II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4040 

To amend subtitle IV of title 46, United States Code, with respect to ship 

agents, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2022 

Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend subtitle IV of title 46, United States Code, with 

respect to ship agents, 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 ‘‘Ship Agent Licensure 

5 Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 40102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (22) through 

2 (26) as paragraphs (23) through (27), respectively; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(22) SHIP AGENT.—The term ‘ship agent’ 

7 means a person— 

8 ‘‘(A) engaged in the business of rep9 resenting a ship’s owner, operator, or charterer 

10 (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘principal’) 

11 in performing carriage while in a port of the 

12 United States; and 

13 ‘‘(B) who is responsible to the principal 

14 for— 

15 ‘‘(i) port entry, berthing, and depar16 ture; 

17 ‘‘(ii) port husbandry services; 

18 ‘‘(iii) crew changes and repatriations; 

19 ‘‘(iv) receiving or releasing cargo on 

20 behalf of the principal; or 

21 ‘‘(v) interfacing with various Federal 

22 agencies with respect to port safety, supply 

23 chain efficiency, maritime security, and the 

24 environment; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) who is not owned or controlled by a 

2 common carrier or cruise line.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SHIP AGENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by inserting after chapter 409 the following: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 410—SHIP AGENTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘41001. Definition of Commission. 

‘‘41002. License requirement. 

‘‘41003. Financial responsibility. 

‘‘41004. Suspension or revocation of license. 

7 ‘‘§ 41001. Definition of Commission 

8 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘Commission’ means the 

9 Federal Maritime Commission. 

10 ‘‘§ 41002. License requirement 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a per12 son in the United States shall not advertise, hold oneself 

13 out, or act as a ship agent or provide ship agent services 

14 in the United States unless the person is domiciled in the 

15 United States and holds a license issued by the Commis16 sion. The Commission shall issue a license to a person that 

17 the Commission determines to be qualified by experience 

18 and character to act as a ship agent. 

19 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—A person whose primary business 

20 is the provision of ocean transportation by water may pro21 vide ship agent services for its own account without a ship 

22 agent license under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Commission shall estab2 lish such other ship agent qualifications as are necessary. 

3 In establishing qualifications, the Commission shall con4 sider recognized national and international standards for 

5 ship agency. 

6 ‘‘§ 41003. Financial responsibility 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person may not advertise, hold 

8 oneself out, or act as a ship agent unless the person fur9 nishes a bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in a 

10 form and amount determined by the Commission to insure 

11 financial responsibility. 

12 ‘‘(b) SCOPE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—A 

13 bond, insurance, or other surety obtained under this sec14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(1) shall be available to pay any penalty as16 sessed under section 41109 of this title or any order 

17 for reparation issued under section 41305 of this 

18 title; 

19 ‘‘(2) may be available to pay any claim against 

20 a ship agent arising from its ship agency services— 

21 ‘‘(A) with the consent of the insured ship 

22 agent and subject to review by the surety com23 pany; or 

24 ‘‘(B) when the claim is determined valid by 

25 the surety company after the ship agent has 


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1 failed to respond to adequate notice to address 

2 the validity of the claim; and 

3 ‘‘(3) shall be available to pay any judgment for 

4 damages against a ship agent arising from its ship 

5 agency services, if the claimant has first attempted 

6 to resolve the claim under paragraph (2) and the 

7 claim has not been resolved within a reasonable pe8 riod of time. 

9 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS ON COURT JUDGMENTS.—The 

10 Commission shall prescribe regulations for the purpose of 

11 protecting the interests of claimants, ship agents, and sur12 ety companies with respect to the process of pursuing 

13 claims against ship agent bonds, insurance, or sureties 

14 through court judgments. The regulations shall provide 

15 that a judgment for monetary damages may not be en16 forced except to the extent that the damages claimed arise 

17 from the ship agency services of the insured ship agent, 

18 as defined by the Commission. 

19 ‘‘§ 41004. Suspension or revocation of license 

20 ‘‘(a) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN QUALIFICATIONS OR TO

21 COMPLY.—The Commission, after notice and opportunity 

22 for a hearing, shall suspend or revoke a ship agent license 

23 if the Commission finds that the ship agent— 

24 ‘‘(1) is not qualified to provide ship agency 

25 services; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) willfully failed to comply with a provision 

2 of this part or with an order or regulation of the 

3 Commission. 

4 ‘‘(b) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BOND, PROOF OF IN5 SURANCE, OR OTHER SURETY.—The Commission may re6 voke a ship agent license for failure to maintain a bond, 

7 proof of insurance, or other surety as required by section 

8 41002(a) of this title.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS FOR TABLES OF

10 CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters at the beginning of 

11 title 46, United States Code, and at the beginning of sub12 title IV of such title are each amended by inserting after 

13 the item relating to chapter 409 the following: 

‘‘410. Ship Agents ....................................................................................41001.’’. 

Æ 


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