Title 46ShippingRelease 119-73not60

§12136 Surrender of Certificates of Documentation

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Vessels and Seamen › Part H— Identification of Vessels › Chapter 121— DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS › Subchapter III— MISCELLANEOUS › § 12136

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Owners must give up any invalid certificate of documentation, or one with an invalid endorsement, under rules the Secretary issues. The Secretary may set conditions for surrender of vessels over 1,000 gross tons. If a mortgage was filed under section 31321, surrender can be approved only with the mortgagee’s consent. The Secretary cannot refuse surrender because a lien notice was recorded under section 31343(a). Until the Secretary approves surrender, the vessel is still treated as documented for chapter 313 (for filings made before the invalidation and later assignments), for sections 56101 and 56102(a)(2), for chapter 563, and for other U.S. laws the Secretary names, except when a U.S. district court forfeits or orders sale.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §12136

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(a)An invalid certificate of documentation, or a certificate with an invalid endorsement, shall be surrendered as provided by regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
(b)(1)The Secretary may condition approval of the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel over 1,000 gross tons.
(2)The Secretary may approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation of a vessel covered by a mortgage filed or recorded under section 31321 of this title only if the mortgagee consents.
(3)The Secretary may not refuse to approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel solely on the basis that a notice of a claim of a lien on the vessel has been recorded under section 31343(a) of this title.
(c)(1)Notwithstanding subsection (a), 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)section 56101 and 56102(a)(2) and chapter 563 of this title; and
(C)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.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 12136(a)46:12111(b). 12136(b)(1)46:12111(d)(2). 12136(b)(2)46:12111(c)(3). 12136(b)(3)46:12111(d)(1). 12136(c)(1)46:12111(c)(1). 12136(c)(2)46:12111(c)(2). In subsection (a), the words “or a certificate with an invalid endorsement” are added for clarity.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Documentation Surrender and Invalidation Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 301(b), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1922, provided that: “section 12111(c)(3) [now section 12136(b)(2)] 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.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 12136

Title 46Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60