Small Vessel Regulations (SOR/2010-91)

903 (1) The builder, manufacturer, rebuilder or importer of a vessel shall obtain a manufacturer’s identification code from the Minister.

(2) The builder, manufacturer or rebuilder of a vessel shall permanently mark a hull serial number on the hull of the vessel before its first sale to a reseller or an end user.

(3) The importer of a vessel shall ensure that a hull serial number is permanently marked on the hull of the vessel before its first sale to a reseller or an end user.

(4) The builder, manufacturer or rebuilder of a vessel shall permanently mark the hull serial number in a second location on the hull, that is either beneath a fitting or an item of hardware or that is on the interior of the vessel and unexposed, or, in the case of an imported vessel, the importer of the vessel shall ensure that the hull serial number is permanently marked in such a location.

(5) The builder, manufacturer, rebuilder or importer of a vessel shall keep a record of the second location of the hull serial number and shall, on request, provide the information to any person or organization authorized under the Act to carry out inspections.

(6) If a vessel is imported from a country with which Canada does not have an agreement regarding the sharing of information respecting a manufacturer’s identification code, the importer shall ensure that the country’s alpha-2 code published by the Maintenance Agency for ISO 3166 is added to the hull serial number.

(7) A person who is engaged in the business of assembling kit vessels that have a hull serial number shall, before the initial transfer of ownership of the vessel to a reseller or an end user, add a suffix provided by the Minister to the hull serial number in a manner specified by the Minister.

(8) If the rebuilder of a vessel does not replace the hull serial number, the rebuilder shall, before the initial transfer of ownership of the vessel to a reseller or an end user, add a suffix provided by the Minister to the hull serial number in a manner specified by the Minister.

(9) The hull serial number shall be in the format set out in the construction standards and be located where it is clearly visible when the vessel is in the water, namely,

• (a) on the upper starboard quarter of the outside surface of the transom; or

• (b) if the vessel has no transom, on the uppermost starboard side at the aft end of the hull.

(10) If a vessel is not marked with a hull serial number, the owner of the vessel shall make a request for such a number to the builder, manufacturer, rebuilder or importer of the vessel.

(11) On receipt of a request for a hull serial number, the builder, manufacturer, rebuilder or importer of the vessel shall provide the applicant with a hull serial number on a plate or label, or shall permanently mark the hull serial number on the vessel if the applicant brings the vessel to them.

(12) On receipt of a plate or label, the applicant shall permanently attach it to the vessel.

(13) The builder, manufacturer or rebuilder of a vessel shall not use the same hull serial number on more than one vessel.