An Act to amend title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, to provide for filing vessel utilization and performance reports by operators of vessels in the foreign commerce of the United States
PL 84-612 (S.3265), enacted 06/25/1956

PUBLIC LAW e i ^ J U N E 25, 1956 
[70 ST A T . 
Public Law 612 
CHAPTER 437 
June 25, 1956 
[S. 3265] 
Merchant Marine* 
Reports. 
49 S t a t . 1985, 
1990. 
AN ACT 
To amend title II of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, to provide for 
tiling vessel utilization and performance reports by oi^erators of vessels in the 
foreign commerce of the United States. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That title I I of the 
Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended (46 U. S. C. 1111-1127), is 
amended by inserting after section 212 (46 U. S. C. 1122), a new sec-
tion 212 (A) to rea4 as follows: 
"SEC. 212. (A) The operator of a vessel in waterborne foreign com-
merce of the United States shall file at siich times and in such man-
ner as the Secretary of Commerce may prescribe by regulations, such 
report, account, record, or memorandum relating to the utilization and 
performance of such vessel in commerce of the United States, as the 
Secretary may determine to be necessary or desirable in order to carry 
out the purposes and provisions of this Act, as amended. 
Such report, 
account, record, or memorandum shall be signed and verified in 
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 
An oper-
ator who does not file the report, account, record, or memorandum 
as required by this section and the regulations issued hereunder, shall 
be liable to the United States in a penalty of $50 for each day of such 
violation. The amount of any penalty imposed for any violation of 
this section upon the operator of any vessel shall constitute a lien upon 
the vessel involved in the violation, and such vessel may be libeled 
therefor in the district court of the United States for the district in 
which it may be found. 
The Secretary of Commerce may, in his 
discretion, remit or mitigate any penalty imposed under this section 
on such terms as he may deem proper.*' 
Approved June 25, 1956. 
June 25, 1956 
[S. 3857] 
Fe d e r a l 
Mo 
ance< 
68 
46 u s e 1273. 
Public Law 613 
CHAPTER 438 
AN ACT 
To clarify sectiim 1103 (d) of title XI (Fedei-al Ship Mortgage Insurance) of 
the Merchant Marine Act. 1936, as amended. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
t^sage tosi^ United States of America in Congress assembled^ That effective Sep-
e. 
tember 8, 1954, section 1103 (d) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1986, 
8 Stat. 1269. 
.^^ amended, is amended to read as follows: 
"(d) The faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the pay-
ment of the interest on and 90 per centum of the unpaid balance of 
the principal amount of each mortgage and loan insured under this 
title, but in the case of special-purpose vessels certified by the Secre-
tary of Defense to be essential to national defense, the faith of the 
United States is solemnly pledged to the payment of the interest on 
and 100 per centum of the unpaid balance of the principal amount of 
each mortgage and loan insured under this title if the insurance con-
tract obligates the United States to pay the interest on and 100 per 
centum of the unpaid balance of the principal amount of such mort-
gage or loan.-' 
Approved June 25, 1956.