46 U.S.C. § 12108

1. (a)Provided a vessel is in compliance with inspection requirements in section 3313, the Secretary of the department in which in the Coast Guard is operating may, if the Secretary makes the determination described in subsection (b), extend, for a period of not more than 1 year, an expiring certificate of documentation issued for a vessel under chapter 121.
2. (b)The determination referred to in subsection (a) is a determination that such extension is required to enable the Coast Guard to—
   1. (1)eliminate a backlog in processing applications for such certificates; or
   2. (2)act in response to a national emergency or natural disaster.
3. (c)Any extension granted under this section may be granted to individual vessels or to a specifically identified group of vessels.