II

Calendar No. 786

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1510

[Report No. 106–396]

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 9, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BURNS, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. COVERDELL, and Mrs.

BOXER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

SEPTEMBER 6, 2000

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF SECTIONS.

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

3 ‘‘United States Cruise Ship Tourism Development Act of

4 1999’’.

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

6 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.

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.

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) ELIGIBLE CRUISE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eli10 gible cruise vessel’’ means a cruise vessel that—

11 (A) is documented under the laws of the

12 United States or the laws of another country;

13 (B) is not otherwise qualified to engage in

14 the coastwise trade between ports in the United

15 States;

16 (C) was delivered after January 1, 1980;
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1 (D) provides a full range of overnight ac2 commodations, entertainment, dining, and other

3 services for its passengers;

4 (E) has a fixed smoke detection and sprin5 kler system installed throughout the accommo6 dation and service spaces, or will have such a

7 system installed within the time period required

8 by the 1992 Amendments to the Safety of Life

9 at Sea Convention of 1974; and

10 (F) displaces—

11 (i) greater than 20,000 gross reg12 istered tons; or

13 (ii) more than 9,000 gross registered

14 tons and has an all-suites luxury configu15 ration with a minimum of 240 square feet

16 per revenue room.

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

18 the route travelled by a cruise vessel on a single voy19 age that begins at the first port of embarkation for

20 passengers on that voyage, includes each port at

21 which the vessel docks before the last port of disem22 barkation for such passengers, and ends at that last

23 port of disembarkation.
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1 (3) OPERATING DAY.—The term ‘‘operating

2 day’’ means a day of the week on which a vessel em3 barks, transports, or disembarks passengers.

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

5 the owner, operator, or charterer.

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

7 the Secretary of Transportation.

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

9 ‘‘United States-flag vessel’’ means a vessel docu10 mented under subsection (a) or (d) of section 12102

11 of title 46, United States Code.

12 TITLE I—OPERATIONS UNDER

13 PERMIT

14 SEC. 101. DOMESTIC CRUISE VESSEL.

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

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

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

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

19 domestic itineraries in the transportation of passengers in

20 the coastwise trade between ports in the United States.

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

22 vessel not documented under the laws of the United States

23 that is operated under a permit issued by the Secretary

24 under subsection (a) may not be operated under that per25 mit for more than 200 operating days.
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1 (c) EXPIRATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.—Except as

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

3 issued by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall termi4 nate December 31, 2006.

5 (d) OPERATING WINDOW.—The authority of the Sec6 retary to issue a permit under subsection (a) begins on

7 the day after the date of enactment of this Act and termi8 nates on the day that is 3 years after that date.

9 SEC. 102. DOMESTIC ITINERARY OPERATING REQUIRE10 MENTS.

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

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

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

14 of enactment of this Act requested by an eligible cruise

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

16 States.

17 (b) REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary

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

19 cruise vessel not documented under the laws of the United

20 States unless the operator establishes to the satisfaction

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

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

23 rules, regulations, and operating requirements relating to

24 health, safety, environmental protection and other appro25 priate operational standards (as determined by the Sec-
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1 retary), that would apply to any United States-flag cruise

2 vessel operating in domestic itineraries in the transpor3 tation of passengers under a permit issued under section

4 101(a). The Secretary shall issue final rules under this

5 section within 180 days after the date of enactment of

6 this Act.

7 (c) REPAIRS.—

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

9 a permit under section 101(a) for an eligible cruise

10 vessel unless the operator establishes to the satisfac11 tion of the Secretary that—

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

13 other preparation of the vessel for operation

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

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

16 shipyard; and

17 (B) any repair or maintenance of the ves18 sel after a permit is issued under that section

19 and before the expiration of the operating limi20 tation period in section 101(b) will be per21 formed in a United States shipyard.

22 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re23 quirements of paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds

24 that the repair, maintenance, alterations, or other

25 preparation services are not available in the United
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1 States or if an emergency dictates that the ship pro2 ceed to a foreign port.

