Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
B. Valuation
1. Fair market value is the valuation
standard for watercraft. When using the cost approach, the assessor shall
estimate the fair market value of each vessel having situs in the assessor's
parish through use of the information provided to the assessor on LAT Form 11.
Taxpayers shall report the cost of the vessel.
2. The same procedure shall be used as for
other forms of machinery and equipment. That is, cost of the vessel will be
brought up to current value through use of the appropriate index and
depreciated based on the effective age of the vessel. The appropriate cost
index, percent good factors and composite multipliers appear in Tables 703.A.1,
703.B.1 and 705.A.1. The composite multipliers are only to be used when the
cost of the vessel is self-reported. When the cost of the vessel is not
available, or the assessor finds the information to be unreliable, the assessor
may utilize the base cost and depreciation schedules found in Tables 703.A.2,
703.B.2 and 705.A.2. Obsolescence may be applied according to days worked as
per Table 706. Consideration of additional obsolescence may be granted upon
showing evidence of loss, substantiated by the taxpayer in writing.
3. Consideration of Obsolescence When Using
the Cost Approach. Economic and/or functional obsolescence is a loss in value
of personal property above and beyond physical deterioration. Upon a showing of
evidence of such loss, substantiated by the taxpayer in writing, economic or
functional obsolescence shall be given. If economic and/or functional
obsolescence is not given when warranted, an appreciated value greater than
fair market value may result.
4.
Gulf of Mexico Watercraft Fleet. When determining the three approaches to
value, the assessor may use a variable annual income approach, as compiled by a
certified marine surveyor-appraisal company, at the request of the Louisiana
Assessors' Association, for weighting and correlating current market conditions
as a part of the fair market valuation process.
C. Vessel Types and Definitions
1.
Deck Barge-have both
inland and offshore applications and can be used to transport and store
materials and liquids at the work site. These are also good for transporting
heavy equipment, vehicles, material, rock, sand, building supplies, food,
water, etc. Deck barges are also essential for carrying construction-based
materials such as cranes, containers, aggregate materials, refinery parts,
etc.
2.
Dredge
Barge-the operation of removing material from one part of the water
environment and relocating it to another. In all but a few situations the
excavation is undertaken by a specialist floating plant, known as a dredger.
Dredging is carried out in many different locations and for many different
purposes, but the main objectives are usually to recover material that has some
value or use, or to create a greater depth of water. Dredging is mandatory to
many rivers and harbors to continue keeping the depth and the opening to allow
vessels in and out.
3.
Transport Barge-a made-to-order water transportation vessel.
These are built mainly for river and canal transport of bulk goods. Owners can
add different walls or winches onto the barge to fit the client's
needs.
4.
Crane
Barge-also known as a crane vessel or floating crane, is a vessel with
an attached crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. These come in many sizes
with the largest crane vessels being used for offshore construction.
5.
Oil Barge-a vessel with
tanks (normally integral tanks) for carriage of oil cargo, including bulk crude
oil. Most of these barges are ABS classified. Classifications are defined later
in this report. Classes of the vessels are based according to its area of
operation, the type of operation, and the nature of cargo. ABS equipment
requires thicker steel and more rigorous inspections.
6.
Spar Barge-a type of
floating oil platform typically used in very deep waters and is named for logs
used as buoys in shipping that are moored in place vertically. Spar production
platforms have been developed as an alternative to conventional platforms. The
deep draft design of spars makes them less affected by wind, wave and currents
and allows for both dry tree and subsea production.
7.
Shugart Barge-raked on
one end or can be boxed with connecting angle on all 4 sides. These are used
for carrying many different materials. These are used on inland
waterways.
8.
Spud
Barge-a specialized type of vessel used for marine construction
operations. Spud barges are also referred to as jack-up barges and are a
flat-decked barge with a large area for storing construction supplies and
equipment for use during construction. These barges are not tied together or
have a need to be tied to a dock, they are held in position by various length
steel spuds (beams) in the ground, this spud is pulled up when relocated. These
barges can carry many different materials and come in various sizes.
9.
Pile Driving Barge-has
the ability to assemble Flexifloat® modules into a number of shapes which
offers significant advantages in pile-driving operations. For example, it
allows a "T"-shaped assemblies permit location for the on-deck machine to get
as close to the working edge of the barge as possible while retaining excellent
360-degree stability.
