Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle C— Navy and Marine Corps › Part IV— GENERAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter 863— NAVAL VESSELS › § 8677
You cannot give, sell, lease, loan, or otherwise transfer a Navy ship that is more than 3,000 tons or under 20 years old to another country unless a law passed after August 5, 1974 specifically allows it. Any lease or loan under such a law must follow chapter 6 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2796 et seq.) or chapter 2 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.). If a law names a specific ship, the Secretary of Defense may substitute another ship of the same class only if it has virtually identical capabilities. If a law authorizes a certain number of ships of a class, only that number may be transferred. A ship not covered by the rule above can be transferred under other laws only after the Secretary of the Navy sends written notice to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and 30 days of continuous session of Congress pass after that notice. A continuous session ends only by adjournment sine die, and days when either House is out because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain do not count toward the 30 days.
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Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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Reference
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 8677
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60