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

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

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

6 passenger embarking on that vessel while operating under

7 the permit into the escrow fund established under section

8 1108 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App.

9 1270a).

10 (e) COMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines that

11 an eligible cruise vessel is not in compliance with any com12 mitment made to the Secretary by its operator under this

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

14 shall be null and void.

15 SEC. 103. CERTAIN OPERATIONS PROHIBITED.

16 An eligible cruise vessel operating in domestic

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

18 may not—

19 (1) operate as a ferry;

20 (2) regularly carry for hire both passengers and

21 vehicles or other cargo; or

22 (3) operate between or among the islands of

23 Hawaii.
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1 SEC. 104. LIMITED EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN-FLAG

2 CRUISE SHIPS IN THE COASTWISE TRADE OF

3 THE UNITED STATES.

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

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

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

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

8 Secretary may approve the employment in the coastwise

9 trade of the United States of an eligible cruise vessel oper10 ating under a permit issued under section 101(a) of this

11 Act for repositioning as provided by under subsection (b)

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

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

14 documented under the laws of the United States operating

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

16 may be employed in the coastwise trade during the first

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

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

19 not exceed 2 weeks and includes transportation of pas20 sengers for hire—

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

22 the Panama Canal to another coast of the United

23 States; or

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

25 a voyage between 2 foreign countries.
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1 (c) CHARTERS.—An eligible cruise vessel not docu2 mented under the laws of the United States operating

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

4 may be employed in the coastwise trade during the first

5 year after the date of enactment of this Act if it is time6 chartered to a charterer that—

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

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

9 of a cruise ship.

10 (d) PRIORITIES.—Section 105 applies to vessels em11 ployed in the coastwise trade under this section.

12 SEC. 105. PRIORITIES WITHIN DOMESTIC MARKETS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by regula14 tion, establish a priority system for cruise vessels pro15 viding passenger service in domestic itineraries within 180

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

17 (b) PRIORITY TO U.S.-BUILT OR U.S.-REBUILT VES18 SELS.—Under the regulations to be prescribed by the Sec19 retary, a cruise vessel built or rebuilt in the United States

20 and documented under the laws of the United States shall

21 have priority over any other cruise vessel of comparable

22 size operating in a comparable market under a permit

23 issued under section 101(a).

24 (c) PRIORITY TO U.S.-FLAG VESSELS.—The Sec25 retary shall prescribe regulations under which a cruise ves-
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1 sel documented under the laws of the United States that

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

3 over an eligible cruise vessel of comparable size not docu4 mented under the laws of the United States that is oper5 ating in a comparable market.

6 (d) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining and as7 signing priorities under the regulations, the Secretary

8 shall consider, among other factors determined by the Sec9 retary to be appropriate—

10 (A) the scope of a vessel’s itinerary;

11 (B) the time frame within which the vessel

12 will serve a particular itinerary; and

13 (C) the size of the vessel.

14 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—

15 (1) INTINERARY SUBMISSION REQUIRED.—An

16 eligible cruise vessel may not be operated in a do17 mestic itinerary unless the operator has submitted a

18 proposed itinerary for that vessel, in accordance with

19 this subsection, for cruise itineraries for the calendar

20 year beginning 2 years after the date on which the

21 itinerary is required to be submitted under para22 graph (2).

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

24 operator of an eligible cruise vessel to be operated in

25 a domestic itinerary shall submit a proposed
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1 itinerary to the Secretary in the form required by

2 the Secretary in February of each year beginning

3 after the date of enactment of this Act.

4 (3) REVISIONS AND LATER SUBMISSIONS.—The

5 Secretary shall permit late submissions and revisions

6 of submissions after the final list of approved

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

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

9 of a requested itinerary, but a late submission or re10 vision by a higher priority cruise vessel may not dis11 place a priority assigned on the basis of timely sub12 mission by a lower priority cruise vessel. If operators

13 of comparable vessels submit comparable requests

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

15 section apply at the discretion of the Secretary.

