II 

Calendar No. 591 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3852 

[Report No. 109–327] 

To enhance certain maritime programs of the Department of Transportation, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Mr. STEVENS, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and 

placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To enhance certain maritime programs of the Department 

of Transportation, 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 CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Maritime Administration Improvement Act of 2006.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. vessel transfer authority. 

Sec. 3. war risk insurance for merchant marine vessels. 

Sec. 4. Requirements for admission to the Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 5. Reserve training compliance and Armed Forces performance reporting 

requirement for graduates. 

Sec. 6. Service in the Armed Forces and alternate service requirements. 

Sec. 7. Qualifying reserve duty for receipt of student incentive payments.

Sec. 8. Global Maritime and Transportation School. 

Sec. 9. Availability of funds from application fees for deepwater port licenses. 

Sec. 10. Availability of funds from administrative waivers of coastwise trade restrictions. 

Sec. 11. Amendments to vessel operations revolving fund. 

Sec. 12. Right to use Maritime Administration decoration. 

Sec. 13. Maritime Security Program tank vessels. 

Sec. 14. Intermodal centers. 

Sec. 15. Large passenger ship crew requirements. 

1 SEC. 2. VESSEL TRANSFER AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2578 of title 10, United 

3 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘§ 2578. Transfer of vessels between departments 

5 ‘‘A vessel under the jurisdiction of a military depart6 ment may be transferred or otherwise made available with7 out reimbursement to another military department, the 

8 Department of Transportation, or the Department of 

9 Homeland Security. Notwithstanding the provisions of the 

10 section 11 of the Foreign Ship Sales Act of 1946, (50 App. 

11 U.S.C. 1744), a vessel under the jurisdiction of the De12 partment of Transportation may be transferred or other13 wise made available with or without reimbursement to any 

14 military department or the Department of Homeland Se15 curity. A vessel under the jurisdiction of the Department 

16 of Homeland Security may be transferred or otherwise 

17 made available without reimbursement to any military de18 partment or the Department of Transportation. Any such 


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1 transfer shall be made only upon the request of the Sec2 retary of the military department to receive the vessel, the 

3 Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary of Home4 land Security, and with the approval of the Secretary of 

5 the department having jurisdiction of the vessel.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal7 ysis for chapter 153 of title 10, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking the item relating to section 2578 and 

9 inserting the following: 

‘‘2578. Transfer of vessels between departments.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. WAR RISK INSURANCE FOR MERCHANT MARINE 

11 VESSELS. 

12 Section 1208(a) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 

13 (46 U.S.C. App. 1288(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Upon 

14 the request of the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec15 retary of the Treasury may invest or reinvest all or any 

16 part of the fund in securities of the United States or in 

17 securities guaranteed as to principal and interest by the 

18 United States.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of Trans19 portation may request the Secretary of the Treasury to 

20 invest such portion of the fund as is not, in the judgment 

21 of the Secretary of Transportation, required to meet the 

22 current needs of the fund. Such investments shall be made 

23 by the Secretary of the Treasury in public debt securities 

24 of the United States, with maturities suitable to the needs 

25 of the fund, and bearing interest rates determined by the 


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1 Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration cur2 rent market yields on outstanding marketable obligations 

3 of the United States of comparable maturity.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MER5 CHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

6 Section 1303(b)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act, 

7 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1295b(b)(2)) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding the Rehabilitation Act 

10 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) or any other provision of the 

11 Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1101 

12 et seq.), an individual appointed as a cadet may not 

13 be admitted to the Academy as a student, unless at 

14 the time of the taking of the official oath upon entry 

15 into the Merchant Marine Academy, that individual 

16 satisfies the physical and mental requirements of the 

17 Department of Defense to be appointed or enlisted 

18 as a Midshipman, United States Naval Reserve. Fol19 lowing admission to the Academy, notwithstanding 

20 the Rehabilitation Act or any other provision of the 

21 Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1101 

22 et seq.), such individual may continue as a student 

23 only if that individual continues to satisfy the phys24 ical and mental standards set forth in this subpara25 graph unless the Secretary of Transportation waives 


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1 the standards for such individual upon good cause 

