II

Calendar No. 556

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2124

[Report No. 105–317]

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for the Maritime

Administration, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1998

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for the

Maritime Administration, 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,
2

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1 SEC. 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL

2 YEAR 1999.

3 Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for

4 fiscal year 1999, to be available without fiscal year limita5 tion if so provided in appropriations Acts, for the use of

6 the Department of Transportation for the Maritime Ad7 ministration as follows:

8 (1) For expenses necessary for operations and

9 training activities, $70,978,000.

10 (2) For expenses under the loan guarantee pro11 gram authorized by title XI of the Merchant Marine

12 Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.),

13 $20,000,000, of which—

14 (A) $16,000,000 is for the cost (as defined

15 in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform

16 Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5))) of loan guar17 antees under the program; and

18 (B) $4,000,000 is for administrative ex19 penses related to loan guarantee commitments

20 under the program.

21 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY NATIONAL DEFENSE RE22 SERVE FLEET VESSEL.

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Not withstanding any

24 other law, the Secretary of Transportation may convey all

25 right, title, and interest of the United States Government

26 in and to the vessel M/V BAYAMON (United States offi-
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1 cial number 530007) to the Trade Fair Ship Company,

2 a corporation established under the laws of the State of

3 Delaware and having its principal offices located in New

4 York, New York (in this section referred to as the ‘‘recipi5 ent’’), for use as floating trade exposition to showcase

6 United States technology, industrial products, and serv7 ices.

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Notwithstanding any

9 other law, the Secretary of Transportation may convey all

10 right, title, and interest of the United States Government

11 in and to the vessel M/V BAYAMON (United States official

12 number 530007) to a purchaser for use as a floating trade

13 exposition to showcase United States technology, industrial

14 products, and services.

15 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

16 (1) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—In carrying out

17 subsection (a), the Secretary shall deliver the ves18 sel—

19 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

20 on the date of conveyance;

21 (B) in its condition on that date; and

22 (C) at no cost to the United States Gov23 ernment.

24 (2) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

25 may not convey a vessel under this section unless—
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1 (A) the recipient pays consideration equal

2 to the domestic fair market value of the vessel

3 as determined by the Secretary;

4 (A) competitive procedures are used for

5 sales under this section, and the purchaser is se6 lected on the basis of sealed bids solicited and

7 evaluated in accordance with those procedures;

8 (B) the vessel is sold for not less than the

9 fair market value of the vessel in the United

10 States, as determined by the Secretary of Trans11 portation;

12 (B) (C) The recipient agrees that any re13 pair, except for emergency repairs, restoration,

14 or reconstruction work for the vessel will be

15 performed in the United States;

16 (C) (D) the recipient agrees to hold the

17 Government harmless for any claims arising

18 from exposure to hazardous material, including

19 asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, after

20 the conveyance of the vessel, except for claims

21 arising before the date of the conveyance or

22 from use of the vessel by the Government after

23 that date; and

24 (D) (E) the recipient provides sufficient

25 evidence to the Secretary that it has adequate
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1 financial resources in the form of cash, liquid

2 assets, or a written loan commitment to com3 plete the reconstruction of the vessel.

4 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may

5 require such additional terms in connection with the

6 conveyance authorized by this section as the Sec7 retary considers appropriate.

8 (c) PROCEEDS.—Any amounts received by the United

9 States as proceeds from the sale of the M/V BAYAMON

10 shall be deposited in the Vessel Operations Revolving

11 Fund established by the Act of June 2, 1951 (chapter

12 121; 46 U.S.C. App. 1241a) and shall be available and

13 expended in accordance with section 6(a) of the National

14 Maritime Heritage Act (16 U.S.C. App. 5405(a)).

15 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY CERTAIN NATIONAL DE16 FENSE RESERVE FLEET VESSELS.

17 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Notwithstanding any

18 other law, except as described in subsection (b), the Sec19 retary of Transportation may convey all right, title, and

20 interest of the United States Government in and to the

21 vessels BENJAMIN ISHERWOOD (TAO–191) and

22 HENRY ECKFORD (TAO–192) to a purchaser for the

23 purpose of reconstruction of those vessels for sale or char24 ter.

25 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—
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1 (1) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—In carrying out

2 subsection (a), the Secretary shall deliver the ves3 sel—

4 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

5 on the date of the conveyance;

6 (B) in its condition on that date; and

7 (C) at no cost to the United States Gov8 ernment.

9 (2) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

10 may not convey a vessel under this section unless—

11 (A) competitive procedures are used for

12 sales under this section. The purchaser or pur13 chasers shall be selected on the basis of sealed

14 bids solicited and evaluated in accordance with

15 those procedures, except that a sale of a vessel

16 may not be made for less than the fair market

17 value of the vessel in the United States, as de18 termined by the Secretary of Transportation;

19 (A) competitive procedures are used for

20 sales under this section, and the purchaser is se21 lected on the basis of sealed bids solicited and

22 evaluated in accordance with those procedures;

23 (B) the vessel is sold for not less than the

24 fair market value of the vessel in the United
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1 States, as determined by the Secretary of Trans2 portation;

3 (B) (C) with respect to the vessel, the re4 cipient remains subject to all laws and regula5 tions governing the export of military items, in6 cluding the requirements administered by the

7 Department of State regarding export licenses

8 and certification of nontransfer end use;

9 (C) (D) the recipient provides sufficient

10 evidence to the Secretary that it has adequate

11 financial resources in the form of cash, liquid

12 assets, or a written loan commitment to com13 plete the reconstruction of the vessel;

14 (D) (E) the recipient agrees that any re15 pair, except for emergency repairs, restoration,

16 or reconstruction work for the vessel will be

17 performed in the United States; and

18 (E) (F) the recipient agrees to hold the

19 Government harmless for any claims arising

20 from defects in the vessel or from exposure to

21 hazardous material, including asbestos and pol22 ychlorinated biphenyls, after the conveyance of

23 the vessel, except for claims arising before the

24 date of the conveyance or from use of the vessel

25 by the Government after that date.
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1 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may

2 require such additional terms in connection with a

3 conveyance authorized by this section as the Sec4 retary considers appropriate.

