§53207 National security requirements

Summary

Every Operating Agreement must require the Contractor to sign a Contingency Agreement with the Operating Agency. The Operating Agency must negotiate and sign that Contingency Agreement soon after the Operating Agreement starts. The Contingency Agreement must make the vessel and all items needed to provide Cable Services available when the Operating Agency asks. The Operating Agency sets the basic terms, but the Contractor and Agency can agree to extra or different terms. A Contractor cannot be forced to stay in a Contingency Agreement after its Operating Agreement ends, except as allowed by section 53205(d). "Resources" include equipment, people, supplies, management, and other related services the Agency says are needed. If a vessel under Agency direction is in an area the Coast Guard calls high risk for piracy, the vessel must have appropriate non‑lethal defenses. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the department that runs the Coast Guard will jointly decide what those defenses are. The Agency must pay fair and reasonable compensation at the rate in the Contingency Agreement from the time the vessel is required until it is returned to commercial service, and that pay is separate from amounts under section 53206. The Government is not liable for a Contractor’s lost business or other consequential damages from activating a Contingency Agreement, and a Contractor may defend against third‑party breach claims by showing the breach was mainly caused by carrying out the Contingency Agreement, while still trying to reduce damages.