U.S. Coast Guard Makes "US Build" Determination

The US Coast Guard issued a determination letter concluding that installation of a foreign-manufactured crane into a new vessel when the vessel is other than in the United States would cause the vessel to not qualify as US built.  The vessel was being built in the United States.  It incorporated various foreign-built components, but those components were being assembled into the vessel in the United States.  A determination was sought from the Coast Guard as to whether a deck crane manufactured abroad for the intended purpose of inclusion on the vessel could be installed on the vessel in that foreign port.  The Coast Guard ruled that, because the deck crane was intended to be an integral part of the vessel, it must be installed into the vessel in the United States for the vessel to qualify as US built.  (4/14/11).