Although MarineTraffic has made it easier than ever before to track ships find out about the vessels age flag and its technical characteristics it can be very difficult for members of the public to understand who actually owns which ships and how the business is structured.

How to find out who owns a yacht. Abandoned vessel is defined as a vessel that has been. How do you find out who owns a particular yacht. If you need to find a boats owner or verify whether or not there is a lien holder research registration and documentation numbers at the state and federal levels to discover the vessels chain of ownership and any lien information.

They can also clear up any errors found in connection to the hull number. The HIN may be found on the back of the boat in the uppermost right corner or under the swim platform. Check the HIN in a database that appears on the United States Coast Guard website.

Get detailed vessel information on owner hull identification number hailing port length year built boat builder and more. All boats with 10 hp or more are required by law to be licenced. Step 1 Locate the registration or documentation number on the exterior of the boat.

Enter the name and port of hail as prompted and the site will return the title owners information. To understand if youve actually found an abandoned vessel its good to know the exact definition. Look up the boat on a site like NADA to find the fair market value.

For this example well assume you have accidentally collided with an unattended registered vessel while you were exiting your slip and need to locate and notify the owner. To find the owner of a yacht locate the boats hull identification number. The registration ID will also indicate the state of registration.

When you want to check a boats title to determine ownership the document youre looking for is called the abstract of title If the vessel is documented with the Coast Guard your task is an easy one. Many people believe that if you find an abandoned boat it automatically belongs to you and yes I intentionally played into and exploited that popular misconception in the title of my first post on Wolfhound. It is the nautical equivalent of your cars number plate.