16 (4) SCHEDULING.—

17 (A) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Within 60

18 days after receiving an itinerary submitted

19 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

20 (i) review the schedule for compliance

21 with the priorities established by this sec22 tion;

23 (ii) advise affected cruise ship opera24 tors of any specific itinerary that is not
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1 available and the reason it is not available;

2 and

3 (iii) publish a proposed list of ap4 proved itineraries.

5 (B) OPERATORS RESPONSE.—If the Sec6 retary advises an operator under subparagraph

7 (A)(ii) that a requested itinerary is not avail8 able, the operator may respond to the Sec9 retary’s advice within 30 days after it is re10 ceived by the operator by appealing the Sec11 retary’s decision or by submitting a new

12 itinerary proposal.

13 (C) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS.—As soon

14 as practicable after the end of the 30-day pe15 riod described in subparagraph (B), the Sec16 retary shall—

17 (i) resolve any appeals and consider

18 new itinerary proposals;

19 (ii) advise cruise ship operators who

20 responded under subparagraph (B) of the

21 Secretary’s decision with respect to the ap22 peal or the new itinerary proposal; and

23 (iii) publish a final list of approved

24 itineraries.
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1 (f) ITINERARIES BEFORE FINAL LIST IS FIRST PUB2 LISHED.—

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

4 calendar year for which the Secretary publishes a

5 final list of approved itineraries under subsection

6 (e), the operator of a cruise vessel may submit a re7 quest for an itinerary to be sailed before that cal8 endar year.

9 (2) CONFLICTING HIGHER PRIORITY USE.—If

10 the itinerary submitted by an operator under para11 graph (1) conflicts with an itinerary in use by a ves12 sel with a higher priority under this section, the Sec13 retary shall disapprove the request and notify the

14 operator of the disapproval and the reason for the

15 disapproval within 5 days (Saturdays, Sundays, and

16 legal public holidays (as defined in section 6103 of

17 title 5, United States Code, excepted) after the re18 quest is received.

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

20 submitted by an operator under paragraph (1) does

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

22 a higher priority under this section, the Secretary

23 shall publish the request and the requested itinerary

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

25 published, the operator of a cruise vessel with a
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1 higher priority under this section requests the use of

2 the published itinerary, then the Secretary shall

3 deny the published request and approve the request

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

5 cruise vessel with a higher priority under this section

6 requests the use of the published itinerary within 30

7 days after it is published, the Secretary shall ap8 prove the requested itinerary and publish notice of

9 the approval.

10 (4) PUBLICATION OF INTERIM ITINERARIES.—

11 Until the first publication of a final list of approved

12 itineraries under subsection (e), the Secretary shall

13 publish, on a quarterly basis, a list of itineraries ap14 proved under this subsection.

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

16 report on the number of operating days used by each

17 cruise vessel assigned a priority under this section.

18 SEC. 106. CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS.

19 An eligible cruise vessel for which the Secretary has

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

21 compliance with the requirements of section 3309 of title

22 46, United States Code, if it meets the standards and con23 ditions for the issuance of a control verification certificate

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

25 country embarking passengers in the United States.
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1 TITLE II—POST-PERMIT OPER2 ATIONS OF ELIGIBLE CRUISE

3 VESSELS

4 SEC. 201. CONTINUED OPERATION IN DOMESTIC

5 ITINERARY REQUIREMENTS.

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

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

8 an eligible cruise vessel not documented under the laws

9 of the United States may not operate in domestic

10 itineraries unless it meets the following conditions:

11 (1) DOCUMENTATION.—The vessel has been

12 issued a certificate of documentation with a coast13 wise endorsement.

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

15 member of the vessel’s operating crew licensed or

16 certified by the United States Coast Guard is a cit17 izen or resident alien of the United States as re18 quired by section 8103 of title 46, United States

19 Code, and each individual employed aboard the ves20 sel who is not a member of the operating crew is a

21 citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

22 (b) CONSTRUCTION PLAN.—The operator of an eligi23 ble cruise vessel issued a permit under section 101(a) of

24 this Act shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Sec-
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1 retary that, as of the date on which the vessel is docu2 mented under the laws of the United States—

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

4 vessel in the United States; or

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

6 progress toward entering into, an enforceable con7 tract for the construction of such a vessel in the

8 United States.

9 (c) EXPIRATION OF COASTWISE ENDORSEMENT.—

10 The coastwise endorsement for an eligible cruise vessel op11 erating under subsection (a) shall expire 24 months after

12 the date on which construction is completed on the last

13 vessel the operator of the eligible cruise vessel is obligated

14 to construct in the United States under the contract de15 scribed in subsection (b).

