II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1510

To revise the laws of the United States appertaining to United States cruise

vessels, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To revise the laws of the United States appertaining to

United States cruise 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; TABLE OF SECTIONS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘United States Cruise Ship Tourism Development Act of

6 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of sections.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I—OPERATIONS UNDER PERMIT

Sec. 101. Domestic cruise vessel.
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Sec. 102. Domestic itinerary operating requirements.

Sec. 103. Certain operations prohibited.

Sec. 104. Limited employment of eligible cruise vessels in the coastwise trade

of the United States.

Sec. 105. Priorities within domestic markets.

Sec. 106. Construction standards.

TITLE II—POST-PERMIT OPERATIONS OF ELIGIBLE

CRUISE VESSELS

Sec. 201. Continued operation in domestic itinerary requirements.

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Amendment of title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.

Sec. 302. Application with Jones Act and other Acts.

Sec. 303. Glacier Bay and other National Park Service area permits.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) ELIGIBLE CRUISE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eli4 gible cruise vessel’’ means a cruise vessel that—

5 (A) is documented under the laws of the

6 United States or the laws of another country;

7 (B) is not otherwise qualified to engage in

8 the coastwise trade between ports in the United

9 States;

10 (C) was delivered after January 1, 1980;

11 (D) provides a full range of overnight ac12 commodations, entertainment, dining, and other

13 services for its passengers;

14 (E) has a fixed smoke detection and sprin15 kler system installed throughout the accommo16 dation and service spaces, or will have such a

17 system installed within the time period required

18 by the 1992 Amendments to the Safety of Life

19 at Sea Convention of 1974; and
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1 (F) displaces—

2 (i) greater than 20,000 gross reg3 istered tons; or

4 (ii) more than 9,000 gross registered

5 tons and has an all-suites luxury configu6 ration with a minimum of 240 square feet

7 per revenue room.

8 (2) ITINERARY.—The term ‘‘itinerary’’ means

9 the route travelled by a cruise vessel on a single voy10 age that begins at the first port of embarkation for

11 passengers on that voyage, includes each port at

12 which the vessel docks before the last port of disem13 barkation for such passengers, and ends at that last

14 port of disembarkation.

15 (3) OPERATING DAY.—The term ‘‘operating

16 day’’ means a day of the week on which a vessel em17 barks, transports, or disembarks passengers.

18 (4) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ means

19 the owner, operator, or charterer.

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

21 the Secretary of Transportation.

22 (6) UNITED STATES-FLAG VESSEL.—The term

23 ‘‘United States-flag vessel’’ means a vessel docu24 mented under subsection (a) or (d) of section 12102

25 of title 46, United States Code.
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1 TITLE I—OPERATIONS UNDER

2 PERMIT

3 SEC. 101. DOMESTIC CRUISE VESSEL.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provisions of

5 section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App.

6 289), or any other provision of law, the Secretary may

7 issue a permit for an eligible cruise vessel to operate in

8 domestic itineraries in the transportation of passengers in

9 the coastwise trade between ports in the United States.

10 (b) MAXIMUM OPERATING DAYS.—An eligible cruise

11 vessel not documented under the laws of the United States

12 that is operated under a permit issued by the Secretary

13 under subsection (a) may not be operated under that per14 mit for more than 200 operating days.

15 (c) EXPIRATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.—Except as

16 otherwise provided in section 201 of this Act, a permit

17 issued by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall termi18 nate December 31, 2006.

19 (d) OPERATING WINDOW.—The authority of the Sec20 retary to issue a permit under subsection (a) begins on

21 the day after the date of enactment of this Act and termi22 nates on the day that is 3 years after that date.
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1 SEC. 102. DOMESTIC ITINERARY OPERATING REQUIRE2 MENTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 104

4 of this Act, the Secretary may not approve an itinerary

5 for a voyage commencing less than 1 year after the date

6 of enactment of this Act requested by an eligible cruise

7 vessel that is not documented under the laws of the United

8 States.

9 (b) REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary

10 may not issue a permit under section 101(a) for an eligible

11 cruise vessel not documented under the laws of the United

12 States unless the operator establishes to the satisfaction

13 of the Secretary that, except as otherwise provided in this

14 Act, the vessel will be operated in full compliance with all

15 rules, regulations, and operating requirements relating to

16 health, safety, environmental protection and other appro17 priate operational standards (as determined by the Sec18 retary), that would apply to any United States-flag cruise

19 vessel operating in domestic itineraries in the transpor20 tation of passengers under a permit issued under section

21 101(a). The Secretary shall issue final rules under this

22 section within 180 days after the date of enactment of

23 this Act.

