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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73

§55121 Transportation of merchandise and passengers on Canadian vessels

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part D— - Promotional Programs › Chapter CHAPTER 551— - COASTWISE TRADE › § 55121

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Homeland Security may each year issue permits to Canadian passenger ships to carry people between Rochester, New York, and Alexandria Bay, New York, until U.S. ships run that route. Canadian vessels with that permit are not subject to section 55103 of this title. Until the Secretary of Transportation finds that U.S. vessels can provide the service, sections 55102 and 55103 do not apply to Canadian vessels carrying passengers between ports in southeastern Alaska, or carrying passengers or merchandise between Hyder, Alaska, and other points in southeastern Alaska or elsewhere in the United States outside Alaska.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §55121

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Until passenger service is established by vessels of the United States between the port of Rochester, New York, and the port of Alexandria Bay, New York, the Secretary of Homeland Security may issue annually permits to Canadian passenger vessels to transport passengers between those ports. Canadian vessels holding such a permit are not subject to section 55103 of this title.
(b)Until the Secretary of Transportation determines that service by vessels of the United States is available to provide the transportation described in paragraph (1) or (2), section 55102 and 55103 of this title do not apply to the transportation on Canadian vessels of—
(1)passengers between ports in southeastern Alaska; or
(2)passengers or merchandise between Hyder, Alaska, and other points in southeastern Alaska or in the United States outside Alaska.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 55121(a)46 App.:289a.Apr. 26, 1938, ch. 174, 52 Stat. 223; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 101–104, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097. 55121(b)46 App.:289b.Pub. L. 87–77, June 30, 1961, 75 Stat. 196; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(22), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 155. In subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security is substituted for the Commissioner of Customs because the functions of the Customs Service and of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto were transferred to the Secretary of Homeland Security by section 403(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2178). The functions of the Commissioner of Customs previously were vested in the Secretary of the Treasury under section 321(c) of title 31. For prior related transfers of functions, see the

Transfer of Functions

note under 46 App. U.S.C. 289a.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 55121

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73