16 (d) REFLAGGING UNDER FOREIGN REGISTRY.—Not17 withstanding section 9(c) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46

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

19 issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise en20 dorsement, or a cruise vessel constructed under a contract

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

22 foreign registry. The Secretary shall revoke the coastwise

23 endorsement for any such vessel placed under foreign reg24 istry under this subsection permanently. Any vessel the

25 coastwise endorsement for which is revoked under this
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1 subsection is not eligible thereafter for coastwise endorse2 ment.

3 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS

4 SEC. 301. AMENDMENT OF TITLE XI OF THE MERCHANT MA5 RINE ACT, 1936.

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

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

8 by adding at the end thereof the following:

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

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

11 applicant for a guarantee, or a commitment to guar12 antee, under subsection (a) an obligation in connec13 tion with a contract described in section 201(a)(4)

14 of the United States Cruise Ship Tourism Develop15 ment Act of 1999 to possess the necessary operating

16 ability, experience, and expertise required if the ap17 plicant demonstrates to satisfaction of the Secretary

18 that its personnel have the experience and ability to

19 operate cruise vessels.’’.

20 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 1104A(b) of the Mer21 chant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1274(b)) is

22 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

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

24 shall consider an obligor with a contract described in

25 section 201(b)(2) of the United States Cruise Ship
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1 Tourism Development Act of 1999 to possess the

2 ability necessary to the adequate operation and

3 maintenance of the cruise vessel that serves as secu4 rity for the guarantee of the Secretary if the obligor

5 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary

6 that its personnel have the experience and ability to

7 operate cruise vessels.’’.

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

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects or oth10 erwise modifies the authority contained in—

11 (1) Public Law 87-77 (46 U.S.C. App. 289b)

12 authorizing the transportation of passengers and

13 merchandise in Canadian vessels between ports in

14 Alaska and the United States; or

15 (2) Public Law 98-563 (46 U.S.C. App. 289c)

16 permitting the transportation of passengers between

17 Puerto Rico and other United States ports.

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

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

20 861 et seq.).

21 SEC. 303. GLACIER BAY AND OTHER NATIONAL PARK SERV22 ICE AREA PERMITS.

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

24 Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-2(g)), the Secretary of

25 the Interior, after consultation with the Secretary of
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1 Transportation, may issue new or otherwise available per2 mits to United States-flag vessels carrying passengers for

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

4 jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Any such permit

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

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

7 Glacier Bay or such other area.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF SECTIONS.

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

10 ‘‘United States Cruise Vessel Act’’.

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

12 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of sections.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

Title I—Operations under Certificate of Documentation

Sec. 101. Domestic cruise vessel.

Sec. 102. Repairs requirement.

Sec. 103. Construction requirement.

Sec. 104. Certain operations prohibited.

Sec. 105. Priorities within domestic markets.

Sec. 106. Report.

Sec. 107. Enforcement

Title II—Other Provisions

Sec. 201. Application with Jones Act and other Acts.

Sec. 202. Glacier Bay and other National Park Service area permits.

13 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this Act:

15 (1) ELIGIBLE CRUISE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eligi16 ble cruise vessel’’ means a cruise vessel that—

17 (A) was delivered after January 1, 1980;

18 (B) is at least 20,000 gross registered tons;

19 (C) has no fewer than 800 passenger berths;
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1 (D) is owned by a person that is a citizen

2 of the United States for the purpose of operating

3 a vessel in the coastwise trade within the mean4 ing of section 2 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46

5 U.S.C. 802) or section 12106(e) of title 46,

6 United States Code;

7 (E) provides a full range of overnight ac8 commodations, entertainment, dining, and other

9 services for its passengers;

10 (F) has a fixed smoke detection and sprin11 kler system installed throughout the accommoda12 tion and service spaces, or will have such a sys13 tem installed within the time period required by

14 the 1992 Amendments to the Safety of Life at

15 Sea Convention of 1974; and

16 (G) meets the eligibility requirements for a

17 certificate of inspection under section 1137(a) of

18 the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 (46

19 U.S.C. App. 1187 nt.), and complies with the

20 applicable international agreements and associ21 ated guidelines referred to in section 1137(a)(2)

22 of that Act (46 U.S.C. 1187 nt.).