10.
Hopper Barge-a non-mechanical vessel that cannot move around
by itself, unlike some other types of barges. Hopper barges are designed to
carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the
ocean, a river or lake for land reclamation. Hopper barges are seen in two
distinctive types: raked hopper or box hopper barges. The raked hopper barges
move faster than the box hoppers; they are both designed for movement of dry
bulky commodities.
11.
Tank
Barge-as storage vessels generally used to carry bulk liquids. They
may consist of one or more storage tanks separated by interior walls. Some tank
barges can be more expensive by being "double skinned" -which means two layers
of interior steel for protection.
12.
Pressure Barge-a
container vessel designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially
different from the ambient pressure. Pressure vessels can be dangerous and
fatal accidents have occurred in the history of their development and
operation. Consequently, pressure vessel design is manufacture and operations
are regulated by engineering authorities backed by legislation. For these
reasons, the definition of a pressure barge varies from country to
country.
13.
Keyway
Barge-designed with a U shape to it so portable truck-mounted drilling
rigs can be backed onto the deck of these barges and up to the edge of the key
slot. The barge then can be positioned around inland oil wells to perform a
variety of procedures necessary to maintain production of the wells. The barge
is then lead in place to work around each location.
14.
Industrial Barge-as its
name implies, is a flat decked cargo hauler vessel. It is designed to serve as
a mobile base of operations for construction or mining projects. It has three
advanced constructors that can fabricate any needed materials and its deck is
large enough to carry everything in the Industrial Machinery line. The basic
model comes rather bare and many galactic survivalists modify it to suit their
needs. This vessel can also be called a flat deck barge or material barge, due
to these barges carrying containers, rigs, power plants and many other
items.
15.
Industrial
Vessel-a vessel which, by reason of its special outfit, purpose,
design, or function engages in certain industrial ventures. This classification
includes such vessels as dredges, cable layers, derrick barges, and
construction and wrecking barges, but does not include vessels which carry
passengers or freight for hire, OSVs, oceanographic research vessels, or
vessels engaged in the fisheries.
16.
Pontoon Barge-a vessel
great for inland applications that can be used to store and transport materials
quickly esp. for shallow water. They also are great to transport workers to job
sites. These barges can also be convenient to house people working on jobs on
unique locations where housing is limited or travel time delays job
production.
17.
Dry Dock
Barge-a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to
be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry
platform. Dry dock barges are used for the construction, maintenance, and
repairs of marine transportation and other marine equipment.
18.
Quarter Barge-a vessel
that is outfitted with living accommodations, galley rooms, shower and restroom
facilities. These barges can be pre-made for crews ranging from 50 people up to
300+ people. They can also be customized to meet the customer's request. They
are selfsufficient with generators, potable water and sewage plants
19.
Utility Barge-a utility
barge is a flat-bottomed vessel that can provide a safe working environment and
improve confidence when working on the water esp. when carrying freight,
typically on canals and rivers.
20.
Utility Vessel-complements a range of heavy-duty workboats and
offshore vessels. The UV Series is comprised of several designs that share the
same basic principles: the ability to support a wide variety of light duty
operations such as buoy laying, survey and research work, diving operations,
lighthouse supply, fire-fighting, pollution control, fish farming and
maintenance work.
21.
Jack
Up Vessel-the floating lifting platform, is powered to move around on
sea, rivers and canals. When the jack up vessel has reached the desired
location, it is then lifted above water level, so the platform is not subjected
to the movement of the water. Jack up vessels are mainly used for piling,
drilling, building and dredging work. The offshore and maritime sector and the
oil and gas industry are the biggest branches in the jack up vessel market. The
reason for this is mainly the enormous capacity of the jack up vessels and
incredible flexibly.
22.
Offshore Support Vessel (OSV/Supply)-an oceangoing vessel used
for transporting cargo, goods, supplies, and crew, as well as for carrying out
offshore exploration and production across oil platforms. These provide
transportation for workers and products to and from drilling
locations.
23.
Platform
Supply Vessel (PSV)-a vessel specially designed to supply offshore oil
and gas platforms. These vessels range from 15 to 300 feet in length and
accomplish a variety of tasks.
24.
