Title 33Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-73

§555 Duty of shipowners and officers to furnish information required by Secretary of the Army

Title 33 › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 555

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Owners, agents, captains, and clerks of boats, and companies that move their own goods on U.S. navigable waters, must give the Secretary of the Army any information asked about their vessels, passengers, cargo, and tonnage. Rafting logs are not covered unless the owner is asked directly for specific information. For each violation a person can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed for up to two months in the district court where it occurred. The Secretary can also charge a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation for failing to give timely, accurate statements.

Full Legal Text

Title 33, §555

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Owners, agents, masters, and clerks of vessels and other craft plying upon the navigable waters of the United States, and all individuals and corporations engaged in transporting their own goods upon the navigable waters of the United States, shall furnish such statements relative to vessels, passengers, freight, and tonnage as may be required by the Secretary of the Army: Provided, That this provision shall not apply to those rafting logs except upon a direct request upon the owner to furnish specific information. Every person or persons offending against the provisions of this section shall, for each and every offense, be liable to a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment not exceeding two months, to be enforced in any district court in the United States within whose territorial jurisdiction such offense may have been committed. In addition, the Secretary may assess a civil penalty of up to $2,500, per violation, against any person or entity that fails to provide timely, accurate statements required to be submitted pursuant to this section by the Secretary.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is from act Sept. 22, 1922, popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1922”.

Amendments

1986—Pub. L. 99–662 substituted “not more than $5,000” for “$100” and inserted “In addition, the Secretary may assess a civil penalty of up to $2,500, per violation, against any person or entity that fails to provide timely, accurate statements required to be submitted pursuant to this section by the Secretary.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. section 205(a) of act
July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

33 U.S.C. § 555

Title 33Navigation and Navigable Waters

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73