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

24 the route travelled by a cruise vessel on a single voy25 age that begins at the first port at which passengers
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1 on that voyage embark, includes each port at which

2 the vessel calls before the last port at which passengers

3 on that voyage disembark, and ends at that last port

4 of disembarkation. For purposes of this paragraph,

5 the term ‘‘embark’’ and ‘‘disembark’’ have the mean6 ing given those terms in section 4.80a(a)(4) of title

7 19, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in

8 effect on the date of enactment of this Act).

9 (3) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ means the

10 owner, operator, or charterer.

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of Transportation.

13 (5) UNITED STATES SHIPYARD.—The term

14 ‘‘United States shipyard’’ means a shipyard located

15 in the United States.

16 (6) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United States’’

17 has the meaning given that term in section 2101(44)

18 of title 46, United States Code.

19 TITLE I—OPERATIONS UNDER

20 CERTIFICATE OF DOCU21 MENTATION

22 SEC. 101. DOMESTIC CRUISE VESSEL.

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

24 section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App. 289),

25 section 27 of the Act of June 5, 1920, commonly known
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1 as the Jones Act, (46 U.S.C. App. 883), section 27A of that

2 Act, (46 U.S.C. App. 883–1), and section 12106 of title 46,

3 United States Code, the Secretary shall issue a certificate

4 of documentation with a temporary coastwise endorsement

5 for an eligible cruise vessel not built in the United States

6 to operate in domestic itineraries in the transportation of

7 passengers in the coastwise trade between ports in the

8 United States if the vessel meets the requirements of this

9 title.

10 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of

11 the Secretary to issue a certificate of documentation under

12 subsection (a) begins on the day after the date of enactment

13 of this Act and terminates on the day that is 24 months

14 after that date.

15 (c) APPLICATION ONLY REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding

16 subsection (b), the Secretary may issue a certificate of docu17 mentation under subsection (a) more than 24 months after

18 the date of enactment of this Act if—

19 (1) the Secretary received the application for the

20 certificate of documentation before the end of that 24-

21 month period; and

22 (2) the vessel otherwise meets the requirements of

23 this title.

24 (d) RIGHTS UNDER APPLICATION NOT

25 TRANSFERRABLE.—The right to receive a certification of
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1 documentation pursuant to an application described in

2 subsection (c) may not be transferred by the applicant to

3 any other person. For purposes of this subsection, the trans4 fer of that right to a successor in interest to the applicant

5 in connection with the reorganization, restructuring, acqui6 sition, or sale of the applicant’s business shall not be consid7 ered another person.

8 SEC. 102. REPAIRS REQUIREMENT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not issue a cer10 tificate of documentation under section 101(a) for an eligi11 ble cruise vessel unless the operator establishes to the satis12 faction of the Secretary that—

13 (1) any repair, maintenance, alteration, or other

14 preparation of the vessel for operation under a certifi15 cate of documentation issued under section 101(a)

16 have been, or will be, performed in a United States

17 shipyard; and

18 (2) any repair, maintenance, or alteration of the

19 vessel after a certificate of documentation is issued

20 under that section will be performed in a United

21 States shipyard.

22 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the require23 ments of subsection (a) if the Secretary finds that the re24 pair, maintenance, alterations, or other preparation serv-
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1 ices are not available in the United States or if an emer2 gency dictates that the vessel proceed to a foreign port.

