IB
Union Calendar No. 162
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1250
To amend the coastwise trade laws to clarify their application to certain
passenger vessels.
[Report No. 103–307]
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 9, 1993
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.
FIELDS of Texas, Mr. BATEMAN, and Mr. TAUZIN) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and
Fisheries
OCTOBER 26, 1993
Additional sponsors: Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. DINGELL,
Mr. PARKER, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, and Ms. MOLINARI
OCTOBER 26, 1993
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 9, 1993]
A BILL
To amend the coastwise trade laws to clarify their application
to certain passenger vessels.
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 ‘‘United States-Flag Pas-
senger Vessel Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. COASTWISE TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the Act of June 19,
1886 (46 App. U.S.C. 289), is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 8. COASTWISE TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided by
law, a vessel may transport passengers in coastwise trade
only if—
‘‘(1) the vessel meets the requirements of section
27 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 and section 2
of the Shipping Act, 1916 for engaging in the coast-
wise trade; and
‘‘(2) for a vessel that is at least 5 net tons, the
vessel is documented under chapter 121 of title 46,
United States Code, with a coastwise endorsement.
‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person operating a ves-
sel in violation of this section is liable to the United
States Government for a civil penalty of $1,000 for
each passenger transported in violation of this
section.
‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.—A vessel operated in know-
ing violation of this section, and its equipment, are
liable to seizure by and forfeiture to the United States
Government.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘coastwise trade’ includes—
‘‘(A) transportation of a passenger from a
place in any State or possession of the United
States and returning to that place, if during
that transportation no passenger departs from
the vessel in a foreign country; and
‘‘(B) transportation of a passenger between
points in the United States, either directly or by
way of a foreign port; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘passenger’ does not include a trav-
el agent on a voyage if—
‘‘(A) the purpose of the voyage is to promote
future trips on the vessel;
‘‘(B) money is not paid to the vessel owner
or charterer for the voyage; and
‘‘(C) the voyage goes beyond the territorial
sea of the United States.’’.
(b) EXCEPTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the amend-
ment made by subsection (a), an ineligible vessel may
engage in transport of passengers in coastwise trade
(as those terms are defined in that amendment) on a
trade route, if—
(A) the vessel engaged, in the period begin-
ning January 1, 1990, and ending March 9,
1993, in transport of passengers in coastwise
trade on that trade route; and
(B) within one year after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the owner files with the Sec-
retary of Transportation an affidavit certifying
compliance with subparagraph (A) and listing
each trade route on which the vessel engaged in
transport of passengers in coastwise trade in the
period described in subparagraph (A).
(2) SCHEDULED EXPIRATION OF EXCEPTION.—
Paragraph (1) does not apply to an ineligible vessel
after the later of—
(A) January 1, 2000,
(B) the date that is 15 years after the date
of completion of construction of the vessel, or
(C) the date that is 15 years after the date
of completion of any major conversion of the ves-
sel that is begun before the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(3) EXPIRATION OF EXCEPTION FOR FAILURE TO
RECREW.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to an ineli-
gible vessel after the date that is 5 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, unless—
(A) each individual employed on the vessel
after the one-year period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this Act is either a citizen of
the United States or an alien lawfully admitted
to the United States for permanent residence;
and
(B) not more than 25 percent of the total
number of individuals employed on the vessel
after the one-year period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this Act are aliens lawfully
admitted to the United States for permanent
residence.
(4) TERMINATION OF EXCEPTION UPON ENTRY OF
REPLACEMENT.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to an
ineligible vessel with respect to a trade route after the
date of the entry into service on that trade route of
an eligible vessel, if—
(A) the eligible vessel has a passenger carry-
ing capacity that is equal to at least 75 percent
of the passenger carrying capacity of the ineli-
gible vessel, as determined by the Secretary of the
Department in which the Coast Guard is
operating;
(B) the person that is the owner or
charterer of the eligible vessel submits to the Sec-
retary of Transportation, by not later than 270
days before the date of that entry into service—
(i) a notice of the intent of the person
to enter into that service; and
(ii) such evidence as the Secretary may
require that the person is offering and ad-
vertising that service;
(C) any individual employed on the ineli-
gible vessel after the one-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act—
(i) is not a citizen of the United
States; and
(ii) is not an alien lawfully admitted
to the United States for permanent resi-
dence; and
(D) more than 25 percent of the total num-
ber of individuals employed on the ineligible ves-
sel after the one-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act are aliens law-
fully admitted to the United States for perma-
nent residence.
(5) TERMINATION OF EXCEPTION UPON SALE OF
VESSEL.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to an ineli-
(A) are vessels that engaged, in the period begin-
ning January 1, 1990, and ending March 9, 1993, in
coastwise trade described in section 8(c)(1)(A) of the
Act of June 19, 1886, as amended by section 2 of this
Act, and
(B) include the vessels EUROPA SUN (former
United States official number 596656), EUROPA
STAR (former United States official number 588270),
and EMERALD PRINCESS (former United States
official number 530095).
(b) Notwithstanding section 27 of the Merchant Marine
Act, 1920 (46 App. U.S.C. 883) and section 12106 of title
46, United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation
may issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise
endorsement for the vessel M/V HELTON VOYAGER
(Spanish registration lista 2A–Folio–592) if—
(1) the person documenting the vessel entered a
contract before May 21, 1992, to purchase the vessel;
(2) the vessel undergoes a major conversion (as
defined in section 2101 of title 46, United States
Code) in a United States shipyard under a contract
signed before January 1, 1994;
(3) the cost of the major conversion is more than
the value of the vessel before the major conversion; and
(4) the major conversion is completed and the
vessel is documented under chapter 121 of title 46,
United States Code, with a coastwise endorsement be-
fore January 1, 1995.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF STATES TO REGU-
LATE GAMBLING DEVICES ON VESSELS.
Section 5(b)(2) of the Act of January 2, 1951 (15
U.S.C. 1175(b)(2)), commonly referred to as the ‘‘Johnson
Act’’, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN VOYAGES AND
SEGMENTS.—A voyage or segment of a voyage is
not described in subparagraph (B) if it includes
or consists of, respectively, a segment—
‘‘(i) that begins and ends in the same
State or possession of the United States;
‘‘(ii) that is part of a voyage to an-
other State or possession of the United
States or to a foreign country; and
‘‘(iii) in which the vessel reaches the
other State or possession of the United
States or the foreign country within 3 days
after leaving the State or possession of the
United 
States 
in 
which 
the 
segment
begins.’’.