PRIA Logo™
Take the PRIA Score
Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73

§55302 Transportation of United States Government personnel

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part D— - Promotional Programs › Chapter CHAPTER 553— - PASSENGER AND CARGO PREFERENCES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GOVERNMENT IMPELLED TRANSPORTATION › § 55302

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

U.S. government workers traveling by sea for official business overseas, or to or from a U.S. territory or possession, must use U.S.-registered ships when one is available, unless the mission truly requires a foreign ship. The head of the General Services Administration must make rules so agencies will not pay or reimburse travel on a foreign ship unless there is acceptable proof that using the foreign ship was necessary.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §55302

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)An officer or employee of the United States Government traveling by sea on official business overseas or to or from a territory or possession of the United States shall travel and transport personal effects on a vessel documented under the laws of the United Sates if such a vessel is available, unless the necessity of the mission requires the use of a foreign vessel.
(b)The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe regulations under which agencies may not pay for or reimburse an officer or employee for travel or transportation expenses incurred on a foreign vessel in the absence of satisfactory proof of the necessity of using the vessel.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5530246 App.:1241(a).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title IX, § 901(a), 49 Stat. 2015; Aug. 26, 1954, ch. 936, 68 Stat. 832; Pub. L. 104–316, title I, § 125, Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3839. In subsection (a), the words “by sea” are added for clarity. The words “a territory or possession of the United States” are substituted for “any of the possessions of the United States” for consistency in the revised title.

Executive Documents

ExemptionsFunctions authorized by Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as exempt, see Ex. Ord. No. 11223, eff. May 12, 1965, 30 F.R. 6635, set out under section 2393 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 55302

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73