§50301 — Title 46 Shipping | U.S. Code

Summary

Creates a Vessel Operations Revolving Fund for the Secretary of Transportation to pay for chartering, running, fixing, and improving merchant ships. The Fund starts with $20,000,000 and stays available until spent. The Secretary sets shipping rates and puts all vessel operating income into the Fund. Operations follow certain 1943 Act rules and seamen hired through general agents are treated as U.S. government employees but may be hired using normal commercial maritime practices. With OMB approval, up to 2% of vessel operating costs can be moved from the Fund to the "Salaries and Expenses" account, ignoring that account’s usual limits. Money left in related working funds or accounts set up after January 1, 1951, and receipts from those activities may be transferred into the Fund. Funds from this law (or other laws) cannot be used to pay for a vessel acquired by requisition or purchase, taken for use, or lost while insured by the Government unless payment is figured under section 56303 as the Comptroller General interprets it; this rule does not apply to vessels under construction-differential subsidy contracts. The Fund also pays certain vessel-related costs, including mortgage or forfeiture expenses, redelivery and lay-up of vessels chartered as of June 20, 1956, activation/repair/deactivation of vessels chartered for limited emergencies in fiscal year 1957, custody and maintenance of government-owned vessels not in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, and other activation/repair/deactivation costs. Receipts from chartering government-owned vessels go back into the Fund.

Title 46, §50301

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is a “Vessel Operations Revolving Fund” for use by the Secretary of Transportation in carrying out duties and powers related to vessel operations, including charter, operation, maintenance, repair, reconditioning, and improvement of merchant vessels under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. The Fund has a working capital of $20,000,000, to remain available until expended.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, rates for shipping services provided under the Fund shall be prescribed by the Secretary and the Fund shall be credited with receipts from vessel operations conducted under the Fund. section 1(a) and (c), 3(c), and 4 of the Act of March 24, 1943 (50 U.S.C. 4701(a), (c), 4703(c), 4704), apply to those operations and to seamen employed through general agents as employees of the United States Government. Notwithstanding any other law on the employment of persons by the Government, the seamen may be employed in accordance with customary commercial practices in the maritime industry.

(c)With the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary may advance amounts the Secretary considers necessary, but not more than 2 percent of vessel operating expenses, from the Fund to the appropriation “Salaries and Expenses” in carrying out duties and powers related to vessel operations, without regard to the limitations on amounts stated in that appropriation.

(d)The unexpended balances of working funds or of allocation accounts established after January 1, 1951, for the activities provided for in subsection (a), and receipts received from those activities, may be transferred to the Fund, which shall be available for the purposes of those working funds or allocation accounts.

(e)(1)Amounts made available to the Secretary for maritime activities by this section or any other law may not be used to pay for a vessel described in paragraph (2) unless the compensation to be paid is computed under section 56303 of this title as that section is interpreted by the Comptroller General.

(2)Paragraph (1) applies to a vessel—

(A)the title to which is acquired by the Government by requisition or purchase;

(B)the use of which is taken by requisition or agreement; or

(C)lost while insured by the Government.

(3)Paragraph (1) does not apply to a vessel under a construction-differential subsidy contract.

(f)The Fund is available for—

(1)necessary expenses incurred in the protection, preservation, maintenance, acquisition, or use of vessels involved in mortgage foreclosure or forfeiture proceedings instituted by the Government, including payment of prior claims and liens, expenses of sale, or other related charges;

(2)necessary expenses incident to the redelivery and lay-up, in the United States, of vessels chartered as of June 20, 1956, under agreements not calling for their return to the Government;

(3)the activation, repair, and deactivation of merchant vessels chartered for limited emergency purposes during fiscal year 1957 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; and

(4)payment of expenses of custody and maintenance of Government-owned vessels not in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

(g)The Fund is available for expenses incurred in activating, repairing, and deactivating merchant vessels chartered under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Receipts from charter operations of Government-owned vessels under the jurisdiction of the Secretary shall be credited to the Fund.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 50301(a)46 App.:1241a (1st sentence).June 2, 1951, ch. 121 (pars. under heading “Vessel Operations Revolving Fund”), 65 Stat. 59; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(128), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 165; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814. 50301(b)46 App.:1241a (2d sentence words before 2d proviso). 50301(c)46 App.:1241a (2d sentence 2d proviso). 50301(d)46 App.:1241a (2d sentence last proviso). 50301(e)46 App.:1241a (last sentence). 50301(f)46 App.:1241b.June 20, 1956, ch. 415, title I, § 101 (4th complete par. on p. 319), 70 Stat. 319; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(129), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 165. 46 App.:1241b note. 50301(g)46 App.:1241c.Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 846, 70 Stat. 897; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(130), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 165. In subsection (c), the words “Director of the Office of Management and Budget” are substituted for “Bureau of the Budget” in the Act of June 2, 1951 (ch. 121, 65 Stat. 59), because of section 101 and 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1970 (5 App. U.S.C.) and 31 U.S.C. ch. 5. The words “for the purposes of that appropriation” are omitted for clarity and for consistency in the subsection. In subsection (d), the words “notwithstanding any other provisions of law” and “and consolidated with” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (e), in paragraph (1), the words “Comptroller General” are substituted for “Government Accountability Office” for consistency in the revised title. Paragraph (3) is substituted for “(except in cases where section 1212 of this Appendix is applicable)” because section 1212 applies to all vessels under a

Construction

-differential subsidy contract. In subsection (f), the words “On and after

June 20, 1956”, and the last proviso in the 4th complete par. at 70 Stat. 319 (46 App. U.S.C. 1241b note), are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (g), the words “beginning

July 1, 1956” and “after

July 1, 1956” are omitted as obsolete.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted “(50 U.S.C. 4701(a), (c), 4703(c), 4704)” for “(50 App. U.S.C. 1291(a), (c), 1293(c), 1294)”.

§50301 Vessel Operations Revolving Fund