46 C.F.R. Subpart F—Charters, Management Agreements and Exclusive or Long-Term Contracts
Title 46 - Shipping
(a) Charters to Citizens of the United States: (1) Bareboat charters may be entered into with Citizens of the United States subject to approval by the Citizenship Approval Officer that the charterer is a Citizen of the United States. The bareboat charterer of Fishing Industry Vessel must submit an Affidavit of U.S. Citizenship to the Citizenship Approval Officer for review and approval prior to entering into such charter. (2) Time charters, voyage charters and other charter arrangements that do not constitute a bareboat charter of the Fishing Industry Vessel may be entered into with Citizens of the United States. The charterer must submit an Affidavit of U.S. Citizenship to the Citizenship Approval Officer within 30 calendar days of execution of the charter. (b) Charters to Non-Citizens: (1) Bareboat or demise charters to Non-Citizens of Fishing Industry Vessel for use in the United States are prohibited. Bareboat charters to Non-Citizens of Fish Processing Vessels and Fish Tender Vessels for use solely outside of the United States are permitted. (2) Time charters, voyage charters and other charters that are not a demise of the vessel may be entered into with Non-Citizens for the charter of dedicated Fish Tender Vessels and Fish Processing Vessels that are not engaged in the Harvesting of fish or fishery resources. A copy of the charter must be submitted to the Citizenship Approval Officer prior to being executed in order for the Citizenship Approval officer to verify that the charter is not in fact a demise of the vessel. (3) Time charters, voyage charters and other charters of Fishing Industry Vessels to Non-Citizens are prohibited if the Fishing Industry Vessel will be used to Harvest fish or fishery resources. (c) We reserve the right to request a copy of any time charter, voyage charter, contract of affreightment or other Charter of a Fishing Industry Vessel in order to confirm that the Charter is not a bareboat charter of the Fishing Industry Vessel. (d) Any violation of this section will render the vessel's fishery endorsement immediately invalid upon notification from the Citizenship Approval Officer. (a) An owner or bareboat charterer of a Fishing Industry Vessel may enter into a management agreement with a Non-Citizen in which the management company provides marketing services, consulting services or other services that are ministerial in nature and do not convey control of the vessel to the Non-Citizen. (b) An owner or bareboat charterer of a Fishing Industry Vessel may not enter into a management agreement that allows the Non-Citizen to appoint, discipline or replace the crew or the master, direct the operations of the vessel or to otherwise effectively gain control over the management and operation of the vessel or vessel-owning entity. (c) The owner or bareboat charterer must file with the Citizenship Approval Officer a description of any management agreement entered into with a Non-Citizen. The description must be submitted within 30 days of the execution and must include: (1) A description of the agreement with a summary of the terms and conditions, and, (2) A representation and warranty that the agreement does not contain any provisions that convey control over the vessel or vessel-owning entity to a Non-Citizen. (d) The Citizenship Approval Officer may request a copy of any management agreement to determine if it contains provisions that convey control over the vessel or vessel-owning entity to a Non-Citizen. (a) An owner or bareboat charterer of a Fishing Industry Vessel may enter into an agreement or contract with a Non-Citizen for the sale of all or a significant portion of its catch where the contract or agreement is solely for the purpose of employment of certain vessels on an exclusive basis for a specified period of time. Such contracts or agreements will not require our prior approval; provided, that the contract or agreement does not convey control over the owner or bareboat charterer of the vessel or the vessel's operation, management and harvesting activities. (b) Provisions of a long-term or exclusive contract or agreement for the sale of all or a significant portion of a vessel's catch entered into pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section that are not considered to convey impermissible control to a Non-Citizen and do not require our approval include provisions that: (1) Specify that the owner or bareboat charterer agrees to sell and purchaser agrees to procure, on a preferential basis, a certain quantity of fish caught by a vessel owner