I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9899 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to assign specified liability to a 
person who transfers title of a commercial vessel, or former commercial 
vessel, to a transferee for use as a recreational vessel if the transferee 
does not have applicable insurance at the time of the transfer and 
the vessel sinks, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2024 
Mr. HARDER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to assign specified 
liability to a person who transfers title of a commercial 
vessel, or former commercial vessel, to a transferee for 
use as a recreational vessel if the transferee does not 
have applicable insurance at the time of the transfer 
and the vessel sinks, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abandoned Vessel Pre-
vention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIABILITY FOR SPECIFIED EXPENSES RESULTING 
FROM 
SINKING 
OF 
CERTAIN 
DECOMMIS-
SIONED COMMERCIAL VESSELS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 301 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 30107. Liability for specified expenses resulting 
from sinking of certain decommissioned 
commercial vessels 
‘‘(a) LIABILITY FOR TRANSFEROR.—Except as pro-
vided in subsection (b), any person who transfers title of 
a covered vessel to another for use as a recreational vessel 
shall be liable for any specified expenses resulting from 
the vessel sinking on navigable waters of the United 
States. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) VESSEL
LENGTH; VESSEL
AGE.—Sub-
section (a) shall not apply to a vessel less than 35 
feet in length or fewer than 40 years old. 
‘‘(2) INSURANCE.—Subsection (a) shall not 
apply to a person who transfers title of a covered 
vessel to a person who, at the time of the transfer, 
has insurance— 
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‘‘(A) applicable to the vessel for the 12- 
month period beginning on the date of the 
transfer; and 
‘‘(B) that, in the case the vessel sinks, cov-
ers specified expenses. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL
VESSEL.—The term ‘com-
mercial vessel’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 4462(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (26 U.S.C. 4462(a)(4)). 
‘‘(2) COVERED
VESSEL.—The term ‘covered 
vessel’ means— 
‘‘(A) commercial vessel; or 
‘‘(B) a recreational vessel that was pre-
viously a commercial vessel. 
‘‘(3) SPECIFIED EXPENSES.—The term ‘speci-
fied expenses’ mean, with respect to a sunken ves-
sel— 
‘‘(A) damages attributable to the sinking 
of the vessel; and 
‘‘(B) expenses relating to— 
‘‘(i) removal of the vessel and any de-
bris; 
‘‘(ii) clean-up of any pollution attrib-
utable to the sinking of the vessel; and 
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‘‘(iii) any shut down of, or repairs or 
maintenance to, a water intake pump as a 
result of pollution attributable to the sink-
ing of the vessel. 
‘‘(4) RECREATIONAL VESSEL.—The term ‘rec-
reational vessel’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 2101 of title 46, United States Code.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 301 of title 46, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘30107. Liability for specified expenses resulting from sinking of certain decom-
missioned commercial vessels.’’. 
Æ 
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