St Kilda Boat Sales -
30 August 2008
Gov't & Industry - Agree To Record HIN's
Victorian industry and government move to record HINs
Victoria’s boating industry and government have joined forces to officially record the Hull Identification Number (HIN) for Victorian boats when they are registered or transferred.
The initiative has been introduced by the Boating Industry Association (BIA) of Victoria, Marine Safety Victoria (MSV) and Vic Roads.
HINs will now be recorded on registration documents – and stored on a central database – for new and used vessels initially registered or transferred by BIA boat dealers.
BIA Victoria general manager Robert Coco and MSV Manager of Safety Education, Tony Milne, officially launched the initiative at the Bayswater dealership of BIA retailer member Leon and Paul Savage’s Streaker Boats.
Robert Coco said all members were now required to record the 14-digit HIN on Victorian vessel registration and transfer documents.
“This gives the public greater confidence that robust processes are in place when dealing with a BIA member,” he said.
“We strongly support the MSV view that HINs provide an important form of identification for all vessels which are required to be registered.
“At present the recording of HINs is not a legislated requirement in Victoria, but both government and the industry believe it is an important voluntary contribution towards security for owners.”
Tony Milne said the initiative was designed to give consumers greater confidence that any vessel they bought was a known quantity, and it would assist in determining the legitimate identity of a vessel.
“As a long-term objective, BIA and MSV are working towards establishing an integrated national database which will allow vessel details to be cross-checked nationally,” he said.
“This will take time, but in the interim, the recording of HINs is an important data collection process, and allows consumers to check the background of a Victorian-registered boat.
“Many BIA Victoria members already supply HINs on a voluntary basis, but it is a big step for the industry to take a uniform stance on supplying the HIN on all their vessel registration and transfer transactions.”
Current practice at St Kilda Boat Sales
St Kilda Boat Sales has always, voluntarily recorded vessel HIN for sales of both new boats and for transfers that are applicable to the sale of a used boat. Eventhough until now, this was not a mandatory requirement during the registration or transfer process, here in the state of Victoria.
We support and welcome this Government and Industry initiative.
In addition, we also encourage Marine Safety Victoria (the actual owners of vessel registrations here in Victoria) and through their outsourced registration administrator; Vic Roads to ensure ASAP, a national database system is in place for HIN validation and cross-check.
For the sale of a vessel trailer, VIN numbers are recorded as a mandatory requirement as the sales process is treated and processed just like a standard "vehicle sale".
We also welcome the reporting of stolen vessels to a central database and ultimately the implementation of a Register of Encumbered Vessels (REVS) system, as they do so successfully in the automotive industry!!!
We ask, why should the marine industry be treated differently.....