3 SEC. 103. CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENT.

4 (a) CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT REQUIRED.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), a vessel for which a certificate of docu7 mentation has been issued under section 101(a) may

8 not commence operations in the coastwise trade until

9 the operator of that vessel executes a contract with one

10 or more United States shipyards for the construction

11 of a total of 2 or more cruise vessels with a total com12 bined berth or stateroom capacity equal to at least the

13 total combined berth or stateroom capacity of that

14 vessel. If certificates of documentation are issued

15 under section 101(a) for more than 1 vessel for an op16 erator, the construction contract required by the pre17 ceding sentence shall provide for the construction of 1

18 more vessel than the number of vessels for which cer19 tificates of documentation are issued with a total

20 combined berth or stateroom capacity equal to at least

21 the total combined berth or stateroom capacity of the

22 vessels for which the certificates of documentation are

23 issued.

24 (2) DEMONSTRATION OF CAPABILITY RE25 QUIRED.—For purposes of this subsection, a construc-
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1 tion contract for which financing is not provided

2 under title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46

3 U.S.C. App. 1101 et seq.) shall not be recognized as

4 meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) unless both

5 the operator and the shipyard are capable of com6 pleting the contract. For purposes of this

7 paragraph—

8 (A) an operator shall be considered to be ca9 pable of completing such a contract if the oper10 ator meets the standards set forth in sections

11 298.12, 298.13, and 298.14 of title 46, Code of

12 Federal Regulations; and

13 (B) a shipyard shall be considered to be ca14 pable of completing such a contract if the ship15 yard meets the standards set forth in section

16 298.32(a) of that title.

17 (b) MINIMUM SIZE REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of

18 this section, a contract for the construction of a vessel shall

19 be disregarded if that vessel—

20 (1) will be less than 20,000 gross registered tons;

21 or

22 (2) will have fewer than 800 passenger berths.

23 (c) CONTRACT TERMS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The contract required by sub25 section (a) shall provide for delivery of the first such
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1 vessel not later than 60 months after the date on

2 which operations of the vessel for which the certificate

3 of documentation was issued commence, and shall

4 contain any other provisions required by the Sec5 retary for purposes of this subsection. If the contract

6 provides for the construction of more than 1 vessel, it

7 shall provide for delivery of each vessel subsequent to

8 the first not later than 24 months after delivery of the

9 immediately preceding vessel.

10 (2) EXTENSION OF TIME PERIODS FOR IMPOS11 SIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE.—If the commencement of

12 construction or the completion of construction is pre13 vented or delayed by circumstances that would be rec14 ognized as providing a defense of impossibility-of-per15 formance by the shipyard under applicable contract

16 law, each time period in this Act related to delivery

17 of a vessel by that shipyard shall be extended for

18 whatever period of time the circumstance on which

19 the defense is predicated continues to exist.

20 (d) EXPIRATION OF COASTWISE ENDORSEMENT.—The

21 coastwise endorsement for an eligible cruise vessel under sec22 tion 101(a) shall expire 24 months after the delivery date

23 for the replacement vessel or vessels for that eligible cruise

24 vessel. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘replace25 ment vessel or vessels’’ means 1 or more vessels the operator
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1 of the eligible cruise vessel is obligated to construct in the

2 United States under the contract described in subsection (a)

3 with respect to the eligible cruise vessel that have at least

4 the same number of passenger berths as the eligible cruise

5 vessel, or they, replace.

6 (e) REFLAGGING UNDER FOREIGN REGISTRY.—Not7 withstanding section 9(c) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46

8 U.S.C. App. 808), the operator of an eligible cruise vessel

9 issued a certificate of documentation with a temporary

10 coastwise endorsement under section 101(a), or a cruise ves11 sel constructed under a contract described in subsection (a)

12 of this section, may place that vessel under foreign registry.

13 SEC. 104. CERTAIN OPERATIONS PROHIBITED.

14 Neither an eligible cruise vessel operating in domestic

15 itineraries under a certificate of documentation issued

16 under section 101(a) nor a vessel constructed under a con17 tract described in section 103(a) may—

18 (1) operate as a ferry;

19 (2) regularly carry for hire both passengers and

20 vehicles or other cargo; or

21 (3) operate between or among the islands of Ha22 waii.

