§1472 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

If a ship collision, grounding, or other accident causes or threatens serious harm to a ship or its cargo, and the Secretary decides this creates a grave and imminent danger of polluting U.S. coasts or related interests — either by oil covered by the international convention or by other harmful substances — the Secretary may act on the high seas to prevent, reduce, or remove that danger. The Secretary must follow the international convention, its protocol, and this law, and is not liable for damage claims by ship owners, operators, cargo owners, crew, insurers, or others, except as provided in section 1479.

Title 33, §1472

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever a ship collision, stranding, or other incident of navigation or other occurrence on board a ship or external to it resulting in material damage or imminent threat of material damage to the ship or her cargo creates, as determined by the Secretary, a grave and imminent danger to the coastline or related interests of the United States from pollution or threat of pollution of the sea by convention oil or of the sea or atmosphere by a substance other than convention oil which may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful consequences, the Secretary may, except as provided for in section 1479 of this title, without liability for any damage to the owners or operators of the ship, to her cargo or crew, to underwriters or other parties interested therein, take measures on the high seas, in accordance with the provisions of the convention, the protocol and this chapter, to prevent, mitigate, or eliminate that danger.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1978—Pub. L. 95–302 substituted “convention oil or of the sea or atmosphere by a substance other than convention oil” for “oil”, and “convention, the protocol” for “Convention”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentFor

Effective Date

of amendment by Pub. L. 95–302, see section 2 of Pub. L. 95–302, set out as a note under section 1487 of this title.

§1472 Grave and imminent danger from oil pollution casualties to coastline or related interests of United States; Federal nonliability for Federal preventive measures on the high seas

Summary

Title 33, §1472

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata