PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

A U.S. vessel must carry an official logbook unless it is sailing from a U.S. port to a Canadian port. A logbook is required when the ship is going from a U.S. port to any foreign port, or when the ship is at least 100 gross tons (or an approved alternate tonnage) and is traveling between a U.S. Atlantic port and a U.S. Pacific port. The ship’s captain must make or have entries in the logbook about many crew and ship events. These include convictions and punishments of crew, offenses meant to be prosecuted or forfeited (with a note that the charge was read and the crew member’s reply), punishments given on board, a short statement about each crew member’s conduct and qualifications (or a note declining to give an opinion), illnesses and injuries and their treatment, deaths (with cause and required details), births (sex and parents’ names), marriages (names and ages), crew who leave the ship (place, time, how, and why), wages and deductions for a crew member who dies during the voyage, sale of a deceased crew member’s property (items and amounts), reports of marine accidents made right away when possible, and failures to follow ballast water rules (including when a safety exemption caused the failure), recorded right away when possible.

Title 46, §11301

Shipping, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except a vessel on a voyage from a port in the United States to a port in Canada, a vessel of the United States shall have an official logbook if the vessel is—

(1)on a voyage from a port in the United States to a foreign port; or

(2)of at least 100 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title and is on a voyage between a port of the United States on the Atlantic Ocean and on the Pacific Ocean.

(b)The master of the vessel shall make or have made in the official logbook the following entries:

(1)each legal conviction of a seaman of the vessel and the punishment inflicted.

(2)each offense committed by a seaman of the vessel for which it is intended to prosecute or to enforce under a forfeiture, together with statements about reading the entry and the reply made to the charge as required by section 11502 of this title.

(3)each offense for which punishment is inflicted on board and the punishment inflicted.

(4)a statement of the conduct, character, and qualifications of each seaman of the vessel or a statement that the master declines to give an opinion about that conduct, character, and qualifications.

(5)each illness of or injury to a seaman of the vessel, the nature of the illness or injury, and the medical treatment.

(6)each death on board, with the cause of death, and if a seaman, the information required by section 10702 of this title.

(7)each birth on board, with the sex of the infant and name of the parents.

(8)each marriage on board, with the names and ages of the parties.

(9)the name of each seaman who ceases to be a crewmember (except by death), with the place, time, manner, and the cause why the seaman ceased to be a crewmember.

(10)the wages due to a seaman who dies during the voyage and the gross amount of all deductions to be made from the wages.

(11)the sale of the property of a seaman who dies during the voyage, including a statement of each article sold and the amount received for the property.

(12)when a marine casualty occurs, a statement about the casualty and the circumstances under which it occurred, made immediately after the casualty when practicable to do so.

(13)when a vessel fails to carry out ballast water management requirements as applicable and pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Secretary, including when the vessel fails to carry out ballast water management requirements due to an allowed safety exemption, a statement regarding the failure to comply and the circumstances under which the failure occurred, made immediately after the failure, when practicable to do so.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource section (U.S. Code) 1130146:201 section 11301 requires United States vessels on certain types of voyages to have an official logbook and lists the types of entries that must be made in the logbook.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (b)(13). Pub. L. 115–282 added par. (13). 1996—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–324 inserted “as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title” after “100 gross tons”. 1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–557 amended subsec. (a) generally, which prior to amendment read as follows: “A vessel of the United States on a voyage between a port in the United States and a port in a foreign country, and a vessel of the United States of at least 75 gross tons on a voyage between a port of the United States on the Atlantic Ocean and a port of the United States on the Pacific Ocean, shall have an official logbook.”

§11301 Logbook and Entry Requirements