Crew Boat-a vessel specialized in the transportation of
offshore support personnel, deck cargo, and below-deck cargo such as fuel and
potable water to and from offshore installations such as oil platforms,
drilling rigs, drill and dive ships and wind farms. Majority of these vessels
are used to carry crew members to and from job sites.
25.
Dive Vessel-also called
diving support vessel is a ship used in professional diving projects as a
floating base. Diving vessels are considered a great mode of transportation and
can provide valuable deck space in oil and gas production platforms. These
vessels work on pipe lay jobs and provide support for deep water
jobs.
26.
Pollution Control
Vessel-can rotate 360 degrees in place and has been specially
conceived to operate in small harbor areas, nearby waters, bays and open-seas
or offshore activities. Features and options of the Pollution Control, Sea
Cleaning Vessel is based on a robust steel catamaran hull.
27.
Model Bow Boats-tug
vessels with pointed bows. They are also the most diversified of all tugs.
Model bow tugs can be used in the inland waters and offshore as well. They can
be shallow draft or very deep draft depending on what the need of the job is.
This is the vessel most people can visualize when the work tugboat is
mentioned.
28.
Push
Boat-also known as: pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or
towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United
States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These
vessels are characterized by a square bow, a shallow draft, and typically have
knees, which are large plates mounted to the bow for pushing barges of various
heights. These boats usually operate on rivers and inland waterways.
Multiple barges lashed together, or a boat and any barges
lashed to it, are referred to as a "tow" and can have dozens of barges. Many of
these vessels, especially the long distances, or long-haul boats, include
living quarters for the crew.
29.
Offshore and
Inland Tugs-primarily used to tug or pull vessels that cannot
move by themselves like disabled ships, oil platforms and barges or those that
should not move like a big or loaded ship in a narrow canal or a crowded
harbor. In addition to these, tugboats are also used as ice breakers or salvage
boats and as they are built with firefighting guns and monitors, they assist in
the firefighting duties especially at harbors and when required even at sea.
With the continuing developments in the shipping industry the ships are growing
larger than they ever have been in the marine history. Since it is much easier
to maneuver these large ships at sea, an issue has developed with the
exceedingly difficult narrow sea strips and harbors these ships have to travel
down but, most all of them have problems with sideways movement-esp. when
currents are rapid and river levels are high. This is when the need of tugboats
are paired with these large vessels to help navigate the narrow waters. This is
known in the industry as tug assist and thus the name of the boats. Most
tugboats can also venture out in the ocean but the majority of them are not
equipped with strong horsepower like the inland river tugs. The Inland River
Tugs are tow boats designed to help out in the rivers and canals. They have a
hull design that makes it quite dangerous for these boats to venture into open
ocean.
30.
Research
Vessel (RV or R/V)-a ship or boat designed, modified, and equipped to
carry out research at sea. Many government agencies now charter these vessels
for fisheries and dredging projects.
31.
Skiff-used for several
essentially unrelated styles of small boat. Traditionally, these are coastal
craft or river craft boats used for leisure, as a utility craft and for
fishing, and have a one-person or small crew capacity. Sailing skiffs have
developed into high performance competitive classes.
32.
Steamboats-a boat that
is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or
paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S
(for 'Screw Steamer') or PS (for 'Paddle Steamer'), however these designations
are most often used for steamships. The term steamboat is used to refer to
smaller, insular, steam-powered boats working on lakes and rivers, particularly
riverboats. As using steam became more reliable, steam power became applied to
larger, ocean-going vessels in the marine history. Five major commercial
steamboats currently operate on the inland waterways of the United States. The
only remaining overnight cruising steamboat is the 432 passenger American
Queen, which operates week-long cruises on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland
and Tennessee Rivers 11 months out of the year. The others boats only preform
day trips: they are the steamers Chautauqua Belle at Chautauqua Lake, New York,
Minne Ha-Ha at Lake George, NY, operating on Lake George; the Belle of
Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, operating on the Ohio River; and the
Natchez in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating on the Mississippi
River.
33.
Riverboat
Casino-a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the
United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or
along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to
enable gaming but limit the areas where casinos could be constructed; it was a
type of legal fiction as the riverboats were seldom if ever taken away from the
dock.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with La. Const. of 1974, Article VII, §18 and §21,
R.S.
47:1837 and
R.S.
47:2323.