46 U.S.C. § 12136: Surrender of certificates of documentation

An invalid certificate of documentation, or a certificate with an invalid endorsement, shall be surrendered as provided by regulations prescribed by the Secretary. The Secretary may condition approval of the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel over 1,000 gross tons. The Secretary may approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation of a vessel covered by a mortgage filed or recorded under section 31321 of this title only if the mortgagee consents. The Secretary may not refuse to approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel solely on the basis that a notice of a claim of a lien on the vessel has been recorded under section 31343(a) of this title . chapter 313 of this title for an instrument filed or recorded before the date of invalidation and an assignment after that date; sections 56101 and 56102(a)(2) and chapter 563 of this title; and any other law of the United States identified by the Secretary by regulation as a law to which the Secretary applies this subsection. This subsection does not apply when a vessel is forfeited or sold by order of a district court of the United States. was filed or recorded before January 1, 1989 ; and was not a preferred mortgage (as that term is defined in section 31301(6) of that title) on that date.”