or bareboat charterer on a specific vessel; (2) Specify that the vessel owner or charterer is responsible for supplying a specific type of fish to off-loading points designated by the purchaser; (3) Provide for the replacement by the vessel owner of vessels covered by the contract or agreement in the event of loss or damage; (4) Specify refrigeration criteria; (5) Provide that the owner or bareboat charterer has to comply with fishing schedules that specify the maximum age of fish to be delivered and a method to coordinate delivery to the purchaser; (6) Provide for methods of calculating price per pound or other price schedules and a schedule for payment for delivered fish; (7) Provide for an arbitration mechanism in the event of dispute; and (8) Provide for the purchaser to furnish off-loading crew and/or processing or quality control technicians but no other vessel crew members. (c) An owner or bareboat charterer of a Fishing Industry Vessel must obtain the approval of the Citizenship Approval Officer prior to entering into any agreement or contract with a Non-Citizen for the sale of all or a significant portion of a vessel's catch if the agreement or contract contains provisions that in any way convey to the purchaser of the vessel's catch control over the operation, management or harvesting activities of the vessel, vessel owner, or bareboat charterer other than as provided for in paragraph (b) of this section. (d) An owner or bareboat charterer must submit, with its Affidavit of United States Citizenship and annually thereafter, a list of any long-term or exclusive sales agreements to which it is a party and the principal parties to those agreements. If requested, a copy of such agreements must be provided to the Citizenship Approval Officer. (a) A Non-Citizen may advance funds to the owner or bareboat charterer of a Fishing Industry Vessel: (1) As provisional payment for products delivered for consignment sales, but not yet sold; or (2) Where the basis of the advancement is an agreement between the Non-Citizen and the vessel owner or bareboat charterer to sell all or a portion of the vessel's catch to the Non-Citizen and the agreement meets the following conditions: (i) The amount of the advancement does not exceed the annual value of the sales contract, measured as the value of the product to be supplied to the processor; (ii) The Non-Citizen is not granted any rights whatsoever to control the operation, management and harvesting activities of the Fishing Industry Vessel other than as provided for in §356.43; (iii) The owner or bareboat charterer submits to the Citizenship Approval Officer within 30 days of execution a description of the arrangement and a certification and warranty that the agreement or contract with the Non-Citizen does not convey control over the vessel, the vessel owner or bareboat charterer in any manner whatsoever other than as provided for in §356.43; and, (iv) No security interest in the vessel is conveyed as collateral for the advance of funds, unless a qualified Mortgage Trustee is used to hold the debt instrument for the benefit of the Non-Citizen. (b) An owner or bareboat charterer may enter into an unsecured letter of credit or promissory note with a U.S. branch of a Non-Citizen Lender if: (1) The Non-Citizen Lender is not affiliated with any party with whom the owner or bareboat charter has entered into a mortgage, long-term or exclusive sales or purchase agreement, or other similar contract; (2) The Non-Citizen Lender is not granted any rights whatsoever to control the owner or the operation, management and harvesting activities of the Fishing Industry Vessel; and, (3) The owner or bareboat charterer submits to the Citizenship Approval Officer within 30 days of execution a description of the arrangement and a certification and warranty that the agreement or contract with the Non-Citizen Lender does not convey control over the vessel, the vessel owner or bareboat charter in any manner whatsoever. (c) The Citizenship Approval Officer may request a copy of any agreement for an advance of funds or letter of credit in order to determine if it contains an impermissible conveyance of control to a Non-Citizen. [65 FR 44877, July 19, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 5582, Feb. 4, 2003]
Title 46: Shipping
PART 356—REQUIREMENTS FOR VESSELS OF 100 FEET OR GREATER IN REGISTERED LENGTH TO OBTAIN A FISHERY ENDORSEMENT TO THE VESSEL'S DOCUMENTATION
Subpart F—Charters, Management Agreements and Exclusive or Long-Term Contracts
§ 356.39 Charters.
§ 356.41 Management agreements.
§ 356.43 Long-term or exclusive sales contracts.
§ 356.45 Advance of funds.
