This month, Beier Radio, a maritime technology firm, officially donated seven bulletproof vests to the local law enforcement agencies on U.S. 90 in Gray, Louisiana, the site of the company’s new headquarters.Increasing PhilanthropyPresident of the Houma chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, Keith Gallicio, conveyed that one of the promoters for the fraternity had called Beier about making a donation, and as luck would have it, the company was at the same time looking for a group to whom it...

There is a series of numbers found in one or two places on the hull of each boat manufactured in the United States or imported into the United States after the date of November 1, 1972. These numbers are called the Hull Identification Numbers (HIN), which is like a boat VIN. You should see them on the outside of the boat, about one quarter of an inch or larger, on the starboard side of the transom. The numbers must be displayed in this location, positioned within two inches of the gunwale,...

On June 20, 2014, the White House released the United States Counter Piracy and Maritime Security Action Plan. The White House press release explains that this new maritime security and piracy plan “provides clear strategic guidance for counter-piracy efforts and outlines that the United States will use all appropriate instruments of national power to repress piracy and related maritime crimes.”The Goal and Vision of the PlanThe vision of anti-piracy security plan is increasingly safe seas with...

Vessel certificate of documentation is the unique identifier that the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) assigns to each vessel that meets the appropriate requirements. Vessel documentation is essentially a national registry of vessels that serves numerous important purposes, much like Social Security numbers serve for people.Background Information on Vessel RegistrationGiven our country’s initial heavy reliance on marine transportation, vessel registration was one...