245 
‘‘(3) The presence of excessive fuel, lube oil, food, water, or spare 
parts, inconsistent with legitimate vessel operation, inconsistent with 
the construction or equipment of the vessel, or inconsistent with the 
character of the vessel’s stated purpose. 
‘‘(4) The operation of the vessel without lights during times lights 
are required to be displayed under applicable law or regulation and in 
a manner of navigation consistent with smuggling tactics used to avoid 
detection by law enforcement authorities. 
‘‘(5) The failure of the vessel to stop or respond or heave to when 
hailed by government authority, especially where the vessel conducts 
evasive maneuvering when hailed. 
‘‘(6) The declaration to government authority of apparently false in-
formation about the vessel, crew, or voyage or the failure to identify 
the vessel by name or country of registration when requested to do so 
by government authority. 
‘‘(7) The presence of controlled substance residue on the vessel, on 
an item aboard the vessel, or on an individual aboard the vessel, of a 
quantity or other nature that reasonably indicates manufacturing or 
distribution activity. 
‘‘(8) The use of petroleum products or other substances on the vessel 
to foil the detection of controlled substance residue. 
‘‘(9) The presence of a controlled substance in the water in the vicin-
ity of the vessel, where given the currents, weather conditions, and 
course and speed of the vessel, the quantity or other nature is such 
that it reasonably indicates manufacturing or distribution activity.’’. 
SEC. 11. SUBTITLE VIII OF TITLE 46. 
Title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding after subtitle VII the 
following: 
‘‘Subtitle VIII—Miscellaneous 
‘‘Chapter 
Sec. 
‘‘801. Wrecks and Salvage .................................................................................
80101 
‘‘803. Ice and Derelicts .......................................................................................
80301 
‘‘805. Safe Containers for International Cargo .........................................
80501 
‘‘CHAPTER 801—WRECKS AND SALVAGE 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘80101.
Vessel stranded on foreign coast. 
‘‘80102.
License to salvage on Florida coast. 
‘‘80103.
Property on Florida coast to be taken to port of entry. 
‘‘80104.
Salvaging operations by foreign vessels. 
‘‘80105.
Canadian vessels aiding vessels in United States waters. 
‘‘80106.
International agreement on derelicts. 
‘‘80107.
Salvors of life to share in remuneration. 
‘‘§ 80101. Vessel stranded on foreign coast 
‘‘(a) DUTIES OF CONSULAR OFFICER.—When a vessel of the United 
States is stranded on a coast of a foreign country, the consular officer in 
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that country shall take proper measures, to the extent the laws of that coun-
try allow, to— 
‘‘(1) save and secure the vessel and property on the vessel; and 
‘‘(2) prepare an inventory of the property that is saved. 
‘‘(b) DELIVERY TO OWNER.—After deducting the expenses, the consular 
officer shall deliver the property, with an inventory, to the owner of the 
property. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON TAKING POSSESSION.—A consular officer may not 
take possession of property under this section when the owner, master, or 
consignee is present or able to take possession of the property. 
‘‘§ 80102. License to salvage on Florida coast 
‘‘(a) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.—To be regularly employed in the busi-
ness of salvaging on the coast of Florida, a vessel and its master each must 
have a license issued by a judge of the district court of the United States 
for a judicial district of Florida. 
‘‘(b) JUDICIAL FINDINGS.—Before issuing a license under this section, 
the judge must be satisfied, when the license is for— 
‘‘(1) a vessel, that the vessel is seaworthy and properly equipped for 
the business of saving property shipwrecked and in distress; or 
‘‘(2) a master, that the master is trustworthy and innocent of any 
fraud or misconduct related to property shipwrecked or saved on the 
coast. 
‘‘§ 80103. Property on Florida coast to be taken to port of 
entry 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Property taken from a wreck, the sea, or a key or 
shoal, on the coast of Florida and within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, shall be brought to a port of entry of the United States. 
‘‘(b) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.—A vessel transporting property de-
scribed in subsection (a) to a foreign port may be seized by, and forfeited 
to, the United States Government. A forfeiture under this subsection ac-
crues half to the informer and half to the Government. 
‘‘§ 80104. Salvaging operations by foreign vessels 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in this section or section 80105 
of this title, a foreign vessel may not, under penalty of forfeiture, engage 
in salvaging operations on the Atlantic or Pacific coast of the United States, 
in any portion of the Great Lakes or their connecting or tributary waters, 
including any portion of the Saint Lawrence River through which the inter-
national boundary line extends, or in territorial waters of the United States 
on the Gulf of Mexico. 
