A bill to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to charter the NS SAVANNAH to Patriots Point Development Authority, an agency of the State of South Carolina.
PL 96-331 (S.1863), enacted 08/28/1980

PUBLIC LAW 96-331—AUG. 28, 1980 
94 STAT. 1055 
Public Law 96-331 
96th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to charter the nuclear ship Savannah to 
Patriots Point Development Authority, an agency of the State of South Carolina. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary 
of Commerce is authorized within one year after enactment of this 
Act, to charter the nuclear ship Savannah to Patriots Point Develop-
ment Authority, without monetary consideration, for a minimum of 
five years and a maximum of thirty years, with options to renew for 
five-year periods thereafter, for use as a museum ship and for other 
public purposes, but not for transportation, together with such of her 
fixtures, tackle, apparel, furnishings, and equipment as the Secretary 
of Commerce, in the Secretary's discretion, determines. 
SEC. 2. The charter authorized by section 1 shall include a provision 
that— 
(a) the Secretary of Commerce shall be responsible for inspec-
tion and maintenance of the hull below the waterline and that 
Patriots Point Development Authority shall be responsible for 
all other maintenance, including the paying for the electrical 
power for the cathodic hull protection system; 
(b) the Patriots Point Development Authority shall save the 
United States harmless from all liability with respect to the 
vessel; 
(c) the Patriots Point Development Authority shall return the 
vessel to the Secretary of Commerce at the termination of the 
charter or any renewal thereof in the same condition, fair wear 
and tear excepted, as when the charter was entered into; and 
(d) the Patriots Point Development Authority shall obtain such 
insurance and provide such other assurances as the Secretary of 
Commerce may require to carry out its obligations under this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. The Secretary of Commerce, acting for the United States 
Government as owner of the vessel, and Patriots Point Development 
Authority shall apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 
license to possess but not to operate the nuclear utilization facility 
under which the sole liability of the Secretary of Commerce shall be 
that the Secretary will bear the financial responsibility for the 
ultimate disposal of the reactor and other nuclear systems and 
radioactive contaminated components in the vessel in accordance 
with a plan which the Secretary of Commerce will submit at the time 
the reactor, nuclear systems, and radioactive components are to be 
disposed of and which is then approved by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission as required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, The 
Authority shall be responsible for compliance with the license for the 
monitoring and security of the reactor and all nuclear systems and 
radioactive components in the vessel and for filing all reports that 
may be required as the licensee. 
Aug. 28, 1980 
[S. 1863] 
Savannah, 
charter to 
Patriots Point 
Development 
Authority. 
Inspection and 
maintenance. 
Liability. 
Termination. 
Insurance. 
License. 
Nuclear 
disposal. 
42 u s e 2011 
note. 
Reports. 
79-194 
O—81—pt. 1 
70 ; QL3 
94 STAT. 1056 
PUBLIC LAW 96-331—AUG. 28, 1980 
Appropriation 
authorizations. 
50 u s e app. 
1744. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
SEC. 4. Any funds appropriated pursuant to authorizations con-
tained in the Acts of October 21, 1975 (89 Stat. 611; Public Law 
94-121), July 14, 1976 (90 Stat. 937; Public Law 94-362), August 2, 
1977 (91 Stat. 419; Public Law 95-86), and October 10,1978 (92 Stat. 
1021; Public Law 95-431) are authorized to be used for preservation 
work on the nuclear ship Savannah. Expenditures authorized by the 
preceding sentence for the preservation of the nuclear ship Savannah 
shall not exceed that amount which the Secretary of Commerce, in 
the Secretary's discretion, determines to be necessary to make the 
vessel suitable for use by the Patriots Point Development Authority 
pursuant to section 1 of this Act. No part of any funds authorized to 
be expended by this section shall be obligated or expended except in 
connection with work which the Secretary of Commerce determines 
would otherwise be performed on the nuclear ship Savannah if the 
vessel were to be laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet 
pursuant to section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 (60 
Stat. 49). 
SEC. 5. Funds appropriated pursuant to authorizations contained in 
title III of the Act of September 24, 1979 (93 Stat. 416; Public Law 
96-68), are authorized to be expended to tow the nuclear ship 
Savannah to a site at Patriots Point at Mount Pleasant, South 
Carolina. Beginning in fiscal year 1981 there are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to inspect and maintain 
the hull of the nuclear ship Savannah below the waterline during the 
term of the charter and any renewals thereof. 
Approved August 28, 1980. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 96-1220 accompanying H.R. 5867 (Comm. on Merchant Marine 
and Fisheries). 
SENATE REPORT No. 96-478 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 125 (1979): Dec. 18, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 126 (1980): Aug. 18, considered and passed House, in lieu of H.R. 5867.