I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7099 
To amend titles 46 and 18, United States Code, with respect to the operation 
of submersible vessels and semi-submersible vessels without nationality. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California (for himself and Mr. POE) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend titles 46 and 18, United States Code, with respect 
to the operation of submersible vessels and semi-submers-
ible vessels without nationality. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drug Trafficking Ves-
sel Interdiction Act of 2008’’. 
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TITLE I—CRIMINAL 
PROHIBITION 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. 
Congress finds and declares that operating or em-
barking in a submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel 
without nationality and on an international voyage is a 
serious international problem, facilitates transnational 
crime, including drug trafficking, and terrorism, and pre-
sents a specific threat to the safety of maritime navigation 
and the security of the United States. 
SEC. 102. OPERATION OF SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL OR SEMI- 
SUBMERSIBLE 
VESSEL 
WITHOUT 
NATION-
ALITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 2285. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-sub-
mersible vessel without nationality 
‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—Whoever knowingly operates, or at-
tempts or conspires to operate, by any means, or embarks 
in any submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel that 
is without nationality and that is navigating or has navi-
gated into, through, or from waters beyond the outer limit 
of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit 
of that country’s territorial sea with an adjacent country, 
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with the intent to evade detection, shall be fined under 
this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both. 
‘‘(b) EVIDENCE
OF INTENT TO EVADE DETEC-
TION.—For purposes of subsection (a), the presence of 
any of the indicia described in paragraph (1)(A), (E), (F), 
or (G), or in paragraph (4), (5), or (6), of section 
70507(b) of title 46 may be considered, in the totality of 
the circumstances, to be prima facie evidence of intent to 
evade detection. 
‘‘(c) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 
extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under 
this section, including an attempt or conspiracy to commit 
such an offense. 
‘‘(d) CLAIM
OF NATIONALITY
OR REGISTRY.—A 
claim of nationality or registry under this section includes 
only— 
‘‘(1) possession on board the vessel and produc-
tion of documents evidencing the vessel’s nationality 
as provided in article 5 of the 1958 Convention on 
the High Seas; 
‘‘(2) flying its nation’s ensign or flag; or 
‘‘(3) a verbal claim of nationality or registry by 
the master or individual in charge of the vessel. 
‘‘(e) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is an affirmative defense 
to a prosecution for a violation of subsection (a), 
which the defendant has the burden to prove by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the submersible 
vessel or semi-submersible vessel involved was, at the 
time of the offense— 
‘‘(A) a vessel of the United States or law-
fully registered in a foreign nation as claimed 
by the master or individual in charge of the ves-
sel when requested to make a claim by an offi-
cer of the United States authorized to enforce 
applicable provisions of United States law; 
‘‘(B) classed by and designed in accord-
ance with the rules of a classification society; 
‘‘(C) lawfully operated in government-regu-
lated or licensed activity, including commerce, 
research, or exploration; or 
‘‘(D) equipped with and using an operable 
automatic identification system, vessel moni-
toring system, or long range identification and 
tracking system. 
‘‘(2) PRODUCTION
OF
DOCUMENTS.—The af-
firmative defenses provided by this subsection are 
proved conclusively by the production of— 
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‘‘(A) government documents evidencing the 
vessel’s nationality at the time of the offense, as 
provided in article 5 of the 1958 Convention on 
the High Seas; 
‘‘(B) a certificate of classification issued by 
the vessel’s classification society upon comple-
tion of relevant classification surveys and valid 
at the time of the offense; or 
‘‘(C) government documents evidencing li-
censure, regulation, or registration for com-
merce, research, or exploration. 
‘‘(f) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES EXCEPTED.—Nothing in 
this section applies to lawfully authorized activities carried 
out by or at the direction of the United States Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—Sec-
tions 70504 and 70505 of title 46 apply to offenses under 
this section in the same manner as they apply to offenses 
under section 70503 of such title. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘sub-
mersible vessel’, ‘semi-submersible vessel’, ‘vessel of the 
United States’, and ‘vessel without nationality’ have the 
meaning given those terms in section 70502 of title 46.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 
for chapter 111 of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
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