2 shown. The decision of the Secretary as to whether 

3 to grant such waiver shall be final.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. RESERVE TRAINING COMPLIANCE AND ARMED 

5 FORCES PERFORMANCE REPORTING RE6 QUIREMENT FOR GRADUATES. 

7 Section 1303(e) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 

8 (46 U.S.C. App. 1295b(e)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking subparagraph (D) of paragraph 

10 (1) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) in the case of an individual who exe12 cutes a commitment agreement under this sub13 section after January 1, 2007, to serve and per14 form all required duties and comply with all the 

15 requirements of a commissioned officer in the 

16 Selective Reserve of the United States Navy 

17 (including the Merchant Marine Reserve), the 

18 U.S. Public Health Service, or the National 

19 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a 

20 period of at least 5 years following the date of 

21 appointment, followed by from 1 to 3 years in 

22 the Selective Reserve or Inactive Ready Re23 serve, as provided by regulations prescribed by 

24 the Secretary of Defense, (for a total of service 

25 no greater than 8 years) or, with the approval 


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1 of the Secretary of Defense, to accept an ap2 pointment in any other Reserve component of 

3 an armed force of the United States or perform 

4 such substitute service as determined by the 

5 Secretary of Defense to be the equivalent there6 of;’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(6)(A) In order to meet the requirements of 

9 paragraph (1)(D), a graduate of the Academy shall 

10 perform all directed training and obey all orders and 

11 directions required by the relevant Reserve Compo12 nent and remain qualified in Ready Reserve classi13 fication for a period of not less than 6 years, as re14 quired by the regulations of the applicable armed 

15 service unless such compliance is waived by the Sec16 retary of Defense or the Secretary of the Depart17 ment in which the United States Coast Guard is op18 erating. 

19 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding section 552a of title 5, 

20 United States Code, the Secretary of Defense or the 

21 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

22 Guard is operating, and the Administrator of the 

23 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall report the status of obli25 gated service of an individual graduate 


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1 upon request of the Maritime Administra2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) may, in their discretion, notify 

4 the Maritime Administration of the default 

5 in performance of a graduate in the per6 formance of the graduate’s duties, either 

7 on active duty or in the Ready Reserve 

8 Component of their respective service, or 

9 as a commissioned officer of the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

11 ‘‘(C) A report or notice under subpara12 graph (B) shall identify the graduate deter13 mined to have failed to comply with service obli14 gation requirements and provide all required in15 formation as to why such graduate has failed to 

16 comply. Upon receipt of such a report or notice, 

17 such graduate may be considered to be in de18 fault of the graduate’s service obligations by the 

19 Maritime Administration, and be subject to all 

20 remedies the Maritime Administration may 

21 have with respect to such a default.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. SERVICE IN THE ARMED FORCES AND ALTERNATE 

23 SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 

24 Section 1303(e) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 

25 (46 U.S.C. App. 1295b(e)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Administration, or’’ in para2 graph (1)(E)(iii) and inserting ‘‘Administration or 

3 the U.S. Public Health Service, or in’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(7) An individual who graduates from the U. 

6 S. Merchant Marine Academy after June 30, 2007, 

7 and meets the service commitment described in 

8 paragraph (1)(E)(iii) of this subsection shall be ex9 cused from meeting the requirements of subpara10 graphs (1)(C) and (1)(D). 

11 ‘‘(8) The Secretary may modify or waive any of 

12 the terms and conditions set forth in paragraph (1) 

13 through the imposition of alternative service require14 ments.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. QUALIFYING RESERVE DUTY FOR RECEIPT OF STU16 DENT INCENTIVE PAYMENTS. 

