Code of Federal Regulations Title 46. Shipping § 46.14.407 Reports

(a) The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or individual in charge of each oceanographic research vessel of 100 GRT or more must maintain a record of the employment, discharge, or termination of service of every merchant mariner in the crew. At least every 6 months, the person maintaining this record shall transmit it to the Coast Guard, either manually, in the form of a copy of a certificate of discharge, or electronically to the address provided in § 14.103 of this part.

(b) The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or individual in charge of the vessel must keep original shipping articles and a copy of each certificate of discharge ready for review by the Coast Guard or the concerned mariner upon request. The Coast Guard will no longer keep either original articles or copies of certificates of discharge;  it will keep only electronic records of employment.

(c) The master or individual in charge of the vessel must ensure that every entry made in the articles agrees with the corresponding entry made in a continuous discharge book, on a certificate of discharge, or in any other proof of sea service furnished to the mariner.

(d) Each oceanographic company must keep all original articles and copies of all certificates of discharge for 3 years. After 3 years the company must prepare the original shipping articles in alphabetical order by vessel name and send to the address in § 14.103(a) of this part for storage at the Federal Records Center at Suitland, Maryland. The company may dispose of the copies of certificates of discharge. The Coast Guard will dispose of copies of certificates submitted manually, once the information is entered into its sea-service database and is validated.

(e) Each oceanographic company that goes out of business or merges with another company must send all original articles to the address in § 14.103(a) within 30 days of the transaction.

(f) Articles sent for storage to the address in § 14.103(a) of this part that are not prepared in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section may be returned to the company for correction.