Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part B— - Merchant Marine Service › Chapter CHAPTER 515— - STATE MARITIME ACADEMY SUPPORT PROGRAM › § 51504
Governors of states that run a state maritime academy can write to the Secretary of Transportation to ask for a training ship. Any ship given stays the property of the U.S. government. The Secretary may give a ship that he controls or build one if none are available. He can only do this if an application was made, the academy meets the requirements in section 51506(a), and a safe port is available for the ship. The Secretary will fix, outfit (including charts, books, and navigation tools), and keep the ship in good repair. Another federal agency may give a suitable ship and its equipment to the Secretary if doing so won’t hurt that agency’s mission. If money is available, the Secretary will pay the fuel costs for the ship while it is used for training. The payments are capped at $100,000 for fiscal year 2006, $200,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $300,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each year after. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, the Secretary, through the Maritime Administrator and after consulting the academies, must start a program that requires sharing training ships so each academy gets needed training. The sharing program must increase underway training, match cruise dates to school calendars, coordinate onboard academic programs, and find ways to cut costs. The Maritime Administrator may give extra funds when ship capacity is limited, if money is available. Within 30 days after the start of each fiscal year, the Maritime Administrator must review the sharing program and change it as needed to use the ships better.
Full Legal Text
Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 51504
Title 46 — Shipping
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73