17 Section 1304(g)(2) of title XIII of the Merchant Ma18 rine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1295c(g)(2)) is amended 

19 to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) Each agreement entered into under para21 graph (1) shall require the individual to accept en22 listed reserve status in the United States Naval Re23 serve (including the Merchant Marine Reserve, 

24 United States Naval Reserve) or the United States 


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1 Coast Guard Reserve before receiving any student 

2 incentive payments under this subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. GLOBAL MARITIME AND TRANSPORTATION 

4 SCHOOL. 

5 Title XIII of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 

6 U.S.C. App. 1295 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1309. OPERATION OF THE GLOBAL MARITIME AND 

9 TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL. 

10 ‘‘(a) OPERATION AS NONAPPROPRIATED FUND IN11 STRUMENTALITY.—After the date of enactment of the 

12 Maritime Administration Improvement Act of 2006, the 

13 Global Maritime and Transportation School shall continue 

14 to operate as a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of 

15 the United States under the jurisdiction of the Depart16 ment of Transportation, Maritime Administration. 

17 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the general super19 vision of the Department of Transportation, Mari20 time Administration, the school shall develop, admin21 ister, and provide educational, training, and profes22 sional development activities, including educational 

23 activities, for Federal agencies, Federal employees, 

24 nonprofit organizations, other entities, and members 

25 of the general public, as well as carry out such other 


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1 projects and activities that may be authorized by the 

2 Superintendent. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRAINING SERVICES.—The training serv4 ices and educational activities provided by the school 

5 shall be available to the Armed Forces of the United 

6 States and Commissioned Officers of the National 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal 

8 and State agencies, Federal and State employees, 

9 nonprofit organizations, private companies or orga10 nizations, and private individuals of the United 

11 States or foreign countries friendly to the United 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(c) FEES AND DONATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF FEES.—The school may 

15 charge and retain fair and reasonable fees for the 

16 activities provided. 

17 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE AND MAKING OF DONA18 TIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) The school may not accept any gifts 

20 of services or other items from the United 

21 States of America. The school may accept, use, 

22 hold, dispose, and administer gifts, bequests, 

23 and devises of money, securities, and other real 

24 or personal property made for the benefit of, or 


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1 in connection with the school from parties other 

2 than the United States of America. 

3 ‘‘(B) The school shall not accept a dona4 tion from a person that is actively engaged in 

5 a procurement activity with the school or has 

6 an interest that may be substantially affected 

7 by the performance or nonperformance of an of8 ficial duty of a member of the Board or an em9 ployee of the school. 

10 ‘‘(C) The school is authorized to make 

11 gifts to the Department of Transportation and 

12 the Secretary is authorized to accept gifts from 

13 the school for any purpose. 

14 ‘‘(3) NOT FEDERAL FUNDS.—Fees collected 

15 under paragraph (1) and amounts received under 

16 paragraph (2) shall not be considered to be Federal 

17 funds and shall not be required to be deposited in 

18 the Treasury of the United States. The school shall 

19 not be funded by appropriated funds. 

20 ‘‘(d) USE OF USMMA FACULTY AND STAFF.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT.—The school may provide pay22 ment to United States Merchant Marine Academy 

23 faculty and staff for teaching and other services for 

24 the school, but only to the extent that the provision 

25 of such teaching or services does not interfere or 


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1 conflict with the official duties of the faculty and 

2 staff and are approved by the Superintendent. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.—The Academy 

4 may enter into contracts with the school to provide 

5 faculty and staff of the Academy for teaching and 

6 other services and, to the extent of the actual costs 

7 incurred by the Academy under said contracts, cred8 it such funds received under such contracts to the 

9 Academy’s appropriations, notwithstanding those 

10 provisions of law relating to the deposit of miscella11 neous receipts into the Treasury. 

12 ‘‘(e) GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SUPERINTENDENT.—The 

14 Superintendent is responsible for the overall super15 vision and administration of the school and the de16 termination of its policies. In implementing this re17 sponsibility, the Superintendent shall appoint mem18 bers to the Board and shall designate one member 

19 as the Senior Managing Director and may designate 

20 other Managing Directors as necessary. 

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD.—The Super22 intendent may delegate to the Board the Super23 intendent’s responsibility to advise and oversee the 

24 supervision and administration of the school. The 

25 Board may consist of both United States Merchant 


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1 Marine Academy employees and non-Academy em2 ployees, as determined by the Superintendent. The 

3 Board shall be subject to regulation by the Secretary 

4 and shall report to the Superintendent. 

