§ 356.3 - Definitions.

§ 356.3 Definitions.

For the purpose of this part, when used in capitalized form:

(a) 1916 Act refers to section 2 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, 46 App. U.S.C. 802. The Controlling Interest requirements of the Shipping Act are found in section 2(b), 46 App. U.S.C. section 802(b). The citizenship requirements for eligibility to own a vessel with a fisheries endorsement are found in section 2(c), 46 App. U.S.C. 802(c), and 46 U.S.C. 12102(c).

(b) AFA means the American Fisheries Act of 1998, as amended, Title II, Division C, of Public Law 105-277;

(c) Affiliate or Affiliated refers to a Person that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the first Person. For the purposes of this definition the term “control” (including the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”) means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, as trustee or executor, or otherwise.

(d) Charter means any agreement or commitment by which the possession or services of a Fishing Industry Vessel are secured for a period of time, or for one or more voyages, whether or not a bareboat charter of the vessel. A long-term or exclusive contract for the sale of all or a portion of a Fishing Vessel's catch is not considered a Charter.

(e) Citizen of the United States, Citizen or U.S. Citizen:

(1) Means an individual who is a Citizen of the United States, by birth, naturalization or as otherwise authorized by law, or an entity that in both form and substance, at each tier of ownership and in the aggregate, satisfies the requirements of 46 U.S.C. 12102(c) and section 2(c) of the 1916 Act, 46 App. U.S.C. 802(c). In order to satisfy the statutory requirements an entity other than an individual must meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2) of this section and the following criteria:

(i) The entity must be organized under the laws of the United States or of a State;

(ii) Seventy five percent (75%) of the ownership and control in the entity must be owned by and vested in Citizens of the United States free from any trust or fiduciary obligation in favor of any Non-Citizen;

(iii) No arrangement may exist, whether through contract or any understanding, that would allow more than 25% of the voting power of the entity to be exercised, directly or indirectly, in behalf of any Non-Citizen; and

(iv) Control of the entity, by any other means whatsoever, may not be conferred upon or permitted to be exercised by a Non-Citizen.

(2) Other criteria that must be met by entities other than individuals include:

(i) In the case of a corporation:

(A) The chief executive officer, by whatever title, and chairman of the board of directors and all officers authorized to act in the absence or disability of such persons must be Citizens of the United States; and

(B) No more of its directors than a minority of the number necessary to constitute a quorum are Non-Citizens;

(ii) In the case of a partnership all general partners are Citizens of the United States;

(iii) In the case of an association:

(A) All of the members are Citizens of the United States;

(B) The chief executive officer, by whatever title, and the chairman of the board of directors (or equivalent committee or body) and all officers authorized to act in their absence or disability are Citizens of the United States; and,

(C) No more than a minority of the number of its directors, or equivalent, necessary to constitute a quorum are Non-Citizens;

(iv) In the case of a joint venture:

(A) It is not determined by the Citizenship Approval Officer to be in effect an association or a partnership; and,

(B) Each co-venturer is a Citizen of the United States;

(v) In the case of a Trust that owns a Fishing Industry Vessel:

(A) The Trust is domiciled in the United States or a State;

(B) The Trustee is a Citizen of the United States; and

(C) All beneficiaries of the trust are persons eligible to document vessels pursuant to the requirements of 46 U.S.C. 12102(c);

(vi) In the case of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) that is not found to be in effect a general partnership requiring all of the general partners to be Citizens of the United States:

(A) Any Person elected to manage the LLC or who is authorized to bind the LLC, and any Person who holds a position equivalent to a Chief Executive Officer, by whatever title, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors in a corporation are Citizens of the United States; and,

(B) Non-Citizens do not have authority within a management group, whether through veto power, combined voting, or otherwise, to exercise control over the LLC.

