(a) In order for a Mortgagee to be eligible to obtain a Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel, it must be:

(1) A Citizen of the United States;

(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 356.37.

(b) A Mortgagee must demonstrate to the Citizenship Approval Officer that it satisfies one of the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section before it will be qualified to obtain a Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel after April 1, 2003. A Mortgagee that has an existing Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel prior to April 1, 2003, will be required to demonstrate that it satisfies one of the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section before the vessel's next certificate of documentation renewal date after April 1, 2003. Failure to submit the required information may result in the loss of the preferred status for the mortgage. A sample format that may be used to submit the required information for Mortgagees, Commercial Lenders and Lender Syndicates is available on the MARAD website at http://www.marad.dot.gov/afa.html. The required information that must be submitted in order to make such a demonstration for each category in paragraph (a) is as follows:

(1) If a Mortgagee plans to qualify as a United States Citizen under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the Mortgagee must file an Affidavit of United States Citizenship demonstrating that it complies with the citizenship requirements of 46 U.S.C. 12102(c) and section 2(c) of the 1916 Act, which require that 75% of the ownership and control in the Mortgagee be vested in U.S. Citizens at each tier and in the aggregate. In addition to the Affidavit of U.S. Citizenship, a certified copy of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, or other comparable corporate documents must be submitted to the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(2) A state or federally chartered financial institution must provide a certification that indicates whether it is a state chartered or federally chartered financial institution and that certifies that it is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The certification must include the FDIC Certification Number assigned to the institution.

(3) A farm credit lender must provide a certification indicating that it qualifies as 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 must provide a certification indicating that it has been lawfully established as a commercial fishing and agriculture bank pursuant to State law and that it is in good standing;

(5) A Commercial Lender that seeks to be qualified to hold a Preferred Mortgage directly or through a Mortgage Trustee must provide evidence that it is engaged primarily in the business of lending and other financing transactions and a certification that it has a loan portfolio in excess of $100 million, of which no more than 50 percent of the dollar amount of the loan portfolio consists of loans to borrowers in the commercial fishing industry. The certification must include information regarding the approximate size of the loan portfolio and the percentage of the portfolio that consists of loans to borrowers in the commercial fishing industry. A Commercial Lender that seeks to be qualified to hold a Preferred Mortgage directly must also submit an Affidavit of U.S. Citizenship to the Citizenship Approval Officer to demonstrate that it qualifies as one of the following:

(i) An individual who is a citizen of the United States;

(ii) An association, trust, joint venture, or other entity—

(A) All of whose members are citizens of the United States; and

(B) That is capable of holding title to a vessel under the laws of the United States or of a State;

(iii) A partnership whose general partners are citizens of the United States, and the controlling interest in the partnership is owned by citizens of the United States;

(iv) A corporation established under the laws of the United States or of a State, whose chief executive officer, by whatever title, and chairman of its board of directors are citizens of the United States and no more of its directors are Non-citizens than a minority of the number necessary to constitute a quorum;

(v) The United States Government; or

(vi) The government of a State.

(6) A Mortgage Trustee must submit the Mortgage Trustee Application and other documents required in § 356.27. If the beneficiary under the trust arrangement has not demonstrated to the Citizenship Approval Officer that it qualifies as a Commercial Lender, a Lender Syndicate or an entity eligible to hold a preferred mortgage under paragraphs (a)(1) through (5) of this section, the Mortgage Trustee must submit to the Citizenship Approval Officer copies of the trust agreement, security agreement, loan documents, preferred mortgage, and any issuance, assignment or transfer of interest so that a determination can be made as to whether any of the arrangements results in an impermissible transfer of control of the vessel to a person not eligible to own a vessel with a fishery endorsement under 46 U.S.C. 12102(c).

(c) A Mortgagee is required to provide the certification required by paragraph (b) of this section to the Citizenship Approval Officer on an annual basis during the time in which it holds a preferred mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel. The annual certification must be submitted at least 30 calendar days prior to the annual anniversary date of the original approval. The Citizenship Approval Officer will notify a Mortgagee if the Mortgagee fails to submit the required annual certification. If the Mortgagee does not provide the certification within 30 calendar days of the mailing date of the delinquency notice, the mortgage will no longer qualify as a Preferred Mortgage.

(d) The following entities may exercise rights under loan or mortgage covenants with respect to a Fishing Industry Vessel without obtaining MARAD approval:

(1) An entity that is deemed qualified to hold a Preferred Mortgage under paragraphs (a)(1) through (5) of this section and that has submitted the appropriate certification to the Citizenship Approval Officer under paragraph (b) of this section; and

(2) An approved Mortgage Trustee that is holding a Preferred Mortgage for a beneficiary that is qualified to hold a Preferred Mortgage under paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5) of this section or for a beneficiary that qualifies as a Commercial Lender or a Lender Syndicate and that has made an appropriate certification to the Citizenship Approval Officer that it meets the requirements of either § 356.3(g) or § 356.3(n).

(e) An entity that holds a Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel or that is using a Mortgage Trustee to hold a Preferred Mortgage for its benefit may request a letter ruling from the Citizenship Approval Officer in order to determine whether a mortgage or mortgage trust arrangement is in compliance with the regulations in this part. The Citizenship Approval Officer reserves the right to reverse any advice given under a letter ruling if any of the elements of the proposed loan or mortgage are materially altered or if the entity requesting the letter ruling has failed to fully disclose all relevant information.