5 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF THE SENIOR MANAGING

6 DIRECTOR.—The Superintendent may delegate to 

7 the Senior Managing Director of the school the au8 thority to manage, administer, and operate the 

9 school. 

10 ‘‘(4) DUTIES OF THE MANAGING DIRECTORS.— 

11 The Senior Managing Director shall be responsible, 

12 subject to the supervision and direction of the Board 

13 and the Superintendent, for carrying out the func14 tions of the school. All other Managing Directors 

15 shall be responsible, subject to the supervision and 

16 direction of the Senior Managing Director, for car17 rying out the functions of the school. 

18 ‘‘(5) BORROWING AND INVESTMENT AUTHOR19 ITY.—The Board, with the approval of the Super20 intendent, may authorize the Senior Managing Di21 rector— 

22 ‘‘(A) to borrow money on the credit of the 

23 school; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to invest funds held in excess of the 

2 current operating requirements of the school for 

3 purposes of maintaining a reasonable reserve. 

4 ‘‘(6) LIABILITY.—The Managing Directors and 

5 the other members of the Board shall not be held 

6 personally liable for any loss or damage that may ac7 crue to the school as the result of any act performed 

8 within the scope of their duties under this section. 

9 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYEES.—Employees of the school are em10 ployees of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the 

11 United States. 

12 ‘‘(g) NOT A FEDERAL AGENCY.—The the school shall 

13 not be considered a Federal agency for purposes of— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act; or 

15 ‘‘(2) sections 552 and 552a of title 5, United 

16 States Code. 

17 ‘‘(h) ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY.— 

18 In order to carry out the activities of the school, the school 

19 may— 

20 ‘‘(1) acquire goods, services, and real property 

21 by lease, purchase, or otherwise; 

22 ‘‘(2) maintain, enlarge, or remodel any such 

23 property; 

24 ‘‘(3) have sole control of any such personal or 

25 real property; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) dispose of real and personal property with2 out regard to the Federal Property and Administra3 tive Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 101 et seq.). 

4 ‘‘(i) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The school may enter 

5 into contracts and leases without regard to the Federal 

6 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 

7 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) or any other law that prescribes proce8 dures for the procurement of property or service by an 

9 executive agency. 

10 ‘‘(j) USE OF DEPARTMENT FACILITIES AND RE11 SOURCES.—The school may use the facilities and re12 sources of the Department of Transportation, with the ap13 proval of the Superintendent, but only if any costs in14 curred by the Department that are attributable solely to 

15 the school operations and all costs incurred by the school 

16 arising out of such operations are paid using funds of the 

17 school or the Department of Transportation receives other 

18 adequate consideration for paying for such costs. Any re19 imbursement may be retained by the United States Mer20 chant Marine Academy and credited to the charged appro21 priations account. 

22 ‘‘(k) AUDITS OF RECORDS.—The financial records of 

23 the school shall be made available to the Department of 

24 Transportation Inspector General, upon request, for pur25 poses of conducting an audit. 


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1 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

3 school Board of Directors. 

4 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means a 

5 member of the school’s Board of Directors. 

6 ‘‘(3) MANAGING DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Man7 aging Director’ means a member of the Board who 

8 is an employee of the school with operational respon9 sibility for the organization, but not a Federal em10 ployee. 

11 ‘‘(4) SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR.—The term 

12 ‘Senior Managing Director’ means the Managing Di13 rector designated the ‘Senior Managing Director’ by 

14 the Superintendent, as set forth in subsection (e) of 

15 this section. 

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

17 the Secretary of Transportation. 

18 ‘‘(6) SUPERINTENDENT.—The term ‘Super19 intendent’ means the Superintendent of the United 

20 States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, 

21 New York, operated by the Maritime Administra22 tion, United States Department of Transportation 

23 or, in the absence of the Superintendent, the Super24 intendent’s authorized designee or such other person 

25 as the Secretary may designate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FROM APPLICATION FEES 

2 FOR DEEPWATER PORT LICENSES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Fees collected pursuant to the 

4 processing of applications for licenses for ownership, con5 struction, and operation of deepwater ports, as authorized 

6 by section 5 of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 

7 1504), shall be credited to the Maritime Administration 

8 for deposit into its operations and training account. Fees 

9 credited pursuant to this section shall be used to defray 

10 administrative expenses and for enhancements and im11 provements to the program’s operations, and shall be 

12 available until expended. 

