Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73
§57308 Use of vessels at least 25 years old
Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part F— - Government-Owned Merchant Vessels › Chapter CHAPTER 573— - VESSEL TRADE-IN PROGRAM › § 57308
Summary
Ships bought under this chapter that are 25 years old or older cannot be used for commercial operation. They may be used only while vessels can be taken for government use under chapter 563 of this title, or, unless another part of this subtitle says otherwise, on routes that serve only U.S. foreign trade.
Full Legal Text
Title 46, §57308
Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
An obsolete vessel acquired under this chapter that is or becomes at least 25 years old may not be used for commercial operation. However, the vessel may be used—
(1)during a period in which vessels may be requisitioned under chapter 563 of this title; or
(2)except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, on trade routes serving only the foreign trade of the United States.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5730846 App.:1160(g).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title V, § 510(g), as added Aug. 4, 1939, ch. 417, § 7, 53 Stat. 1185; Pub. L. 86–518, § 1, June 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 216; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(91), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 161. The words “and vessels presently in the Secretary’s laid-up fleet which are or become twenty-five years old or more” and “or any such vessel in the laid-up fleet” are omitted as obsolete. In paragraph (2), the words “for the employment of the Secretary’s vessels in steamship lines” are omitted as unnecessary.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 57308
Title 46 — Shipping
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73