when the beam is of any light color. Art. 28. Evidence as to marking official number, etc.(a) Marine documents will not be issued until proper evidence is produced that the official number and net tonnage have been marked upon the vessel's main beam, and that her name has been marked upon both sides of her bow and her name and hailing port have been marked upon her stern as required by law (commerce Form 1322). (b) If the vessel is out of the district, the owner may make affidavit as to the above facts; but as soon as she arrives at a place within the home district, where the inspection certificate of a customs officer can be procured, such certificate must be required by the collector of customs of the district. (c) If the vessel is at a place in the home district which is not readily accessible to a customs officer, an affidavit that the law has been complied with may be submitted by the owner or agent. sec. 2. sec. 48. Art. 29. Marking of draft of registered vessels.-The Act Feb. 21, 1891, draft of every registered vessel shall be marked upon the U.S. C., title 46, stem and sternpost, in English feet or decimeters, in T. D. 10830. either Arabic or Roman numerals. The bottom of each numeral shall indicate the draft to that line. If all the figures indicating the draft of registered vessels can not be placed on the sternpost they may be continued upward on the adjacent part. U. S. C., title 46, Art. 30. Marking load lines on certain registered ves- Act Mar. 2, 1929. sels. Every merchant vessel of 250 gross tons and over sec. 85. engaged in a foreign voyage by sea, except vessels on the Great Lakes, must have a load line permanently and conspicuously marked on each side. R. S. 4178. T. Ds. 10830, Art. 31. Name and home port on documented vessel. (a) The name of every documented vessel (yachts ex-sec. 46. cepted) shall be marked in full upon each bow and upon 11940, 12276. the stern, and the home port shall also be marked in full upon the stern. These names shall be painted, or carved, or gilded, in roman letters in a light color on a dark ground, or in a dark color on a light ground, and must be distinctly visible. The letters used shall not be less than 4 inches high. If any vessel of the United States is found without these names so marked, the owner or owners shall be liable to a penalty of $10 for each name omitted. Every R. S. 4495. steam vessel of the United States must, in addition, sec. 493. have her name conspicuously placed in distinct, plain letters of not less than 6 inches high on each outer side of the pilot house, if it has such, and in case the vessel has side wheels, also on the outer side of each wheelhouse, under the same penalty as provided above. U.S. C., title 46, (b) On vessels called "double-enders" the letters pre- T. Ds. 3226, 10830scribed by the statute may be placed on the parts corresponding to the bow and stern, and on vessels with sterns not affording sufficient space for letters they may be placed on the adjacent parts, in both cases so as to conform to the law as closely as possible, and so that the hailing port shall be marked at one end of the vessel. (c) Scows, barges, or other vessels "scow-built" or with square bow may be marked on the bow instead of the side where such marking would be speedily obliterated by chafing against other vessels, spiles, or docks. U.S. C., title 46, sec. 47. U.S. C., title 46, sec. 18. R. S. 4214. Act Mar. 3, 1883. U.S. C., title 46, sec. 103. T. Ds. 8447, 10830, R. S. 4141.. U. S. C., title 46, Shipping act, 1916, sec. 2. U.S. C., title 46, sec. 802. (d) The hailing port or port to be marked on the stern may be either the port where the vessel is permanently documented, or the place in the same district where the vessel was built or where one or more of the owners reside. (e) Documented yachts are required to have their names and hailing ports placed on some conspicuous part of their hulls. Art. 32. Home port-Definition-Change of.-(a) A vessel's home port is that port of documentation which has been fixed and determined by the owner with the approval of the Commissioner of Navigation. It is also the port at which a vessel's permanent documents issue but it must appear in all documents whether they are permanent or temporary. (b) It is desirable that the home port be at or nearest the place where the vessel business of the owner is conducted but it need not be in the State where the owning company is incorporated. (c) If the owner desires to have the home port elsewhere, an application accompanied by a detailed statement setting forth the reasons therefor shall be forwarded to the Commissioner of Navigation for his approval. Art. 33. Citizen ownership of corporation, partnership, or association.-(a) No corporation, partnership, or association shall be deemed a citizen of the United States, within the meaning of the shipping act of 1916 and the merchant marine act of 1920, unless the controlling interest therein is owned by citizens of the United States, and, in the case of a corporation, unless its president and managing directors are citizens of the United States and the corporation itself is organized under the laws of the United States or of a State, Territory, District, or possession thereof. The controlling interest in a corporation shall not be deemed to be owned by citizens of the United States if the title to a majority of the stock thereof is not vested in such citizens free from any trust or fiduciary obligation in favor of any person not a citizen of the United States; or if the majority of the voting power in such corporation is not vested in citizens of the United States; or if through any contract or understanding it is so arranged that the majority of the voting power may be exercised, directly or indirectly, in behalf of any person who is not a citizen of the United States; or if by any other means control of the corporation is conferred upon or permitted to be exercised by any person who is not a citizen of the United States. (b) In the case of a vessel operating in the coastwise trade, the amount of interest in the corporation, association, or partnership required to be owned by citizens of the United States shall be 75 per cent. (c) In the case of corporate ownership the applicant for documents will furnish a satisfactory certificate as to the organization of the corporation and the names of its president and managing directors. The citizenship of the president and managing directors must be established to the satisfaction of the collector. (d) The proofs submitted to establish the above facts, as well as the proofs of the percentage of stock held by citizens free from foreign control should be filed in the office of the collector. U. S. C., title 46, Art. 34. Evidence of citizenship of owners and officers.-R. S. 4142, 4144. In addition to the oaths of citizenship specified, a collector secs. 19, 22. of customs may require the production of such further evidence as may be necessary to satisfy him that the person is a citizen of the United States and a proper notation of the evidence produced should be made on the papers retained in the collector's office, such as the number, date, and office of issue of an officer's license or a seaman's passport or a citizen's passport, or the same data as to a birth certificate or a naturalization certificate. Art. 35. Forms of oath.-The oath of ownership required for the registry of any vessel or for the enrollment and license of a vessel shall be, as near as possible, in the following forms: Oath of owner (a) If the vessel be of 20 tons or more, the owner's oath for license shall be as follows (commerce Forms 1262, 1270): and State R. S. 4142. of- do swear (or affirm), according to the best of my know- sec. 19. ledge and belief, that the vessel called the of gross, and of official net, was *[built in United States, and number citizen -; and that no subject or citizen of any foreign power is, directly or indirectly, by way of trust, confidence, or otherwise, interested therein, or in the profits or issues thereof, and that present master thereof, is a citizen of the United States. the |