§ 138.140 Application withdrawals, COFR denials and revocations.

(a) Application withdrawal. A COFR Operator, or anyone authorized to act on their behalf, may withdraw an Application at any time prior to issuance of the COFR.

(b) Application denials and COFR revocations. The Director may deny an Application or revoke a COFR, and the United States may initiate enforcement under § 138.170, for any failure to comply with the requirements of this subpart, including—

(1) If the COFR Operator, or other person acting on the COFR Operator's behalf, makes a false statement in, or in connection with, any submission required by this subpart;

(2) If the COFR Operator, or other person acting on the COFR Operator's behalf, fails to establish or maintain acceptable evidence of financial responsibility, as required by this subpart;

(3) If the COFR Operator fails to pay the Application and certification fees required by § 138.120;

(4) If the COFR Operator or guarantor fails to designate and maintain a U.S. agent for service of process as required by § 138.130;

(5) If the COFR Operator, or other person acting on the COFR Operator's behalf, fails to comply with, or respond to, lawful inquiries, regulations, or orders of the U.S. Coast Guard pertaining to the activities subject to this subpart;

(6) If the COFR Operator, or other person acting on the COFR Operator's behalf, fails to timely report information required to be reported to the Director under this subpart, including failing to timely submit to the Director statements, data, financial information, notifications, affidavits, or other submissions required by this subpart; or

(7) If the Director obtains information indicating that the Application should be denied or that a new COFR is required (for example, a permanent vessel transfer, new COFR Operator, vessel renaming, guaranty termination, disapproval of a guarantor).

(c) Procedure for reinstating COFRs following termination of guaranties. If a COFR is revoked by the Director under paragraph (b)(2) of this section based on the expiration of 30 days following the date the Director receives a guarantor's notice of termination as provided under §§ 138.110(a)(3) and 138.150(d), the Director may reinstate the COFR if the guarantor promptly notifies the Director following the revocation that the guarantor rescinded the termination and that there was no gap in guarantor coverage.

(d) Notice to COFR Operator of intent to deny an Application or revoke a COFR. If the Director obtains information indicating that an Application should be denied or that a COFR should be revoked for reasons that the COFR Operator may not be aware of, the Director will notify the COFR Operator, in writing, stating the reason for the intended action.

(1) A notice from the Director that an Application is incomplete will be considered a denial unless the Application is completed by the COFR Operator within the period specified in the notice. A COFR subject to revocation remains valid until the COFR is revoked as provided in § 138.140(d)(2) and (3).

(2) If the Director issues a notice of intent to deny an Application or revoke a COFR due to a violation under paragraph (b) of this section, the COFR Operator may demonstrate compliance to the Director in writing by no later than the date specified by the Director in the notice. If the COFR Operator demonstrates compliance by that date, the Application will remain under consideration, and any current COFR will remain in effect, unless and until the Director issues a written decision denying the Application or revoking the COFR, as applicable. Otherwise, the Application denial or COFR revocation is effective as of the date specified by the notice.

(3) The denial of an Application or revocation of a COFR does not terminate the guaranty.

(e) Request for reconsideration.

(1) A COFR Operator may ask the Director to reconsider a denial of the COFR Operator's Application or the revocation of a COFR as follows:

(i) The COFR Operator must submit the request for reconsideration, in writing, to the Director no later than 21 days after the date of the denial or revocation.

(ii) The submission must state the COFR Operator's reasons for requesting reconsideration and include all supporting documentation.

(2) A decision by the Director on reconsideration of an Application denial or a COFR revocation is final agency action. If the Director does not issue a written decision on the request for reconsideration within 30 days after its submission, the request for reconsideration will be deemed to have been denied, and the Application denial or COFR revocation will be deemed to have been affirmed as a matter of final agency action. Unless the Director issues a decision reversing the revocation, the COFR revocation remains in effect.

(f) Duty to remedy violations. If the COFR for a vessel expires or is revoked while the vessel is located in the navigable waters, at any port or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or in the Exclusive Economic Zone, the COFR Operator and the vessel's other responsible parties will be deemed in violation of this subpart. In such event, the COFR Operator or, if unavailable or no longer operating the vessel, the vessel's current responsible parties, must notify the Director within 24 hours, by email or other electronic means. The notice must include the information required by § 138.150(b) and must establish new evidence of financial responsibility, designate a new COFR Operator if applicable, and cure any other violation of this subpart.