(a) A lender that is engaged in the business of financing Fishing Industry Vessels and that is not a Commercial Lender or Lender Syndicate using a Mortgage Trustee to hold a Preferred Mortgage for its benefit or an entity that is otherwise qualified to hold a Preferred Mortgage on Fishing Industry Vessels pursuant to § 356.19(a)(2) through (a)(5), may apply to the Citizenship Approval Officer for general approval of its standard loan and mortgage agreements for such vessels. In order to obtain general approval for its standard loan and mortgage agreements, a lender using an approved Mortgage Trustee must submit to the Citizenship Approval Officer:

(1) A copy of its standard loan or mortgage agreement for Fishing Industry Vessel, including all covenants that may be included in the loan or mortgage agreement; and,

(2) A certification that it will not use covenants or restrictions in the loan or mortgage agreement outside of those approved by the Citizenship Approval Officer without obtaining the prior approval of the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(b) A lender that receives general approval may enter into loans and mortgages on Fishing Industry Vessel without prior approval from us of each individual loan or mortgage; provided, that the loan or mortgage conforms to the standard agreement approved by the Citizenship Approval Officer and does not include any other covenants that have not been approved by the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(c) The lender must provide an annual certification to the Citizenship Approval Officer certifying that all loans and mortgages on Fishing Industry Vessel entered into under this general approval conform to the standard agreement approved by us and do not contain deviations from the standard agreement or covenants that were not reviewed and approved by the Citizenship Approval Officer. The certification must be submitted at least 30 calendar days prior to the annual anniversary date of the previous approval.

(d) If the lender wishes to use covenants that were not approved pursuant to this section, it must submit the new covenants to the Citizenship Approval Officer for approval.

(e) A lender that has received general approval for its lending program and that uses covenants in a loan or mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel that have not been approved by the Citizenship Approval Officer will be subject to loss of its general approval and the Citizenship Approval Officer may review and approve all of the lender's mortgage and loan covenants on a case-by-case basis. The Citizenship Approval Officer may also determine that the arrangement results in an impermissible transfer of control to a Non-Citizen and therefore does not meet the requirements to qualify as a Preferred Mortgage. If the lender knowingly files a false certification with the Citizenship Approval Officer or has used covenants in a loan or mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel that are materially different from the approved covenants, it may also be subject to civil and criminal penalties pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(a) We approve the following standard loan covenants, which may restrict the activities of the borrower without the lender's consent and which may be included in loan agreements or other documents between an owner of a Fishing Industry Vessel and an unrelated lender that is using an approved Mortgage Trustee to hold the mortgage and debt instrument for the benefit of the lender and that is not exempted under § 356.19(d) from MARAD review of its loan and mortgage covenants, so long as the lender's consent is not unreasonably withheld:

(1) Borrower cannot sell part or all of its assets;

(2) Borrower cannot merge, consolidate, reorganize, dissolve, or liquidate;

(3) Borrower cannot undertake new borrowing or contingent liabilities;

(4) Borrower cannot insure, guaranty or become otherwise liable for debt obligations of any other entity, Person, etc.;

(5) Borrower cannot Charter or lease a vessel that is collateral for the loan;

(6) Borrower cannot incur liens, except any permitted liens that may be set forth in the loan or other financing documents;

(7) Borrower must limit its investments to marketable investments guaranteed by the United States or a State, or commercial paper with the highest rating of a generally recognized rating service;

(8) Borrower cannot make structural alterations or any other major alteration to the vessel;

(9) Borrower, if in arrears in its debt obligations to the lender, cannot make dividend payments on its capital stock; and,

(10) Borrower, if in arrears in its debt obligations to the lender, cannot make excessive contributions to pension plans, make payment of employee bonuses, or make excessive contributions to stock option plans, or provide other major fringe benefits in terms of dollar amount to its employees, officers, and directors, such as loans, etc.

(b) The mortgage may not include covenants that allow the Mortgagee to operate the vessel except as provided for in § 356.25.

(a) A Mortgagee that has demonstrated to MARAD that it qualifies as a Citizen of the United States and is eligible to own a vessel with a fishery endorsement may operate a Fishing Industry Vessel.

(b) A Mortgagee not eligible to own a Fishing Industry Vessel cannot operate or cause operation of, the vessel in the fisheries of the United States. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the vessel may not be operated for any purpose without the prior written approval of the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(c) A Mortgagee not eligible to own a Fishing Industry Vessel may operate the vessel for a non-commercial purpose to the extent necessary for the immediate safety of the vessel or for repairs, drydocking or berthing changes; provided, that the vessel is operated under the command of a Citizen of the United States and for no longer than 15 calendar days.

(d) A Mortgagee that is holding a Preferred Mortgage on a Fishing Industry Vessel but that is not eligible to own a Fishing Industry Vessel may take possession of the vessel in the event of default by the mortgagor other than by foreclosure pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 31329,if. However, the vessel may not be operated, or caused to be operated in commerce, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section or with the approval of the Citizenship Approval Officer.

(e) A Non-Citizen Lender that has brought a civil action in rem for enforcement of a Preferred Mortgage lien on a Citizen-owned Fishing Industry Vessel pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 31325(b)(1) may petition the court pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 31325(e)(1) for appointment of a receiver, and, if the receiver is a Person eligible to own a Fishing Industry Vessel , to authorize the receiver to operate the mortgaged vessel pursuant to terms and conditions consistent with this part 356. If the receiver is not a Citizen of the United States that meets the requirements of section 2(c) of the 1916 Act, 46 App. U.S.C. 802(c), and 46 U.S.C. 12102(c), the vessel may not be operated in the fisheries of the United States.