13 (b) LIMITATION.—The amount of fees credited to the 

14 Administration under this section may not exceed 

15 $400,000 per fiscal year. 

16 SEC. 10. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE 

17 WAIVERS OF COASTWISE TRADE RESTRIC18 TIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Fees collected pursuant to the 

20 processing of Administrative Waivers of the Coastwise 

21 Trade Laws for Eligible Vessels, as authorized by title V 

22 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 (46 U.S.C. 

23 12106 note)— 

24 (1) shall be credited as offsetting collections to 

25 the Maritime Administration for deposit into its Op26 erations and Training account; 


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1 (2) shall be available for expenditure to defray 

2 administrative expenses and for enhancements and 

3 improvements to the program’s operations; and 

4 (3) shall remain available until expended. 

5 (b) LIMITATION.—The amount of fees credited to the 

6 Administration under this section may not exceed $50,000 

7 per fiscal year. 

8 SEC. 11. AMENDMENTS TO VESSEL OPERATIONS REVOLV9 ING FUND. 

10 Section 801 of the Act of June 2, 1951 (46 U.S.C. 

11 App. 1241a) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 801. VESSEL OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

14 Treasury, for the purposes set forth in subsection (b), a 

15 Vessel Operations Revolving Fund which shall be available 

16 without appropriation to the Secretary of Transportation. 

17 All amounts and all receipts and proceeds received by the 

18 Fund shall be deposited into the Fund, become available 

19 for the purposes of the Fund, and shall remain available 

20 until expended. 

21 ‘‘(b) USES.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available 

22 for— 

23 ‘‘(1) all expenses and charges relating to the 

24 maintenance, repair, and operation of vessels under 

25 the jurisdiction of the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(2) all expenses and charges relating to the 

2 maintenance, repair, and operation of the facilities 

3 necessary to preserve and maintain such vessels; 

4 ‘‘(3) payment of all costs of, and indirect costs 

5 that are reasonably related to, contracting, procure6 ment, inspection, storage, management, distribution, 

7 and accountability of vessels under the jurisdiction 

8 of the Secretary and such property, facilities, and 

9 nonpersonal services as the Secretary deems nec10 essary for the operation and maintenance of such 

11 vessels; 

12 ‘‘(4) expenses incurred in activating, repairing, 

13 and deactivating vessels under the jurisdiction of the 

14 Secretary; 

15 ‘‘(5) the acquisition of such vessels for the Na16 tional Defense Reserve Fleet as both the Secretary 

17 and the Secretary of Navy deem necessary; 

18 ‘‘(6) necessary expenses incurred in the protec19 tion, preservation, maintenance, acquisition, or use 

20 of vessels of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in21 volved in mortgage foreclosure or forfeiture pro22 ceedings instituted by the United States Govern23 ment, including payment of prior claims and liens, 

24 expenses of sale, and other related charges; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) costs and expenses incurred to repair dam2 ages to Government property under the jurisdiction 

3 or control of the Secretary that is used in connection 

4 with the National Defense Reserve Fleet. 

5 ‘‘(c) CREDITS TO THE FUND.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be credited to 

7 and retained by the Fund— 

8 ‘‘(A) all amounts received in connection 

9 with vessel operations for vessels under the ju10 risdiction of the Secretary; except that there 

11 shall be no surcharge on charter hire or similar 

12 collection in connection with vessel operations 

13 for the purpose of the reserve described in sub14 section (c)(2); and 

15 ‘‘(B) any reimbursements, advances, 

16 setoffs, refunds, or recoveries arising out of or 

17 relating to the operation and maintenance of 

18 vessels of the National Defense Reserve Fleet 

19 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, includ20 ing any recoveries from litigation, arbitration, 

21 or otherwise. 

