"Gary Schafer" wrote
Bruce is 100% correct on all he posted. Jack has a habit of becoming
an expert every time he reads a blurb of something whether he
understands it or not.

A restricted operators license has nothing to do with a vessel at all.
It only has to do with an individual. The holder of that restricted
license can operate a radio on any vessel that qualifies. It is a
lifetime permit for the individual.

The ship license is only good for the ship and the owner it was issued
to. It is not a lifetime license and needs to be renewed every 10
years, unless that has recently changed.
If the vessel is sold to a new owner the ship license becomes invalid.
It does not stay with the vessel or the old owner.
The new owner must obtain a new ship license if he is to operate the
radios with a need.

Regards
Gary

Gary, perhaps you want to weigh-in on the new Restricted Operators Permit
application. It
requires a STATED vessel or aircraft name and ID. If that changes, an
amended license (but with no additional fee) must be filed, resulting in a
new license according to the instructions on the application.

http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605main.pdf

Wrt Bruce's comments about MMSI, it is incorrect to assume that the "duly
appointed voluntary registrant" will record the vessel against US or (state)
records. I explained what a predicament BOAT-US got themselves into when
they took the lead in volunteering to record MMSI data for US boaters. FCC,
and possibly ITU, although it wasn't their problem, never provided specific
database requirements for BOAT-US recordkeeping. About a half million
registrations later, it became apparent that FCC and ITU would not recognize
BOAT-US issued MMSI's.

That's not an issue for US-only boaters who want their VHF DSC-capable
radios to have an MMSI registered to them. The FCC was not ready and had no
provision for issuing voluntarily-equipped boats (exempt and "licensed under
the rule" an MMSI, so BOAT-US took on a massive voluntary undertaking to
make it possible. Now, the old databases are not compatible, and boaters
can either reapply or accept that their old MMSI's cannot be used
internationally.

This might not have been a big issue in Alaska, but it sure was for boaters
all over Northwestern US border, the Great Lakes, and Florida.

Regards,
Jack