T&T: 2 flags , one halyard

[Faure, Marin]

As an addition to my previous post, this is all I could find in a quick
search regarding the display of a US flag on a documented vessel.  There
was no mention of the requirement to fly the US flag in any of the
documentation material (from the US Gov and USCG) that I looked at.

"Unlike most other countries, the right of American ships and boats to
fly the American flag is not explicitly spelled out by law or
regulation. It stems rather from a combination of the laws determining
what constitutes a vessel with American nationality, judicial precedent,
and the customary international law that gives vessels of a particular
nationality the right to display that flag.
"The first law governing the nationality of vessels in the United
States, "An Act for Registering and Clearing Vessels" (1 Stat. 55) was
enacted on September 1, 1789. It provided that only a ship built in the
United States, owned by an American citizen, and under the command of an
American master could be registered, and being registered "shall be
deemed and taken to be, and denominated, a ship or vessel of the United
States." Three years later, "An Act Concerning the Registering and
Recording of Ships or Vessels" (1 Stat. 287) added that registered
vessels of the United States were "entitled to the benefits and
privileges appertaining to such ships or vessels." Under customary
international law, one of those privileges is flying the United States
flag."

So it would appear that documentation ("registration") extends the
privilege of flying the US flag but it is not a requirement.

______________________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington