New Vessel Construction
By Jerry Dzugan, AMSEA
If you’re interested in building a new commercial fishing vessel measuring 50-180 feet, this would be a good time to look at the U.S. Coast Guard’s new policy letter CG-CVC 24-02 dated Aug. 18 entitled “The Application of Fishing Vessel Construction Requirements.”
A policy is an agency’s clarification of a law or regulation. In this case, the agency is the U.S. Coast Guard.
Commercial fishing vessel (CFV) classing requirements are specified in Title 46, United States Code U.S.C. § 4503(a). However, in lieu of being classed, certain vessels may opt to choose an alternate-to-class option per U.S.C. § 4503(d).
Specifically, this would apply to fishing vessels (FV) and fish tender vessels (FTV) that are between 50 and 180 feet overall in length with a keel laid dat...