I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7719 

To provide for the removal of abandoned vessels, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2024 

Mr. GARAMENDI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, 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 provide for the removal of abandoned vessels, 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 ‘‘Abandoned and Dere5 lict Vessel Removal Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ABANDONED AND DERELICT VESSELS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 46, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in the chapter heading by striking 

2 ‘‘BARGES’’ and inserting ‘‘VESSELS’’; 

3 (2) by inserting before section 4701 the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BARGES’’; 

6 and 

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

8 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—NON-BARGE VESSELS 

9 ‘‘§ 4710. Definitions 

10 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

11 ‘‘(1) ABANDON.—The term ‘abandon’ means to 

12 moor, strand, wreck, sink, or leave a covered vessel 

13 unattended for longer than 45 days. 

14 ‘‘(2) COVERED VESSEL.—The term ‘covered 

15 vessel’ means a vessel that is not a barge to which 

16 subchapter I applies. 

17 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

18 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

19 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

20 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

21 ‘‘§ 4711. Abandonment of vessels prohibited 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An owner or operator of a cov23 ered vessel may not abandon such vessel on the navigable 

24 waters of the United States. 

25 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF ABANDONMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a cov3 ered vessel that appears to be abandoned, the 

4 Commandant of the Coast Guard shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) attempt to identify the owner 

6 using the vessel registration number, hull 

7 identification number, or any other infor8 mation that can be reasonably inferred or 

9 gathered; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) notify such owner— 

11 ‘‘(I) of the penalty described in 

12 subsection (c); and 

13 ‘‘(II) that the vessel will be re14 moved at the expense of the owner if 

15 the Commandant determines that the 

16 vessel is abandoned and the owner 

17 does not remove or account for the 

18 vessel. 

19 ‘‘(B) FORM.—The Commandant shall pro20 vide the notice required under subparagraph 

21 (A)— 

22 ‘‘(i) if the owner can be identified, via 

23 certified mail or other appropriate forms 

24 determined by the Commandant; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) if the owner cannot be identified, 

2 via an announcement in a local publication 

3 and on a website maintained by the Coast 

4 Guard. 

5 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—The Commandant 

6 shall make a determination not earlier than 45 days 

7 after the date on which the Commandant provides 

8 the notification required under paragraph (1) of 

9 whether a covered vessel described in such para10 graph is abandoned. 

11 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant may as13 sess a civil penalty of not more than $500 against 

14 an owner or operator of a covered vessel determined 

15 to be abandoned under subsection (b) for a violation 

16 of subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY IN REM.—The owner or oper18 ator of a covered vessel shall also be liable in rem 

19 for a penalty imposed under paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(d) VESSELS NOT ABANDONED.—The Commandant 

21 may not determine that a covered vessel is abandoned 

22 under this section if— 

23 ‘‘(1) such vessel is located at a federally ap24 proved or State approved mooring area or anchor25 age; 


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1 ‘‘(2) such vessel is located on private property 

2 with the permission of the owner of such property; 

3 ‘‘(3) the owner or operator of such vessel pro4 vides a notification to the Commandant that— 

5 ‘‘(A) indicates the location of the vessel; 

6 ‘‘(B) indicates that the vessel is not aban7 doned; and 

8 ‘‘(C) contains documentation proving that 

9 the vessel is allowed to be in such location; or 

10 ‘‘(4) the Commandant determines that such an 

11 abandonment determination would not be in the 

12 public interest. 

13 ‘‘§ 4712. Inventory of abandoned vessels 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this section, the Commandant, in 

16 consultation with the Administrator of the National Oce17 anic and Atmospheric Administration and relevant State 

18 agencies, shall establish and maintain a national inventory 

19 of covered vessels that are abandoned. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The inventory established and 

21 maintained under subsection (a) shall include data on each 

22 vessel, including geographic information system data re23 lated to the location of each such vessel. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PUBLICATION.—The Commandant shall make 

2 the inventory established under subsection (a) publicly 

3 available on a website of the Coast Guard. 

4 ‘‘(d) REPORTING OF POTENTIALLY ABANDONED

5 VESSELS.—In carrying out this section, the Commandant 

6 shall develop a process by which— 

7 ‘‘(1) a State, Indian Tribe, or person may re8 port a covered vessel that may be abandoned to the 

9 Commandant for potential inclusion in the inventory 

10 established under subsection (a); and 

11 ‘‘(2) the Commandant shall review any such re12 port and add such vessel to the inventory if the 

13 Commandant determines that the reported vessel is 

14 abandoned pursuant to section 4711.’’. 

15 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of the department 

16 in which the Coast Guard is operating, in consultation 

17 with the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief 

18 of Engineers, and the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

19 through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, 

20 shall issue regulations with respect to the procedures for 

21 determining that a vessel is abandoned for the purposes 

22 of subchapter II of chapter 47 of title 46, United States 

23 Code (as added by this section). 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 47 of title 

25 46, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 4701— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

3 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘sub4 chapter’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘chapter’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; 

7 (2) in section 4703 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; 

9 (3) in section 4704 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ each 

10 place it appears and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; and 

11 (4) in section 4705 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘subchapter’’. 

