Vessel Name:
You may search for a vessel by entering all or part of the vessel's name. The system will search
for vessel names beginning with the characters you entered. The vessel name search supports
wildcard searches. The '%' symbol represents a wildcard.
It is possible for the system to find more than 1 vessel record. You may page through
the vessel
records by using the navigation buttons First Page, Prev. Page, Next
Page, or Last Page.
A maximum of 500 records will be returned by the system.
If more than 500 records are found,
you should try to refine your search criteria.
Vessel Identification Number:
You may search for a vessel by entering its Vessel Number. Vessel Numbers are 6
to 8 characters
long and may contain all digits (1-9) or begin with 1 or 2
letters (A-Z) followed by 6 or 7 digits.
The wildcard search option (%) is
available in the Vessel Number field. The Vessel Number search
consists of the
“Official Number” (Coast Guard assigned number for documented vessels),
Coast
Guard assigned number for undocumented vessels, or the IMO number.
Entry of a Vessel Number causes all other fields to be ignored in the search
(unless you use
the wildcard (%) option). This means that data for that particular vessel will be
retrieved even if
the vessel name is misspelled.
Vessel Call Sign:
You may search for a vessel by entering its Call Sign. Vessel Call Signs can be
any combination
of letters and numbers. The wildcard search option (%) is available in the Vessel
Call Sign field.
Entry of a Vessel Call Sign causes all other fields to be ignored in the search
(unless you use the wildcard (%) option). This means that data for that particular
vessel will
be retrieved even if the vessel name is misspelled.
Hull Number:
You may search for a vessel by entering its Hull Number. A Hull Number is a unique
identifier for
the vessel and consists of a string of letters (A-Z) and digits (0-9), up to 17
characters long.
You may page through the vessel records by using the navigation buttons
(First Page, Prev. Page, Next Page, or Last Page).
Entry of a Hull Number causes all other fields to be ignored in the search. This
means that data
will be retrieved even if the vessel name is misspelled. Note that entry of a VIN
takes precedence
over this option.
Vessel Flag:
You may search for a vessel by selecting the flag (ensign) the vessel flies. Most
are based on the
traditional state flag, but with notable stylistic modifications.
Flags are very important at sea, where they can mean the difference between life
and death,
and consequently the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly
enforced.
Ensigns are national maritime flags flown by ships, at the stern, from a gaff, or
from the yard-arm.
In some countries (e.g., the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia or Australia) there are
distinct naval and
merchant ensigns, while in other countries (e.g., United States or France) the merchant
and naval
ensigns are identical to the national flag flown on land. Ensigns are usually
required to be flown
when entering and leaving harbour, when sailing throughforeign waters, and when the ship is
signalled to do so by a warship.
Classification Society:
You may search for a vessel by selecting the classification society (Contact Search Only).
A classification society is a non-governmental organization in the shipping industry. It establishes
and maintains standards for the construction and classification of ships and offshore structures,
insures that construction is in accordance to these standards and carries out regular surveys of
ships in service to ensure their compliance.
Vessel Service:
You may search for a vessel by selecting its service type. This includes a
range from
commercial to recreational, and all others in between.
Using this option in conjunction with one or more of the previous search options
will significantly
reduce unwanted search results.
Build Year:
You may search for a vessel by entering the year it was built.
Although you can search using only this option, we recommend you use it in
conjunction with other
search criteria to narrow your search
results. Using this option on its own will almost always return
the
maximum allowed results (500).
Multiple Criteria:
You may search for a vessel by entering any known attributes. Simply enter as many
fields as are
known and the search will be restricted to vessels matching all of the criteria.
For example, you can
search for PASSENGER vessels registered in the FL whose names begin with SEA and
built in
the year 2001. Data in the Vessel Number field takes precedence over the other vessel
attributes.
It is possible for the system to find more than 1 vessel record. You may page the
vessel records
by using the navigation numbers at the bottom of the page. A maximum of 500
records will be
returned by the system. If more than 500 records are found, you should try
to refine your
search criteria.
Wildcard Characters:
Wildcard characters are automatically added to all text based searches.
However, if you wish to
further refine your search you may use two wildcard characters. The underscore '_'
character replaces
a single character. Example: J_pan searches for Japan, Jbpan, Jcpan and so on. The
percent '%'
character can be used to replace any combination of characters. Example: Ja% would return
both
Japan and Jacksonville.
Out of Service:
"Out of Service" is related to vessel status. If a vessel is operating in any
capacity (whether it has
a Certificate of Inspection or not) it is considered
ACTIVE and "In Service". If the status of the
vessel is anything other
than ACTIVE, the vessel will be listed as "Out of Service". The vessel
statuses other than ACTIVE are: ABANDONED, DESTROYED, INACTIVE, LAID UP,
SCRAPPED, STOLEN, SUNK, and UNKNOWN.
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