I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3472 

To prevent forfeited fishing vessels from being transferred to private parties 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 

Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prevent forfeited fishing vessels from being transferred 

to private parties and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pirate Fishing Vessel 

5 Disposal Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Stateless vessels forfeited to the United 

2 States for engaging in illegal, unreported, and un3 regulated fishing are of little inherent economic 

4 value, and have no useful commercial fishing pur5 pose other than engaging in this type of pirate fish6 ing. 

7 (2) The environmental harm of allowing vessels 

8 seized for illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing 

9 to return to such fishing activities far outweighs any 

10 damage to the environment caused by sinking or 

11 otherwise disposing of such vessels at appropriate 

12 depths and distances from shore after proper decon13 tamination procedures and disposal site selection 

14 have been followed. 

15 (3) Maritime threats to the United States in16 creasingly involve asymmetrical warfare and the 

17 Navy and Coast Guard need to be prepared for such 

18 threats. 

19 (4) Using vessels forfeited for engaging in ille20 gal, unreported, or unregulated fishing in live-fire 

21 sinking exercises represents an important oppor22 tunity for the Armed Forces to prepare for such 

23 asymmetrical maritime warfare. 

24 (5) Since the oils and hazardous and toxic sub25 stances aboard such vessels pose a threat to the maVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:44 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472

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1 rine environment, and since such vessels are essen2 tially abandoned assets, it is appropriate to use the 

3 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to prevent pollution 

4 and pay for decontamination costs for such vessels. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—Except as otherwise spe8 cifically provided, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means 

9 the Administrator of the Maritime Administration. 

10 (2) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

11 means the Commandant of the United States Coast 

12 Guard. 

13 (3) FORFEITED VESSEL.—The term ‘‘forfeited 

14 vessel’’ means a foreign or stateless vessel that is 

15 forfeited to the United States for engaging in illegal, 

16 unreported, or unregulated fishing under any of the 

17 living marine resource statutes implemented by the 

18 Secretary of Commerce. 

19 (4) ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED

20 FISHING.—The term ‘‘illegal, unreported, or unregu21 lated fishing’’ means fishing activities— 

22 (A) conducted by a national or foreign ves23 sel in waters under the jurisdiction of a nation 

24 without the permission of that nation, or in 

25 contravention of its laws and regulations, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:44 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472

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1 cluding activities that have not been reported, 

2 or have been misreported, to the relevant na3 tional authority of that nation in contravention 

4 of its laws and regulations; 

5 (B) conducted by a vessel flying the flag of 

6 a nation that is a member of a regional fish7 eries management organization in contravention 

8 of the conservation and management measures 

9 adopted by that organization and by which that 

10 nation is bound, including activities that have 

11 not been reported, or have been misreported, in 

12 contravention of the reporting requirements of 

13 that organization; 

14 (C) conducted by a vessel flying the flag of 

15 a nation that is a cooperating non-member of a 

16 regional fisheries management organization that 

17 are inconsistent with the commitments under18 taken by that nation as a cooperating non-mem19 ber of that organization, including activities 

20 that have not been reported, or have been 

21 misreported, in a manner that is inconsistent 

22 with those commitments; or 

23 (D) conducted in the area of application of 

24 a regional fisheries management organization 

25 by a vessel without nationality or by a vessel 


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1 flying the flag of a nation that is not a member 

2 nor a cooperating non-member of that organiza3 tion and that undermines the effectiveness of 

4 the conservation and management measures of 

5 that organization. 

6 (5) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

7 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Oceans 

8 and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce. 

9 SEC. 4. USE OF FORFEITED VESSELS. 

10 (a) SINKING.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Commandant is author12 ized to use a vessel described in paragraph (2) for 

13 live-fire sinking exercises if the Commandant deter14 mines that the vessel would be useful for such exer15 cises. 

16 (2) VESSEL DESCRIBED.—A vessel described in 

17 this paragraph is a vessel that is— 

18 (A) transferred to the Commandant under 

19 paragraph (3); or 

20 (B) otherwise under the administrative 

21 control of the Commandant as a forfeited ves22 sel. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER VESSEL.— 

24 The head of an agency or department of the United 

25 States with administrative control over a forfeited 


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1 vessel shall transfer such vessel to the Commandant 

2 for use in live-fire sinking exercises authorized under 

3 paragraph (1) if the Commandant determines that 

4 the vessel would be useful for such exercises. 