(f) Citizenship Approval Officer means MARAD's Citizenship Approval Officer within the Office of Chief Counsel. The Citizenship Approval Officer's address is: Maritime Administration, United States Department of Transportation, Citizenship Approval Officer, MAR-220, Room 7232, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

(g) Commercial Lender means an entity that is primarily engaged in the business of lending and other financing transactions and that has a loan portfolio in excess of $100,000,000, of which not more than 50 per centum in dollar amount consists of loans to borrowers in the commercial fishing industry, as certified by the Commercial Lender to the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(h) Controlling Interest:

(1) Means, in the context of an entity, that in both form and substance, at each tier of ownership and in the aggregate, the entity satisfies the controlling interest requirements of section 2(b) of the 1916 Act, 46 App. U.S.C. 802(b). In order to satisfy the statutory requirements, an entity other than an individual must meet the requirements of paragraph (g)(2) of this section and the following criteria:

(i) The entity must be organized under the laws of the United States or of a State;

(ii) A majority of the ownership and control in the entity must be owned by and vested in Citizens of the United States free from any trust or fiduciary obligation in favor of any Non-Citizen;

(iii) No arrangement may exist, whether through contract or any understanding, that would allow a majority of the voting power of the entity to be exercised, directly or indirectly, in behalf of any Non-Citizen; and

(iv) Control of the entity, by any other means whatsoever, may not be conferred upon or permitted to be exercised by a Non-Citizen.

(2) Other criteria that must be met by entities other than an individual include:

(i) In the case of a corporation:

(A) The Chief Executive Officer, by whatever title, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors (or equivalent committee or body) and all officers authorized to act in their absence or disability are Citizens of the United States; and,

(B) No more than a minority of the number of its directors, or equivalent, necessary to constitute a quorum are Non-Citizens;

(ii) In the case of a partnership all general partners are Citizens of the United States;

(iii) In the case of an association:

(A) The Chief Executive Officer, by whatever title, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors (or equivalent committee or body) and all officers authorized to act in their absence or disability are Citizens of the United States; and,

(B) No more than a minority of the number of its directors, or equivalent, necessary to constitute a quorum are Non-Citizens;

(iv) In the case of a joint venture:

(A) It is not determined by the Citizenship Approval Officer to be in effect an association or partnership; and

(B) A majority of the equity is owned by and vested in Citizens of the United States free and clear of any trust or fiduciary obligation in favor of any Non-Citizen;

(v) In the case of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) that is not found to be in effect a general partnership requiring all of the general partners to be Citizens of the United States:

(A) Any Person elected to manage the LLC or who is authorized to bind the LLC, and any Person who holds a position equivalent to the Chief Executive Officer, by whatever title, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors in a corporation and any Persons authorized to act in their absence are Citizens of the United States; and,

(B) Non-Citizens do not have authority within a management group, whether through veto power, combined voting, or otherwise, to exercise control over the LLC;

(3) A state or federally chartered financial institution that meets the Controlling Interest requirements of paragraphs (g)(1) and (2) of this section is deemed to be a Citizen of the United States for all purposes under subpart D of this part other than operation of the vessel pursuant to § 356.25.

(i) Fishing Vessel means a vessel of 100 feet or greater in registered length that has or for which the owner is seeking a fishery endorsement to the vessel's documentation and that commercially engages in the planting, cultivating, catching, taking, or harvesting of fish, shellfish, marine animals, pearls, shells, or marine vegetation or an activity that can reasonably be expected to result in the planting, cultivating, catching, taking, or harvesting of fish, shellfish, marine animals, pearls, shells, or marine vegetation;

(j) Fishing Industry Vessel means a Fishing Vessel, Fish Processing Vessel, or Fish Tender Vessel;

(k) Fish Processing Vessel means a vessel of 100 feet or greater in registered length that has or for which the owner is seeking a fishery endorsement to the vessel's documentation and that commercially prepares fish or fish products other than by gutting, decapitating, gilling, skinning, shucking, icing, freezing, or brine chilling;

(l) Fish Tender Vessel means a vessel of 100 feet or greater in registered length that has or for which the owner is seeking a fishery endorsement to the vessel's documentation and that commercially supplies, stores, refrigerates, or transports (except in foreign commerce) fish, fish products, or materials directly related to fishing or the preparation of fish to or from a Fishing Industry Vessel or a fish processing facility;

