46 USC 55103 Transportation of Passengers

§ 55102

TITLE 46—SHIPPING

to in subsec. (b)(2), is contained in section 1 of Pub. L.
94–241, set out as a note under section 1801 of Title 48,
Territories and Insular Possessions.
AMENDMENTS
2008—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–181 inserted ‘‘or’’ after
semicolon at end of par. (2), redesignated par. (4) as (3),
and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows:
‘‘Canton Island until the President declares by proclamation that the coastwise laws apply to Canton Island;
or’’.

§ 55102. Transportation of merchandise
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term
‘‘merchandise’’ includes—
(1) merchandise owned by the United States
Government, a State, or a subdivision of a
State; and
(2) valueless material.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or chapter 121 of this title,
a vessel may not provide any part of the transportation of merchandise by water, or by land
and water, between points in the United States
to which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a foreign port, unless the vessel—
(1) is wholly owned by citizens of the United
States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and
(2) has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement
under chapter 121 or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for
such a certificate and endorsement.
(c) PENALTY.—Merchandise transported in violation of subsection (b) is liable to seizure by
and forfeiture to the Government. Alternatively, an amount equal to the value of the
merchandise (as determined by the Secretary of
Homeland Security) or the actual cost of the
transportation, whichever is greater, may be recovered from any person transporting the merchandise or causing the merchandise to be
transported.

laws’’ for consistency with section 55101. The words ‘‘is
wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade’’ are substituted for ‘‘owned by persons who are citizens of the
United States’’, and the words ‘‘has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121’’ are substituted for ‘‘documented under the laws of the United States’’, for clarity and consistency in the revised title. The words ‘‘or
is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be
eligible for such a certificate and endorsement’’ are
added for consistency with section 12102 as revised by
the bill. The requirement that the vessel be built in the
United States is omitted from this section for consistency with the requirements for a coastwise endorsement, which also require that the vessel be built in the
United States except in certain circumstances. The
words ‘‘or vessels to which the privilege of engaging in
the coastwise trade is extended by section 808 of this
Appendix or section 22 of this Act’’ are omitted because
the relevant portion of section 808, and section 22, have
been repealed.
In subsection (c), the words ‘‘any person’’ are substituted for ‘‘any consignor, seller, owner, importer,
consignee, agent, or other person or persons’’ to eliminate unnecessary words.

§ 55103. Transportation of passengers
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided
in this chapter or chapter 121 of this title, a vessel may not transport passengers between ports
or places in the United States to which the
coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a
foreign port, unless the vessel—
(1) is wholly owned by citizens of the United
States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and
(2) has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement
under chapter 121 or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for
such a certificate and endorsement.
(b) PENALTY.—The penalty for violating subsection (a) is $300 for each passenger transported
and landed.
(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1633.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1632.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Revised
Section
55102 ..........

Source (U.S. Code)

Source (Statutes at Large)

46 App.:883 (words
before 1st proviso,
11th proviso).

June 5, 1920, ch. 250, § 27
(words before 1st proviso,
11th proviso), 41 Stat. 999;
July 2, 1935, ch. 355, 49
Stat. 442; Pub. L. 95–410,
title II, § 213, Oct. 3, 1978,
92 Stat. 904; Pub. L.
101–329 [100–329], § 1(a)(1),
[§ 1(a)] June 7, 1988, 102
Stat. 588; Pub. L. 102–587,
title V, § 5501(b), Nov. 4,
1992, 106 Stat. 5085.

In subsection (a)(1), the words ‘‘(as defined in section
2101 of the [sic] title 46)’’ are omitted because the definition of ‘‘State’’ is being moved to chapter 1 and will
apply to the entire title.
In subsection (b), the words ‘‘may not provide any
part of the transportation of’’ are substituted for ‘‘No
. . . shall be transported’’ and ‘‘or for any part of the
transportation’’ because of the reorganization of the
language. The words ‘‘including Districts, Territories,
and possessions thereof’’ are omitted because of the
definition of ‘‘United States’’ in chapter 1 of the revised
title. The words ‘‘to which the coastwise laws apply’’
are substituted for ‘‘embraced within the coastwise

Page 472

Revised
Section
55103 ..........

Source (U.S. Code)
46 App.:289.

Source (Statutes at Large)
June 19, 1886, ch. 421, § 8, 24
Stat. 81; Feb. 17, 1898, ch.
26, § 2, 30 Stat. 248.

This section is substituted for the source provision
for consistency with section 55102. See 19 C.F.R. §§ 4.80,
4.80a (2004).
In subsection (b), the penalty amount reflects the adjustment for inflation pursuant to the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C.
2461 note). See 19 C.F.R. § 4.80(b)(2) (2004).

§ 55104. Transportation of passengers between
Puerto Rico and other ports in the United
States
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) CERTIFICATE.—The term ‘‘certificate’’
means a certificate of financial responsibility
for indemnification of passengers for nonperformance of transportation issued by the
Federal Maritime Commission under section
44102 of this title.
(2) PASSENGER VESSEL.—The term ‘‘passenger vessel’’ means a vessel of similar size,