Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60
§8168 Consular Powers: Senior Officer Present Afloat
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle C— Navy and Marine Corps › Part II— PERSONNEL › Chapter 821— OFFICERS IN COMMAND › § 8168
Summary
If there is no U.S. consul living in a foreign port, or if you are on the high seas, the most senior U.S. officer present on the ships must act with the same authority a consul would. That officer can step in to help and represent American sailors.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §8168
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In any foreign port where there is no resident consul of the United States, or on the high seas, the senior officer present afloat has the powers of a consul in relation to mariners of the United States.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 594834 U.S.C. 217.R.S. 1433. The words “the senior officer present afloat” are substituted for the words “The commanding officer of any fleet, squadron, or vessel acting singly”. At the time of enactment of the Revised Statutes, the word “squadron” meant any number of vessels more than one. Today the concept of “senior officer present afloat” covers as nearly as possible the current equivalent of the original statute.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 5948 of this title as this section.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of
Amendments
and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 8168
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60