(m) Harvest means to commercially engage in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish or fishery resources or any activity that can reasonably be expected to result in the catching, taking or harvesting of fish or fishery resources;

(n) Lender Syndicate means an arrangement established for the combined extension of credit of not less than $20,000,000 made up of four or more entities that each have a beneficial interest, held through an agent, under a trust arrangement established pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 31322(f). Other than the exercise by the agent of powers related to routine administrative matters, none of the entities in a Lender Syndicate may exercise powers related to the Lender Syndicate's extension of credit without the concurrence of at least one other unaffiliated beneficiary. Powers related to routine administrative matters include those concerning the day-to-day management of the extension of credit such as monitoring compliance with loan covenants, collateral inspections and similar matters; however, more substantive powers such as amending loan and mortgage documents, releasing guarantors or collateral, or administering the loan in the event of a default are not considered routine.

(o) MARAD means the Maritime Administration within the United States Department of Transportation. The terms “we, our, and us” may also be used to refer to the Maritime Administration;

(p) Mortgagee means a Person to whom a Fishing Industry Vessel or other property is mortgaged. (See the definition of Non-Citizen Lender and Preferred Mortgage in this section)

(q) Mortgage Trustee, for purposes of holding a Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel, means a corporation that:

(1) Is organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or of a State;

(2) Is authorized under those laws to exercise corporate trust powers;

(3) Is eligible to hold a Preferred Mortgage under 46 U.S.C. 31322(a)(4)(A)-(E);

(4) Is subject to supervision or examination by an official of the United States Government, or of a State;

(5) Has a combined capital and surplus (as stated in its most recent published report of condition) of at least $3,000,000; and

(6) Meets any other requirements prescribed by the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(r) Non-Citizen means a Person who is not a Citizen of the United States within the meaning of paragraph (d) of this section, 46 U.S.C. 12102(c) and section 2(c) of the 1916 Act, 46 App. U.S.C. 802(c).

(s) Non-Citizen Lender means a lender that does not qualify as a Citizen of the United States.

(t) Person includes an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, limited liability company, Trust, and other entities existing under or authorized by the laws of the United States or of a State or, unless the context indicates otherwise, of any foreign country.

(u) Preferred Mortgage means a mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel that has as the Mortgagee:

(1) A person eligible to own a vessel with a fishery endorsement under 46 U.S.C. 12102(c);

(2) A state or federally chartered financial institution that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;

(3) A farm credit lender established under title 12, chapter 23, of the United States Code [12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.];

(4) A commercial fishing and agriculture bank established pursuant to State law;

(5) A commercial lender organized under the laws of the United States or of a State and eligible to own a vessel under 46 U.S.C. 12102(a); or

(6) A Mortgage Trustee that complies with the requirements of 46 U.S.C. 31322(f) and 46 CFR 356.27 through 356.31.

(v) Related Party means a holding company, subsidiary, affiliate, or associate of a Non-Citizen or an officer, director, agent, or other executive of the Non-Citizen or of a holding company, subsidiary, affiliate or associate thereof.

(w) State means a State of the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

(x) Submitted means sent by mail and postmarked on that date, or sent by another delivery service or by electronic means, including E-mail and facsimile, and marked with an indication of the date equivalent to a postmark;

(y) Trust means:

(1) In the case of ownership of a Fishing Industry Vessel, a trust that is domiciled in and existing under the laws of the United States or of a State, of which the Trustee is a Citizen of the United States, and 100% of the interest in the Trust is held for the benefit of a Citizen of the United States; or

(2) In the case of a mortgage trust, a trust that is domiciled in and existing under the laws of the United States, or of a State, that has as its trustee a Mortgage Trustee as defined in this section, and that is authorized to act on behalf of a beneficiary in accordance with the requirements of §§ 356.27 through 356.31.

(z) United States, when used in the geographic sense, means the States of the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, and any other territory or possession of the United States; when used in other than the geographic sense, it means the United States Government.

(aa) United States Government means the Federal Government acting by or through any of its departments or agencies.

[65 FR 44877, July 19, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 5576, Feb. 4, 2003]