24 (c) REPAIRS.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not issue

26 a permit under section 101(a) for an eligible cruise
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1 vessel unless the operator establishes to the satisfac2 tion of the Secretary that—

3 (A) any repair, maintenance, alteration, or

4 other preparation of the vessel for operation

5 under a permit issued under section 101(a) has

6 been, or will be, performed in a United States

7 shipyard; and

8 (B) any repair or maintenance of the ves9 sel after a permit is issued under that section

10 and before the expiration of the operating limi11 tation period in section 101(b) will be per12 formed in a United States shipyard.

13 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re14 quirements of paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds

15 that the repair, maintenance, alterations, or other

16 preparation services are not available in the United

17 States or if an emergency dictates that the ship pro18 ceed to a foreign port.

19 (d) ESCROW ACCOUNT.—The Secretary may not

20 issue a permit under section 101(a) for an eligible cruise

21 vessel unless the operator agrees to deposit $5 for each

22 passenger embarking on that vessel while operating under

23 the permit into the escrow fund established under section

24 1108 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App.

25 1270a).
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1 (e) COMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines that

2 an eligible cruise vessel is not in compliance with any com3 mitment made to the Secretary by its operator under this

4 Act, the permit issued for that vessel under section 101(a)

5 shall be null and void.

6 SEC. 103. CERTAIN OPERATIONS PROHIBITED.

7 An eligible cruise vessel operating in domestic

8 itineraries under a permit issued under section 101(a)

9 may not—

10 (1) operate as a ferry;

11 (2) regularly carry for hire both passengers and

12 vehicles or other cargo; or

13 (3) operate between or among the islands of

14 Hawaii.

15 SEC. 104. LIMITED EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN-FLAG

16 CRUISE SHIPS IN THE COASTWISE TRADE OF

17 THE UNITED STATES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 12106 of

19 title 46, United States Code, section 27 of the Merchant

20 Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883), and section 8

21 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App. 289), the

22 Secretary may approve the employment in the coastwise

23 trade of the United States of an eligible cruise vessel oper24 ating under a permit issued under section 101(a) of this
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1 Act for repositioning as provided by under subsection (b)

2 or for charter as provided by subsection (c).

3 (b) REPOSITIONING.—An eligible cruise vessel not

4 documented under the laws of the United States operating

5 under a permit issued under section 101(a) of this Act

6 may be employed in the coastwise trade during the first

7 year after the date of enactment of this Act for not more

8 than 2 voyages, the coastwise trade portion of which does

9 not exceed 2 weeks and includes transportation of pas10 sengers for hire—

11 (1) from one coast of the United States through

12 the Panama Canal to another coast of the United

13 States; or

14 (2) along one coast of the United States during

15 a voyage between 2 foreign countries.

16 (c) CHARTERS.—An eligible cruise vessel not docu17 mented under the laws of the United States operating

18 under a permit issued under section 101(a) of this Act

19 may be employed in the coastwise trade during the first

20 year after the date of enactment of this Act if it is time21 chartered to a charterer that—

22 (1) does not own or operate a cruise ship; and

23 (2) is not affiliated with an owner or operator

24 of a cruise ship.
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1 (d) PRIORITIES.—Section 105 applies to vessels em2 ployed in the coastwise trade under this section.

3 SEC. 105. PRIORITIES WITHIN DOMESTIC MARKETS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by regula5 tion, establish a priority system for cruise vessels pro6 viding passenger service in domestic itineraries within 180

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

8 (b) PRIORITY TO U.S.-BUILT OR U.S.-REBUILT VES9 SELS.—Under the regulations to be prescribed by the Sec10 retary, a cruise vessel built or rebuilt in the United States

11 and documented under the laws of the United States shall

12 have priority over any other cruise vessel of comparable

13 size operating in a comparable market under a permit

14 issued under section 101(a).

15 (c) PRIORITY TO U.S.-FLAG VESSELS.—The Sec16 retary shall prescribe regulations under which a cruise ves17 sel documented under the laws of the United States that

18 is not built or rebuilt in the United States has priority

19 over an eligible cruise vessel of comparable size not docu20 mented under the laws of the United States that is oper21 ating in a comparable market.

22 (d) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining and as23 signing priorities under the regulations, the Secretary

24 shall consider, among other factors determined by the Sec25 retary to be appropriate—
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1 (A) the scope of a vessel’s itinerary;

2 (B) the time frame within which the vessel

3 will serve a particular itinerary; and

4 (C) the size of the vessel.

5 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—

6 (1) ITINERARY SUBMISSION REQUIRED.—An el7 igible cruise vessel may not be operated in a domes8 tic itinerary unless the operator has submitted a

9 proposed itinerary for that vessel, in accordance with

10 this subsection, for cruise itineraries for the calendar

11 year beginning 2 years after the date on which the

12 itinerary is required to be submitted under para13 graph (2).