‘‘(b) WHEN SUITABLE VESSEL NOT AVAILABLE.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may authorize a foreign vessel to engage in salvaging 
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operations in a particular locality if, on investigation, the Secretary is satis-
fied that there is not available in that locality a suitable vessel that is— 
‘‘(1) owned only by citizens of the United States (including a 
Bowaters corporation under section 12118 of this title); and 
‘‘(2) documented under chapter 121 of this title or numbered under 
chapter 123 of this title. 
‘‘(c) OPERATIONS AUTHORIZED BY TREATY.—This section does not pro-
hibit or restrict assistance to vessels or salvaging operations authorized by 
treaty, including— 
‘‘(1) article II of the Treaty between the United States and Great 
Britain concerning reciprocal rights for United States and Canada in 
the conveyance of prisoners and wrecking and salvage, signed at Wash-
ington, May 18, 1908 (35 Stat. 2036); or 
‘‘(2) the Treaty between the United States of America and Mexico 
to facilitate assistance to and salvage of vessels in territorial waters, 
signed at Mexico City, June 13, 1935 (49 Stat. 3359). 
‘‘§ 80105. Canadian vessels aiding vessels in United States 
waters 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Canadian vessels and wrecking equipment may give 
aid to Canadian or other vessels and property wrecked, disabled, or in dis-
tress in the waters of the United States contiguous to Canada, including— 
‘‘(1) the canal and improvement of the waters between Lake Erie 
and Lake Huron; and 
‘‘(2) the Saint Marys River and canal. 
‘‘(b) RECIPROCITY.—This section does not apply after the President pro-
claims that privileges reciprocal to those under subsection (a) have been 
withdrawn or rendered inoperative by the Government of Canada. 
‘‘§ 80106. International agreement on derelicts 
‘‘The President may make an international agreement with other govern-
ments interested in the navigation of the North Atlantic Ocean, providing 
for the reporting, marking, and removal of dangerous wrecks, derelicts, and 
other menaces to navigation outside the coast waters of the countries bor-
dering the North Atlantic Ocean. 
‘‘§ 80107. Salvors of life to share in remuneration 
‘‘(a) ENTITLEMENT OF SALVORS.—A salvor of human life, who gave aid 
following an accident giving rise to salvage, is entitled to a fair share of 
the payment awarded to the salvor for salvaging the vessel or other property 
or preventing or minimizing damage to the environment. 
‘‘(b) COMMON OWNERSHIP OF VESSELS.—The right to remuneration for 
aid or salvage services is not affected by common ownership of the vessels 
giving and receiving the aid or salvage services. 
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‘‘(c) TIME LIMIT ON BRINGING ACTIONS.—A civil action to recover remu-
neration for giving aid or salvage services must be brought within 2 years 
after the date the aid or salvage services were given, unless the court in 
which the action is brought is satisfied that during that 2-year period there 
had not been a reasonable opportunity to seize the aided or salvaged vessel 
within the jurisdiction of the court or within the territorial waters of the 
country of the plaintiff’s residence or principal place of business. 
‘‘(d) NONAPPLICATION.—This section does not apply to a vessel of war 
or a vessel owned by the United States Government appropriated only to 
a public service. 
‘‘CHAPTER 803—ICE AND DERELICTS 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘80301.
International agreements. 
‘‘80302.
Patrol services. 
‘‘80303.
Speed of vessel in ice region. 
‘‘§ 80301. International agreements 
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The President may make agreements with 
interested maritime countries to— 
‘‘(1) maintain in the North Atlantic Ocean a service of ice patrol, 
of study and observation of ice and current conditions, and of assist-
ance to vessels and their crews requiring assistance within the limits 
of the patrol; 
‘‘(2) maintain a service of study and observation of ice and current 
conditions in the waters affecting the set and drift of ice in the North 
Atlantic Ocean; and 
‘‘(3) take all practicable steps to ensure the destruction or removal 
of derelicts in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the line 
drawn from Cape Sable to a point in latitude 34 degrees north, lon-
gitude 70 degrees west, if the destruction or removal is necessary. 
‘‘(b) PAYMENT BETWEEN COUNTRIES.—The President may include in an 
agreement under subsection (a) a provision for— 
‘‘(1) payment to the United States Government by other countries 
for their proportionate share of the expense of maintaining the services; 
or 
‘‘(2) contribution by the Government for its proportionate share if 
the agreement provides for another country to maintain the services. 
‘‘§ 80302. Patrol services 
‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Unless the agreements made under sec-
tion 80301 of this title provide otherwise, an ice patrol shall be maintained 
during the entire ice season in guarding the southeastern, southern, and 
southwestern limits of the region of icebergs in the vicinity of the Grand 
Banks of Newfoundland. The patrol shall inform trans-Atlantic and other 
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