PUBLIC LAW 98-89 —AUG. 26, 1983 97 STAT. 589 (1) shall specify the geographic area to be served by each designated port; and (2) may discontinue, relocate, or designate additional ports of documentation. § 12114. Home ports (a) The port of documentation selected by an owner of a vessel and approved by the Secretary for the documentation of the vessel is the vessel's home port. (h) Once a vessel's home port is established, it may not be changed without the approval of the Secretary. § 12115. Names of vessels (a) The name of the vessel selected by the owner and approved by the Secretary for the documentation of the vessel is the vessel's name of record. Qj) Once a vessel's name of record is established, it may not be changed without the approval of the Secretary. (c) The Secretary may prescribe by regulation a reasonable fee for changing a documented vessel's name of record. § 12116. Numbers, signal letters, and identification markings (a) The Secretary shall maintain a numbering system for the identification of a documented vessel and shall assign a number to each documented vessel. (b) The Secretary may mainteiin a system of signal letters for a documented vessel. (c) The owner of a documented vessel shall affix to the vessel and maintain in the manner prescribed by the Secretary the number assigned and any other identification markings the Secretary may require. § 12117. Recording of United States built vessels The Secretary may provide for the recording and certifying of information about vessels built in the United States that the Secre- tary considers to be in the public interest. § 12118. Registration of funnel marks and house flags The Secretary shall provide for the registration of funnel marks and house flags by owners of vessels. § 12119. List of documented vessels The Secretary shall publish periodically a list of all documented vessels and information about those vessels that the Secretary considers pertinent or useful. The list shall contain a notation clearly indicating all vessels classed by the American Bureau of Shipping. § 12120. Reports To ensure compliance with this chapter and laws governing the qualifications of vessels to engage in the coastwise trade and the fisheries, the Secretary may require owners and masters of docu- mented vessels to submit reports in any reasonable form and manner the Secretary may prescribe. § 12121. Regulations The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this chapter.
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