14 (2) TIME AND MANNER OF SUBMISSION.—Each

15 operator of an eligible cruise vessel to be operated in

16 a domestic itinerary shall submit a proposed

17 itinerary to the Secretary in the form required by

18 the Secretary in February of each year beginning

19 after the date of enactment of this Act.

20 (3) REVISIONS AND LATER SUBMISSIONS.—The

21 Secretary shall permit late submissions and revisions

22 of submissions after the final list of approved

23 itineraries is published under paragraph (4)(C) and

24 before the date that is 90 days before the start date

25 of a requested itinerary, but a late submission or re-
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1 vision by a higher priority cruise vessel may not dis2 place a priority assigned on the basis of timely sub3 mission by a lower priority cruise vessel. If operators

4 of comparable vessels submit comparable requests

5 within 30 days of each other, the priorities of this

6 section apply at the discretion of the Secretary.

7 (4) SCHEDULING.—

8 (A) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Within 60

9 days after receiving an itinerary submitted

10 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

11 (i) review the schedule for compliance

12 with the priorities established by this sec13 tion;

14 (ii) advise affected cruise ship opera15 tors of any specific itinerary that is not

16 available and the reason it is not available;

17 and

18 (iii) publish a proposed list of ap19 proved itineraries.

20 (B) OPERATORS RESPONSE.—If the Sec21 retary advises an operator under subparagraph

22 (A)(ii) that a requested itinerary is not avail23 able, the operator may respond to the Sec24 retary’s advice within 30 days after it is re25 ceived by the operator by appealing the Sec-
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1 retary’s decision or by submitting a new

2 itinerary proposal.

3 (C) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS.—As soon

4 as practicable after the end of the 30-day pe5 riod described in subparagraph (B), the Sec6 retary shall—

7 (i) resolve any appeals and consider

8 new itinerary proposals;

9 (ii) advise cruise ship operators who

10 responded under subparagraph (B) of the

11 Secretary’s decision with respect to the ap12 peal or the new itinerary proposal; and

13 (iii) publish a final list of approved

14 itineraries.

15 (f) ITINERARIES BEFORE FINAL LIST IS FIRST PUB16 LISHED.—

17 (1) REQUESTS.—For itineraries before the first

18 calendar year for which the Secretary publishes a

19 final list of approved itineraries under subsection

20 (e), the operator of a cruise vessel may submit a re21 quest for an itinerary to be sailed before that cal22 endar year.

23 (2) CONFLICTING HIGHER PRIORITY USE.—If

24 the itinerary submitted by an operator under para25 graph (1) conflicts with an itinerary in use by a ves-
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1 sel with a higher priority under this section, the Sec2 retary shall disapprove the request and notify the

3 operator of the disapproval and the reason for the

4 disapproval within 5 days (Saturdays, Sundays, and

5 legal public holidays (as defined in section 6103 of

6 title 5, United States Code, excepted) after the re7 quest is received.

8 (3) NO INITIAL CONFLICT.—If the itinerary

9 submitted by an operator under paragraph (1) does

10 not conflict with an itinerary in use by a vessel with

11 a higher priority under this section, the Secretary

12 shall publish the request and the requested itinerary

13 immediately. If, within 30 days after the request is

14 published, the operator of a cruise vessel with a

15 higher priority under this section requests the use of

16 the published itinerary, then the Secretary shall

17 deny the published request and approve the request

18 for the higher priority vessel. If no operator of a

19 cruise vessel with a higher priority under this section

20 requests the use of the published itinerary within 30

21 days after it is published, the Secretary shall ap22 prove the requested itinerary and publish notice of

23 the approval.

24 (4) PUBLICATION OF INTERIM ITINERARIES.—

25 Until the first publication of a final list of approved
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1 itineraries under subsection (e), the Secretary shall

2 publish, on a quarterly basis, a list of itineraries ap3 proved under this subsection.

4 (g) REPORT.—The Secretary shall issue an annual

5 report on the number of operating days used by each

6 cruise vessel assigned a priority under this section.

7 SEC. 106. CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS.

8 An eligible cruise vessel for which the Secretary has

9 issued a permit under section 101(a) is deemed to be in

10 compliance with the requirements of section 3309 of title

11 46, United States Code, if it meets the standards and con12 ditions for the issuance of a control verification certificate

13 for a cruise vessel documented under the laws of a foreign

14 country embarking passengers in the United States.

