[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 33, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 33CFR138.110]

[Page 89-90]
 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 138--FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR WATER POLLUTION (VESSELS)--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 138.110  Master Certificates.

    (a) A contractor or other person who is responsible for a vessel in 
the capacity of a builder, scrapper, lessor, or seller (including a 
repairer who agrees to be responsible for a vessel under its custody) 
may apply for a Master Certificate instead of applying for an individual 
Certificate for each vessel. A Master Certificate covers all of the 
vessels subject to this part held by the applicant solely for purposes 
of construction, repair, scrapping, lease, or sale. A vessel which is 
being operated commercially in any business venture, including the 
business of building, repairing, scrapping, leasing, or selling (e.g., a 
slop barge used by a shipyard) cannot be covered by a Master 
Certificate. Any vessel for which a Certificate is required, but which 
is not eligible for a Master Certificate, must be covered by either an 
individual Certificate or a Fleet Certificate.
    (b) An applicant for a Master Certificate shall submit an 
application form in the manner prescribed by Sec. 138.60. An applicant 
shall establish evidence of financial responsibility in accordance with 
Sec. 138.80, by submission, for example, of an acceptable Master 
Insurance Guaranty Form, Surety Bond Guaranty Form, Master Financial 
Guaranty Form, or acceptable self-insurance documentation. An 
application must be completed in full, except for Item 5. The applicant 
shall make the following statement in Item 5: ``This is an application 
for a Master Certificate. The largest tank vessel to be covered by this 
application is [insert applicable gross tons] gross tons. The largest 
vessel other than a tank vessel is [insert applicable gross tons] gross 
tons.'' The dollar amount of financial responsibility evidenced by the 
applicant must be sufficient to meet the amount required under this 
part.
    (c) Each Master Certificate issued by the Director, NPFC, indicates-
-
    (1) The name of the applicant (i.e., the builder, repairer, 
scrapper, lessor, or seller);
    (2) The date of issuance and termination, encompassing a period of 
not more than three years; and
    (3) The gross tons of the largest tank vessel and gross tons of the 
largest vessel other than a tank vessel eligible for coverage by that 
Master Certificate. The Master Certificate does not identify the name of 
each vessel covered by the Certificate.

[[Page 90]]

    (d) Each additional vessel which does not exceed the respective 
tonnages indicated on the Master Certificate and which is eligible for 
coverage by a Master Certificate is automatically covered by that Master 
Certificate. Before acquiring a vessel, by any means, including 
conversion of an existing vessel, that would have the effect of 
increasing the certificant's required amount of financial responsibility 
(above that provided for issuance of the existing Master Certificate), 
the certificant shall submit to the Director, NPFC, the following:
    (1) Evidence of increased financial responsibility.
    (2) A new certification fee.
    (3) Either a new application or a letter amending the existing 
application to reflect the new gross tonnage which is to be indicated on 
a new Master Certificate.
    (e) A person to whom a Master Certificate has been issued shall 
submit to the Director, NPFC, every six months beginning the month after 
the month in which the Master Certificate is issued, a report indicating 
the name, previous name, type, and gross tonnage of each vessel covered 
by the Master Certificate during the preceding six-month reporting 
period and indicating which vessels, if any, are tank vessels.
    (f) The certificant shall ensure that a legible copy of the Master 
Certificate (certified as accurate by a notary public or other person 
authorized to take oaths in the United States) is carried aboard each 
vessel covered by the Master Certificate. The certificant shall retain 
the original Master Certificate at a location in the United States and 
shall make it readily available for inspection by United States 
Government officials.
    (g) Upon revocation or other invalidation of the Master Certificate, 
the certificant shall return the original Certificate within 10 days to 
the Director, NPFC. The certificant shall ensure that all copies of the 
Certificate are destroyed.

[CGD 91-005, 59 FR 34227, July 1, 1994, as amended by CGD 91-005, 61 FR 
9275, Mar. 7, 1996]