22 ‘‘(2) RESERVE.—There shall be established and 

23 retained in the Fund from litigation and arbitration 

24 recoveries a reserve, not to exceed $30,000,000 at 

25 any one time, for use as a reserve for unscheduled 


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1 repairs and other necessary expenses in connection 

2 with casualties to vessels in the National Reserve 

3 Fleet. 

4 ‘‘(d) LAWS RELATING TO SEAMEN.—Subject to the 

5 provisions of sections 1(a) and (c), 3(c), and 4 of the Act 

6 of March 24, 1943 (50 U.S.C. App. 1291(a) and (c), 

7 1293(c), 1294), seamen employed on vessels in the cus8 tody of the Secretary and operated through the Sec9 retary’s ship managers or general agents may be so em10 ployed by such ship managers or agents in accordance 

11 with customary commercial practices in the maritime in12 dustry without regard to any of the laws on employment 

13 of persons by the United States. 

14 ‘‘(e) ADVANCEMENTS.—With the approval of the Di15 rector of the Office of Management and Budget, the Sec16 retary may advance amounts the Secretary considers nec17 essary from the Fund to the Maritime Administration Op18 erations and Training appropriation account for purposes 

19 of carrying out duties and powers related to the mainte20 nance, repair, and operation of vessels under the jurisdic21 tion of the Secretary, without regard to the limitations on 

22 amounts stated in the Operations and Training appropria23 tion.’’ 

24 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made available to 

2 the Secretary for purposes of this section or any 

3 other law may not be used to pay for a vessel de4 scribed in paragraph (2) unless the compensation to 

5 be paid is computed under section 56303 of title 46, 

6 United States Code, as that section is interpreted by 

7 the Comptroller General. 

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE VESSELS.—Paragraph (1) ap9 plies to a vessel— 

10 ‘‘(A) the title to which is acquired by the 

11 Government by requisition or purchase; 

12 ‘‘(B) the use of which is taken by requisi13 tion or agreement; or 

14 ‘‘(C) that is lost while insured by the Gov15 ernment. 

16 ‘‘(3) NONAPPLICABLE VESSELS.—Subpara17 graph (1) of this section does not apply to a vessel 

18 operating under a construction-differential subsidy 

19 contract.’’. 

20 SEC. 12. RIGHT TO USE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION DECO21 RATION. 

22 Section 8 of the Merchant Marine Decorations and 

23 Medals Act (46 U.S.C. App. 2007) is amended by insert24 ing ‘‘or the Secretary of Transportation,’’ after ‘‘Act,’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM TANK VESSELS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 53103(c)(4) of title 46, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ in subparagraph (A)(i) and 

5 inserting ‘‘(i)(I); 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘(ii)’’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

7 and inserting ‘‘(II); 

8 (3) by striking ‘‘53102(b).’’ in subparagraph 

9 (A)(i)(II), as amended, and inserting ‘‘53102(b); 

10 or’’; 

11 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A)(i)(II), 

12 as amended, the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii)(I) not later than 9 months after 

14 the first date amounts are to available to 

15 carry out this chapter, the operator of the 

16 existing tank vessel enters into an agree17 ment to charter one or more tank vessels 

18 to be built in the United States and oper19 ated as a documented vessel or docu20 mented vessels; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the combined tonnage of the 

22 documented vessel or vessels to be con23 structed under clause (I) is equal to or 

24 greater than the tonnage of the existing 

25 tank vessel subject to an operating agree26 ment. 


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1 If the person that is the owner or operator 

2 of the existing tank vessel owns or operates 

3 more than one existing tank vessel subject 

4 to an operating agreement, the combined 

5 tonnage of all documented vessels to be 

6 built under clause (ii)(I) for that owner or 

7 operator shall be equal to or greater than 

8 the combined tonnage of all such existing 

9 tank vessels owned or operated by such 

10 person that are subject to operating agree11 ments. For the purpose of clause (ii), ton12 nage shall be measured under section 

13 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage 

14 measured under section 14302 of this title 

15 as prescribed by the Secretary under sec16 tion 14104 of this title.’’; 

17 (5) by inserting ‘‘subject to subparagraph 

18 (A)(i)’’ after ‘‘existing tank vessel’’ in subparagraph 

19 (B); and 

20 (6) by adding at the end thereof the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) Subparagraph (A)(ii) applies only for 

22 the period that the operator of the existing tank 

23 vessel charters the United States-built vessel or 

24 vessels described in such subparagraph. No 

25 payment under this chapter may be made for 


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25 

•S 3852 PCS 

1 an existing tank vessel subject to subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii) for any period that the United States3 built vessel or vessels described in such sub4 paragraph are not chartered by the operator of 

5 the existing tank vessel.’’. 