15 TITLE II—POST-PERMIT OPER16 ATIONS OF ELIGIBLE CRUISE

17 VESSELS

18 SEC. 201. CONTINUED OPERATION IN DOMESTIC

19 ITINERARY REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the expiration of its period

21 of operations under a permit issued under section 101(a),

22 an eligible cruise vessel not documented under the laws

23 of the United States may not operate in domestic

24 itineraries unless it meets the following conditions:
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1 (1) DOCUMENTATION.—The vessel has been

2 issued a certificate of documentation with a coast3 wise endorsement.

4 (2) OPERATING CREW; SUPPORT STAFF.—Each

5 member of the vessel’s operating crew licensed or

6 certified by the United States Coast Guard is a cit7 izen or resident alien of the United States as re8 quired by section 8103 of title 46, United States

9 Code, and each individual employed aboard the ves10 sel who is not a member of the operating crew is a

11 citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

12 (b) CONSTRUCTION PLAN.—The operator of an eligi13 ble cruise vessel issued a permit under section 101(a) of

14 this Act shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Sec15 retary that, as of the date on which the vessel is docu16 mented under the laws of the United States—

17 (1) it has a plan for the construction of a cruise

18 vessel in the United States; or

19 (2) it is a party to, or has made substantial

20 progress toward entering into, an enforceable con21 tract for the construction of such a vessel in the

22 United States.

23 (c) EXPIRATION OF COASTWISE ENDORSEMENT.—

24 The coastwise endorsement for an eligible cruise vessel op25 erating under subsection (a) shall expire 24 months after
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1 the date on which construction is completed on the last

2 vessel the operator of the eligible cruise vessel is obligated

3 to construct in the United States under the contract de4 scribed in subsection (b).

5 (d) REFLAGGING UNDER FOREIGN REGISTRY.—Not6 withstanding section 9(c) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46

7 U.S.C. App. 808), the operator of an eligible cruise ship

8 issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise en9 dorsement, or a cruise vessel constructed under a contract

10 described in subsection (a)(4), may place that vessel under

11 foreign registry. The Secretary shall revoke the coastwise

12 endorsement for any such vessel placed under foreign reg13 istry under this subsection permanently. Any vessel the

14 coastwise endorsement for which is revoked under this

15 subsection is not eligible thereafter for coastwise endorse16 ment.

17 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS

18 SEC. 301. AMENDMENT OF TITLE XI OF THE MERCHANT MA19 RINE ACT, 1936.

20 (a) RISK FACTOR.—Section 1103(h) of the Merchant

21 Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1103(h)) is amended

22 by adding at the end thereof the following:

23 ‘‘(5) For purposes of the risk factor described

24 in paragraph (3)(I), the Secretary shall consider an

25 applicant for a guarantee, or a commitment to guar-
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1 antee, under subsection (a) an obligation in connec2 tion with a contract described in section 201(a)(4)

3 of the United States Cruise Ship Tourism Develop4 ment Act of 1999 to possess the necessary operating

5 ability, experience, and expertise required if the ap6 plicant demonstrates to satisfaction of the Secretary

7 that its personnel have the experience and ability to

8 operate cruise vessels.’’.

9 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 1104A(b) of the Mer10 chant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274(b)) is

11 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

12 ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary

13 shall consider an obligor with a contract described in

14 section 201(b)(2) of the United States Cruise Ship

15 Tourism Development Act of 1999 to possess the

16 ability necessary to the adequate operation and

17 maintenance of the cruise vessel that serves as secu18 rity for the guarantee of the Secretary if the obligor

19 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary

20 that its personnel have the experience and ability to

21 operate cruise vessels.’’.

22 SEC. 302. APPLICATION WITH JONES ACT AND OTHER ACTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects or oth24 erwise modifies the authority contained in—
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1 (1) Public Law 87–77 (46 U.S.C. App. 289b)

2 authorizing the transportation of passengers and

3 merchandise in Canadian vessels between ports in

4 Alaska and the United States; or

5 (2) Public Law 98–563 (46 U.S.C. App. 289c)

6 permitting the transportation of passengers between

7 Puerto Rico and other United States ports.

8 (b) JONES ACT.—Nothing in this Act affects or

9 modifies the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App.

10 861 et seq.).

11 SEC. 303. GLACIER BAY AND OTHER NATIONAL PARK SERV12 ICE AREA PERMITS.

13 Notwithstanding the last sentence of section 3(g) of

14 Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(g)), the Secretary

15 of the Interior, after consultation with the Secretary of

16 Transportation, may issue new or otherwise available per17 mits to United States-flag vessels carrying passengers for

18 hire to enter Glacier Bay or any other area within the

19 jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Any such permit

20 shall not affect the rights of any person that, on the date

21 of enactment of this Act, holds a valid permit to enter

22 Glacier Bay or such other area.

Æ