5 (b) SCRAPPING OR RECYCLING OR TRANSFER FOR

6 LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OTHER PURPOSES.—If a for7 feited vessel is not transferred to or utilized by the Com8 mandant for sinking exercises under subsection (a), the 

9 forfeited vessel shall be transferred to or otherwise under 

10 the control of the Commandant, the Administrator, or the 

11 Under Secretary, as appropriate, and be— 

12 (1) scrapped or recycled by a facility in the 

13 United States or disposed of on land; 

14 (2) sold or donated to a developing nation solely 

15 for the purposes of fisheries enforcement, provided 

16 that any fishing gear is removed from the vessel; or 

17 (3) donated to a not-for-profit institution or 

18 governmental agency solely for the purposes of edu19 cation, research, or other public interest purposes 

20 with agreement from the recipient entity that vessel 

21 will never be utilized for illegal, unreported, or un22 regulated fishing or related activities. 

23 (c) LIMITATION ON EXERCISES.—The sinking exer24 cises authorized by subsection (a) shall take place only— 

25 (1) in water not less than 1,000 fathoms deep; 


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1 (2) not less than 50 nautical miles from any 

2 land; 

3 (3) not outside the exclusive economic zone of 

4 the United States; and 

5 (4) outside of any— 

6 (A) habitat area of particular concern 

7 identified under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

8 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 1801 et seq.); or 

10 (B) critical habitat, as defined in section 

11 3(5) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1532(5)). 

13 (d) PARTICIPATION OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The 

14 Commandant may invite the Secretary of the Army, the 

15 Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of the Air Force 

16 to participate in sinking exercises authorized by subsection 

17 (a). 

18 SEC. 5. DECONTAMINATION OF FORFEITED VESSELS. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR DECONTAMINATION.—Before 

20 sinking a forfeited vessel in exercises authorized by section 

21 4(a), the Commandant shall— 

22 (1) remove from such vessel any material that 

23 may degrade the marine environment, including pe24 troleum products, to the maximum extent pracVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:44 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3472.IH H3472

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1 ticable with best current techniques and in compli2 ance with— 

3 (A) the General Permit for the Transport 

4 of Target Vessels set out in section 229.2 of 

5 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

6 similar subsequent permit issued by the Admin7 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agen8 cy pursuant to section 102 of the Protection, 

9 Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 

10 U.S.C. 1412); 

11 (B) the Marine Protection, Research, and 

12 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1401 et 

13 seq.); and 

14 (C) the guidance recommending best man15 agement practices for vessel preparation devel16 oped by the Maritime Administration and the 

17 Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 

18 section 3504(b) of the Bob Stump National De19 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 

20 (Public Law 107–314; 16 U.S.C. 1220 note); 

21 (2) consult with the Administrator, the Sec22 retary of the Navy, and the Administrator of the 

23 Environmental Protection Agency on the proper pro24 cedures to decontaminate such vessel; and 


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1 (3) remove from such vessel and properly dis2 pose of any fishing gear and other materials that are 

3 likely to float or pose an entanglement hazard and 

4 become a threat to marine life. 

5 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES

6 CONTROL ACT.—The Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) shall not apply to the sinking of a 

8 forfeited vessel in exercises authorized by section 4(a) and 

9 in compliance with this Act. 

10 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

11 (a) SINKING, SCRAPPING, AND RECYCLING.— 

12 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Commandant is au13 thorized— 

14 (A) for a forfeited vessel to be sunk in ex15 ercises as authorized by section 4(a), to utilize 

16 funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 

17 established by section 9509 of the Internal Rev18 enue Code of 1986 for the costs of berthing, 

19 towing, decontamination, and other prepara20 tions for such exercises; or 

21 (B) for a forfeited vessel to be scrapped or 

22 recycled as authorized by section 4(b)(1), to uti23 lize or transfer to the Administrator or Under 

24 Secretary, as appropriate, funds from such 

25 Trust Fund for the costs of berthing, towing, 


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1 and for such scrapping or recycling, if such 

2 costs exceed the scrap value of the vessel. 

3 (2) ALLOWANCE OF EXPENDITURES FROM OIL

4 SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND.—Paragraph (1) of 

5 section 9509(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

6 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

7 subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end 

8 of subparagraph (F) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by 

9 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(G) for the payment of costs authorized 

11 under the Pirate Fishing Vessel Disposal Act of 

12 2011.’’. 

13 (b) SALE OR DONATION.—Section 311(e)(1) of the 

14 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage15 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

17 the end; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 

19 at the end and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(G) expenses or reimburse costs associated 

22 with the sale or donation of a vessel under para23 graph (2) or (3) of section 4(b) of the Pirate Fish24 ing Vessel Disposal Act of 2011, including berthing, 


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1 towing, decontamination, and other preparation of 

2 the vessel for sale or transfer.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 This Act shall apply to all forfeited vessels surren5 dered or seized and forfeited after September 1, 2011. 

Æ 


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