6 (b) ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY.—Section 3543(a) of 

7 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

8 2004 (46 U.S.C. 53101 note) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘shall, to the extent of the availability of appropriations,’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘may’’. 

11 SEC. 14. INTERMODAL CENTERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

13 5309(m)(6)(B) of title 49, United States Code, half of the 

14 amounts appropriated or made available under subsections 

15 (b) and (c) of section 5338 of title 49, United States Code, 

16 for capital projects under section 5309(m)(6)(B) of that 

17 title for fiscal years 2006 through 2009 shall be made 

18 available and used, in accordance with section 9008(a) of 

19 Public Law 109–59, for an intermodal or marine facility 

20 comprising a component of the Hawaii Port Infrastructure 

21 Expansion Program. 

22 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY FUNDING.—Any amount made 

23 available pursuant to subsection (a) shall be in addition 

24 to any amounts authorized or appropriated pursuant to 


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•S 3852 PCS 

1 subsections (b) and (c) of section 9008 of Public Law 

2 109–59. 

3 SEC. 15. LARGE PASSENGER SHIP CREW REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of facilitating the 

5 implementation by the Maritime Administration of section 

6 211 of Public Law 108–7 Division B, Title II, General 

7 Provisions, Department of Commerce, section 8103 of title 

8 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(k)(1) Each unlicensed seaman on a passenger ves11 sel of more than 70,000 gross tons as measured under 

12 section 14302 of this title, with capacity for at least 2,000 

13 passengers and documented with a coastwise endorsement 

14 under chapter 121 of this title, shall be— 

15 ‘‘(A) a citizen of the United States; 

16 ‘‘(B) an alien lawfully admitted to the United 

17 States for permanent residence, 

18 ‘‘(C) an alien allowed to be employed under the 

19 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

20 seq.), including an alien crewman under section 

21 1101 (15)(D)(i) of that Act; or 

22 ‘‘(D) a foreign national who is enrolled in the 

23 United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

24 ‘‘(2) Not more than 25 percent of the unlicensed sea25 men on a vessel subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection 


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•S 3852 PCS 

1 may be aliens referred to in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

2 that paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(3) An unlicensed seaman referred to in paragraph 

4 (1)(C) of this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall have been employed, for a period of 

6 not less than 1 year, on a passenger vessel under the 

7 same common ownership or control as the vessel re8 ferred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, as cer9 tified by the owner or managing operator of such 

10 vessel; 

11 ‘‘(B) may be employed only in the steward’s de12 partment, as defined in the vessel security plan ap13 proved by the Secretary pursuant to section 

14 70103(c) of this title, of the vessel; and 

15 ‘‘(C) shall have successfully completed a secu16 rity check of the relevant domestic and international 

17 databases, as appropriate, or any other national se18 curity-related information or database.’’. 

19 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—An unlicensed seaman re20 ferred to in section 8103(j)(1)(C) or (D) of title 46, 

21 United States Code— 

22 (1) is deemed to meet the nationality require23 ments necessary to qualify for a merchant mariner 

24 document notwithstanding the requirements of part 

25 12 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations; and 


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•S 3852 PCS 

1 (2) may be employed for a period of service on 

2 board not to exceed 36 months in the aggregate as 

3 a nonimmigrant crewman under section 

4 1101(15)(D)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S. C. 1101(15)(D)(i)) on vessels engaged 

6 in domestic voyages notwithstanding the departure 

7 requirements of such section and the regulations and 

8 rules promulgated thereunder. 


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Calendar No. 591 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3852 

[Report No. 109

–327] 

A BILL 

To enhance certain maritime programs of the Deposes. partment of Transportation, and for other purSEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 


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