5 (c) PROCEEDS.—Any amounts received by the United

6 States as proceeds from the sale of a vessel under this

7 section shall be deposited in the Vessel Operations Revolv8 ing Fund established by section 801 of the Act of June

9 2, 1951 (65 Stat. 59; 46 U.S.C. App. 1241a) and shall

10 be available and expended in accordance with section 6(a)

11 of the national National Maritime Heritage Act (16

12 U.S.C. App. 5405(a)).

13 (d) DURATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of the

14 Secretary under this section may only be exercised during

15 the one-year period beginning on the date of the enact16 ment of this Act.

17 SEC. 4. CLEARINGHOUSE FOR MARITIME INFORMATION.

18 Of the amount authorized to be appropriated pursu19 ant to section 1(1) of this Act for operations of the Mari20 time Administration, $75,000 may be available for the es21 tablishment at a State Maritime Academy of a clearing22 house for maritime information that makes that informa23 tion publicly available, including by use of the Internet.
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1 SEC. 5. SHIP SCRAPPING EXPENSES.

2 (a) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Section 508 of the Mer3 chant Marine Act of 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1158) is

4 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘Pro5 ceeds of sale under this section, net expenses of sale (as

6 defined in section 801 of the Act of June 2, 1951 (65

7 Stat. 59; 46 U.S.C. App. 1241a)), shall be credited to the

8 Vessels Operation Revolving Fund established by that sec9 tion.’’.

10 (b) COSTS OF SALE.—Section 510(i) of the Merchant

11 Marine Act of 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1160(i)), is amended

12 by inserting before ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ the following: ‘‘All

13 costs incident to the sale of an obsolete vessel under this

14 subsection and not covered by the gross proceeds of the

15 sale may be paid from balances in the Fund derived from

16 the sale of obsolete vessels. Proceeds to be credited to the

17 Fund from the sale of a vessel under this subsection shall

18 be net of the expenses of sale (as defined in section 801

19 of the Act of June 2, 1951 (65 Stat. 59; 46 U.S.C. App.

20 1241a)).’’.

21 (c) VESSEL OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND.—

22 (1) The first sentence of section 801 of the Act

23 of June 2, 1951 (65 Stat. 59; 46 U.S.C. App.

24 1241a) is amended by striking ‘‘and betterment’’

25 and inserting ‘‘betterment, husbanding, and sale’’.
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1 (2) The second paragraph of such section is

2 amended by striking ‘‘stated therein:’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘stated therein; Provided further, That such sums

4 as may be determined to be necessary by the Sec5 retary of Transportation and that have not been re6 covered from the gross proceeds from the sale of a

7 obsolete vessel in the National Defense Reserve

8 Fleet, may be transferred from this fund, but only

9 if derived from the sale of obsolete vessels, to the op10 erations and training account of the Maritime Ad11 ministration for the purpose of paying all expenses

12 of sale including, but not limited to, cost of adminis13 tration, personnel, and travel related to the review of

14 bids, inspection of bidders’ facilities, surveys for haz15 ardous materials, removal and disposal of hazardous

16 materials, and oversight of the scrapping account.’’.

17 SEC. 5. ACT CONSTITUTING PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL OF

18 VESSEL WAR RISK INSURANCE REQUESTED

19 BY THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.

20 Section 1205(b) of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936

21 (46 U.S.C. App. 1285(b)) is amended by adding at the end

22 the following: ‘‘The signature of the President (or of an offi23 cial designated by the President) on the agreement shall be

24 treated as an expression of the approval required under sec25 tion 1202(a) to provide the insurance.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. CONVEYANCE OF NDRF VESSEL EX-USS LORAIN

2 COUNTY.

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—The Secretary of Trans4 portation may convey all right, title, and interest of the

5 Federal Government in and to the vessel ex-USS LORAIN

6 COUNTY (LST-1177) to the Ohio War Memorial, Inc., lo7 cated in Sandusky, Ohio (in this section referred to as the

8 ‘‘recipient’’), for use as memorial to Ohio veterans.

9 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

10 (1) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—In carrying out sub11 section (a), the Secretary shall deliver the vessel—

12 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

13 on the date of conveyance;

14 (B) in its condition on that date; and

15 (C) at no cost to the Federal Government.

16 (2) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

17 not convey a vessel under this section unless—

18 (A) the recipient agrees to hold the Govern19 ment harmless for any claims arising from expo20 sure to hazardous materials, including asbestos

21 and polychlorinated biphenyls, after conveyance

22 of the vessel, except for claims arising before the

23 date of the conveyance or from use of the vessel

24 by the Government after that date; and

25 (B) the recipient has available, for use to

26 restore the vessel, in the form of cash, liquid as-
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1 sets, or a written loan commitment, financial re2 sources of at least $100,000.

3 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may re4 quire such additional terms and conditions in connec5 tion with the conveyance authorized by this section as

6 the Secretary considers appropriate.

7 (c) OTHER UNNEEDED EQUIPMENT.—The Secretary

8 may convey to the recipient of the vessel conveyed under

9 this section any unneeded equipment from other vessels in

10 the National Defense Reserve Fleet, for use to restore the

11 vessel conveyed under this section to museum quality.
Calendar No. 556

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2124

[Report No. 105–317]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for

poses.the Maritime Administration, and for other purSEPTEMBER 9, 1998

Reported with amendments