§548 — Title 40 Public Buildings, Property, and Works | U.S. Code

Summary

The Maritime Administration must sell surplus ships of 1,500 gross tons or more when it finds they are merchant ships or can be turned into merchant ships. Those sales must follow the existing laws that govern how such ships are sold. The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can instead sell or transfer NOAA survey and research ships and related equipment. For the two-year period starting on the date the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 was enacted, NOAA may keep the money from those sales and use it, with no yearly limit, to buy new covered vessels or to repair and maintain existing covered vessels. "Covered vessels and equipment" means NOAA-owned survey and research ships and related gear.

Title 40, §548

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), the Maritime Administration shall dispose of surplus vessels of 1,500 gross tons or more which the Administration determines to be merchant vessels or capable of conversion to merchant use. The vessels shall be disposed of in accordance with part F of subtitle V of title 46 and other laws authorizing the sale of such vessels.

(b)(1)The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may dispose of covered vessels and equipment, which would otherwise be disposed of under subsection (a), through sales or transfers under this title.

(2)During the 2-year period beginning of the date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, notwithstanding section 571 of this title or section 3302 of title 31, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may—

(A)retain the proceeds from the sale or transfer of a covered vessel or equipment under paragraph (1) until expended under subparagraph (B); and

(B)use such proceeds, without fiscal year limitation, for the acquisition of new covered vessels and equipment or the repair and maintenance of existing covered vessels and equipment.

(3)In this subsection, the term “covered vessels and equipment” means survey and research vessels and related equipment owned by the Federal Government and under the control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 54840:484(i).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title II, § 203(i), 63 Stat. 386; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(15), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 154.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 119–60, which was approved Dec. 18, 2025.

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted “Except as provided in subsection (b), the Maritime” for “The Maritime”, and added subsec. (b). 2006—Pub. L. 109–304 substituted “part F of subtitle V of title 46” for “the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1101 et seq.),”.

§548 Surplus vessels