23 SEC. 105. PRIORITIES WITHIN DOMESTIC MARKETS.

24 (a) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY.—
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1 (1) NEW VESSELS.—Any person eligible under

2 section 12102 of title 46, United States Code, to docu3 ment a vessel under chapter 121 of that title that en4 ters into a contract with a United States shipyard for

5 the construction of a cruise vessel that—

6 (A) will be at least 20,000 gross registered

7 tons,

8 (B) will have no fewer than 800 passenger

9 berths, and

10 (C) is otherwise eligible for a certificate of

11 documentation and a coastwise trade endorse12 ment,

13 shall notify the Secretary, at such time and in such

14 manner and form as the Secretary may require, of the

15 construction of that vessel not less than 2 full cal16 endar years before the earliest date on which the vessel

17 is intended to commence operations.

18 (2) RECONSTRUCTION.—The notification require19 ment of paragraph (1) also applies to any such per20 son that enters into a contract with a United States

21 shipyard for the reconstruction of any vessel, includ22 ing a vessel that has a certificate of documentation

23 under chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code,

24 will, after reconstruction, will be that size and capac25 ity and be eligible for such an endorsement.
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1 (b) PRIORITY TO U.S.-BUILT VESSELS.—The Sec2 retary shall give priority to any cruise vessel described in

3 subsection (a) over any other cruise vessel of comparable

4 operations in a comparable market under a certificate of

5 documentation issued under section 101(a) if the Secretary,

6 after notice and an opportunity for public comment, deter7 mines that the employment in the coastwise trade of the

8 vessel issued a certificate of documentation under section

9 101(a) will adversely affect the coastwise trade business of

10 any person operating a vessel not documented under section

11 101(a) in the coastwise trade.

12 (c) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining and as13 signing priorities, the Secretary shall consider, among other

14 factors determined by the Secretary to be appropriate—

15 (A) the scope of a vessel’s itinerary,

16 including—

17 (i) the ports between which it operates;

18 and

19 (ii) the duration of the cruise;

20 (B) the time frame within which the vessel

21 will serve a particular itinerary;

22 (C) the size of the vessel; and

23 (D) the retail per diem of the vessel.

24 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—
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1 (1) INTINERARY SUBMISSION REQUIRED.—The

2 Secretary shall require the operator of each vessel

3 issued a certificate of documentation under section

4 101(a) to submit, in April of each year, a proposed

5 itinerary for that vessel for cruise itineraries for the

6 calendar year beginning 20 months after the date on

7 which the itinerary is required to be submitted.

8 (2) PUBLICATION AND COMMENT.—

9 (A) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall

10 cause any itinerary submitted under paragraph

11 (1), and any late submission or revision sub12 mitted under paragraph (3), to be published in

13 the Federal Register.

14 (B) COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary

15 shall receive and consider comments from the

16 public on any itinerary published under sub17 paragraph (A) for a period of 30 days after the

18 date on which the itinerary is published.

19 (3) REVISIONS AND LATER SUBMISSIONS.—The

20 Secretary shall permit late submissions and revisions

21 of submissions after the final list of approved

22 itineraries is published under paragraph (4)(C)(iii)

23 and before the start date of a requested itinerary.

24 (4) SCHEDULING.—
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1 (A) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Within 30

2 days after the close of the comment period on an

3 itinerary published under paragraph (2)(A), the

4 Secretary shall—

5 (i) review the itineraries submitted to

6 the Secretary for compliance with the prior7 ities established by this section;

8 (ii) advise affected cruise vessel opera9 tors of any specific itinerary that is not

10 available and the reason it is not available;

11 and

12 (iii) publish a proposed list of ap13 proved itineraries.

14 (B) OPERATORS’ APPEALS.—The operator of

15 any eligible cruise vessel may appeal the Sec16 retary’s decision under subparagraph (A)(ii)

17 within 30 days after the Secretary advises the

18 operator of the decision.