13 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

14 chapter 47 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec16 tion 4701 the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BARGES’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—VESSELS

‘‘4710. Definitions. 

‘‘4711. Abandonment of vessels prohibited. 

‘‘4712. Inventory of abandoned vessels.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE REMOVAL. 

20 The removal and disposal of an abandoned vessel 

21 under the direction of an on-scene coordinator appointed 

22 under the National Contingency Plan developed under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Apr 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7719.IH H7719

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1 tion 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

2 U.S.C. 1321) shall be deemed to be a removal action 

3 under such section for purposes of section 9509 of the In4 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

5 SEC. 4. USES OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1012(a) of the Oil Pollu7 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in paragraph (5)(D), by striking the period 

11 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(6) the payment of costs associated with the 

14 collection and disposal of an abandoned vessel, in15 cluding a derelict vessel, by the President if— 

16 ‘‘(A) such collection and disposal is deter17 mined to be in the public interest by the Fed18 eral Government, a State, or an Indian tribe; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) a determination that the vessel is 

21 abandoned is made by the Commandant of the 

22 Coast Guard in accordance with section 4711 of 

23 title 46, United States Code.’’. 

24 (b) COSTS OF COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL OF ABAN25 DONED OR DERELICT VESSELS.— 


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1 (1) CUMULATIVE COSTS.—The cumulative cost 

2 for the collection and disposal of abandoned vessels, 

3 including derelict vessels, described in section 

4 1012(a)(6) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (as 

5 added by subsection (a)) in a calendar year shall be 

6 deemed to be a single incident for purposes of sec7 tion 9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

8 (2) LIABILITY.—The owner of any abandoned 

9 vessel, including a derelict vessel, collected and dis10 posed of using funds from the Oil Spill Liability 

11 Trust Fund pursuant to section 1012(a)(6) of the 

12 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (as added by subsection 

13 (a)) shall be liable to the United States for the costs 

14 of such collection and disposal and such costs shall 

15 be deemed to be amounts described in section 

16 9509(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9509(f) of 

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by insert19 ing before the period at the end ‘‘, except with respect 

20 to section 1012(a)(6) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990’’. 

21 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASING FEDERALLY 

22 AUCTIONED VESSELS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 571 of title 46, United 

24 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 57112. Requirements for purchasing federally auc2 tioned vessels 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to purchase a cov4 ered vessel from the Federal Government, a person shall 

5 provide proof of— 

6 ‘‘(1) liability insurance for the operator of such 

7 covered vessel; 

8 ‘‘(2) proof of financial resources sufficient to 

9 cover maintenance costs of such covered vessel; and 

10 ‘‘(3) with respect to a covered vessel requiring 

11 documentation under chapter 121, an admiralty 

12 bond or stipulation. 

13 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘covered 

14 vessel’ means— 

15 ‘‘(1) a government-owned vessel disposed of in 

16 accordance with this part and section 548 of title 

17 40; 

18 ‘‘(2) a vessel seized or forfeited pursuant to any 

19 law, and auctioned by the Federal Government, in20 cluding a vessel seized or forfeited pursuant to sec21 tion 7301 or 7302 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986; and 

23 ‘‘(3) a fishing vessel seized or forfeited pursu24 ant to section 310 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

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

26 1860).’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 571 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘57112. Requirements for purchasing federally auctioned vessels.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. REMOVAL OF OBSTRUCTIVE OR ABANDONED VES5 SELS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 19 of the River and Har7 bor Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 414), is amended— 

8 (1) by striking by striking ‘‘SEC. 19. (a) That 

9 whenever’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 19. VESSEL REMOVAL BY SECRETARY OF THE ARMY. 

11 ‘‘(a) REMOVAL OF OBSTRUCTIVE VESSELS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—That whenever’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘described in this section’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘described in this subsection’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘under subsection (a)’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘(b) The owner’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY OF OWNER, LESSEE, OR OPER22 ATOR.—The owner’’; and 

23 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL OF ABANDONED VESSEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army 

2 is authorized to remove from the waters of the 

3 United States any abandoned vessel or any vessel 

4 under the control of the United States by reason of 

5 seizure or forfeiture pursuant to any law, that does 

6 not obstruct the navigation of such waters, if— 

7 ‘‘(A) such removal is determined to be in 

8 the public interest by the Federal Government, 

9 a State, or an Indian tribe; and 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a vessel that is not 

11 under the control of the United States by rea12 son of seizure or forfeiture, the Commandant of 

13 the Coast Guard makes a determination that 

14 the vessel is abandoned in accordance with sec15 tion 4711 of title 46, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—In remov17 ing a vessel under this section that is under the con18 trol of the United States by reason of seizure or for19 feiture, the Secretary shall enter into an interagency 

20 agreement with the head of the Federal department, 

21 agency, or instrumentality that has control of such 

22 vessel. 

23 ‘‘(3) LIABILITY.—The owner of any vessel de24 scribed in paragraph (1) that is not under the con25 trol of the United States by reason of seizure or forVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Apr 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7719.IH H7719

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1 feiture shall be liable to the United States for the 

2 costs of removal and disposal of such vessel.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1115 of the 

4 Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 

5 4235; 102 Stat. 4026) is repealed. 

Æ 


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