Title 46ShippingRelease 119-73

§55118 Foreign railroads whose road enters by ferry, tugboat, or towboat

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part D— - Promotional Programs › Chapter CHAPTER 551— - COASTWISE TRADE › § 55118

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Foreign railroads entering by ferry, tugboat, or towboat may own vessels without a coastwise permit to carry rail cars and their contents. They must follow the same rules that apply to U.S. vessels coming from that country, and, unless this chapter allows it, those boats may not move merchandise between U.S. ports or they can be seized.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §55118

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A foreign railroad, whose road enters the United States by ferry, tugboat, or towboat, may own and operate a vessel not having a coastwise endorsement in connection with the water transportation of the passenger, freight, express, baggage, and mail cars used by that road, together with the passengers, freight, express matter, baggage, and mails transported in those cars. However, the foreign railroad is subject to the same restrictions imposed by law on a vessel of the United States entering a port of the United States from the same foreign country. Except as otherwise authorized by this chapter, the ferry, tugboat, or towboat may not, under penalty of forfeiture, be used in the transportation of merchandise between ports or places in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5511846 App.:316(c).R.S. § 4370(c); restated June 11, 1940, ch. 324, 54 Stat. 304. The words “company or corporation” after “foreign railroad” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “vessel not having a coastwise endorsement” are substituted for “such vessel” (referring to a vessel described in 46 App. U.S.C. 316(a)) for clarity and because of the reorganization of the source material in the revised title. The words “However, the foreign railroad is subject to the same restrictions imposed by law on a vessel of the United States entering a port of the United States from the same foreign country” are substituted for “without being subject to any other or different restrictions than those imposed by law on any vessel of the United States entering ports of the United States from ports in the same foreign country” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “Except as otherwise authorized by this chapter” are substituted for “except as authorized by section 883 of this Appendix” because of the reorganization of the source material in the revised title. The words “its Territories or possessions” are omitted as unnecessary because of the definition of “United States” in chapter 1 of the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 55118

Title 46Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73