19 (C) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS.—As soon

20 as practicable after the end of the 30-day period

21 described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary

22 shall—

23 (i) resolve any appeals and consider

24 new itinerary proposals;
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1 (ii) advise cruise vessel operators who

2 responded under subparagraph (B) of the

3 Secretary’s decision with respect to the ap4 peal or the new itinerary proposal; and

5 (iii) publish a final list of approved

6 itineraries.

7 SEC. 106. REPORT.

8 The Secretary shall issue an annual report on the

9 number of vessels operating under certificate of

10 documentations granted under section 101(a), and on the

11 progress of construction on vessels to replace those vessels

12 under section 103.

13 SEC. 107. ENFORCEMENT.

14 (a) BREACH OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT BY OPER15 ATOR.—The Secretary shall revoke a temporary coastwise

16 endorsement issued under section 101(a)(2) for a vessel if

17 the operator of that vessel commits a serious breach of the

18 construction contract required by section 103(a). The rev19 ocation shall take effect at the conclusion of the last voyage

20 on the last cruise itinerary approved by the Secretary before

21 the Secretary made the determination to revoke the endorse22 ment.

23 (b) BREACH OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT BY SHIP24 YARD.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a shipyard commits a seri2 ous breach of a construction contract required by sec3 tion 103(a) with an operator of a vessel for which a

4 certificate of documentation granted under section

5 101(a)—

6 (A) the operator shall notify the Secretary

7 immediately of the breach; and

8 (B) the operator may continue to operate

9 that vessel as if the contract were in effect for a

10 period of 24 months after notification of the Sec11 retary on the condition that the operator will

12 make good faith efforts during that 24-month pe13 riod to execute a contract with a United States

14 shipyard for the construction of the vessels that

15 were to have been constructed under that con16 tract.

17 (2) GOOD FAITH EFFORT REQUIRED.—If the Sec18 retary determines at any time during that 24-month

19 period that the operator has ceased to make good faith

20 efforts to execute such a contract, then the Secretary

21 shall immediately terminate the operator’s authority

22 to continue operations under this paragraph.

23 (c) SUBSTANTIAL BREACHES ONLY.—For purposes of

24 subsections (a) and (b), the term ‘‘serious breach of con25 tract’’ means a breach of contract for which an appropriate
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1 remedy under section 2–703 or 2–711 of the Uniform Com2 mercial Code, as promulgated by the National Conference

3 of Commissioners on Uniform State Law, is cancellation

4 by the seller or buyer, respectively.

5 TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS

6 SEC. 201. APPLICATION WITH JONES ACT AND OTHER ACTS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects or other8 wise modifies the authority contained in—

9 (1) Public Law 87–77 (46 U.S.C. App. 289b)

10 authorizing the transportation of passengers and mer11 chandise in Canadian vessels between ports in Alaska

12 and the United States; or

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

14 permitting the transportation of passengers between

15 Puerto Rico and other United States ports.

16 (3) Section 27A of the Act of the Merchant Ma17 rine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883–1).

18 (4) Section 8109 of the Department of Defense

19 Appropriations Act, 1998.

20 (b) JONES ACT.—Except as in section 101(a), nothing

21 in this Act affects or modifies the Merchant Marine Act,

22 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 861 et seq.).
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1 SEC. 202. GLACIER BAY AND OTHER NATIONAL PARK SERV2 ICE AREA PERMITS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, after

4 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall

5 issue new or otherwise available permits to United States6 flag vessels carrying passengers for hire to enter Glacier

7 Bay or any other area within the jurisdiction of the Na8 tional Park Service. Any such permit shall not affect the

9 rights of any person that, on the date of enactment of this

10 Act, holds a valid permit to enter Glacier Bay or such other

11 area.

12 (b) NEW PERMITS NOT AUTHORIZED.—Subsection (a)

13 does not authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue new

14 permits, but, if new permits are authorized under any other

15 provision of law, they shall be awarded in accordance with

16 subsection (a).
Calendar No. 786

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1510

[Report No. 106–396]

A BILL

To revise the laws of the United States appertaining to United States cruise vessels, and for

other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2000

Reported with an amendment