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Title 46, ShippingRelease 119-102

§11304 Additional Logbook and Entry Requirements

Title 46 › Subtitle II — Vessels and Seamen › Part G — Merchant Seamen Protection and Relief › CHAPTER 113 — OFFICIAL LOGBOOKS › § 11304

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

A U.S. vessel that is inspected under section 3301 must keep a logbook, except when on a trip from a U.S. port to a Canadian port. The logbook can be paper or electronic and must be available for the Secretary to look at if asked. The logbook must show when each seaman and each officer took or left a watch, how many hours each seaman and each officer served on the vessel, and every seaman’s illness or injury with what it was and what medical care was given.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §11304

Shipping, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A vessel of the United States that is subject to inspection under section 3301 of this title, except a vessel on a voyage from a port in the United States to a port in Canada, shall have a logbook, which may be in any form, including electronic, and shall be kept available for review by the Secretary on request.
(b)The logbook required by subsection (a) shall include the following entries:
(1)The time when each seaman and each officer assumed or relieved the watch.
(2)The number of hours in service to the vessels of each seaman and each officer.
(3)Each illness of, and injury to, a seaman of the vessel, the nature of the illness or injury, and the medical treatment provided for the injury or illness.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–282, § 511(a)(1), substituted “a logbook, which may be in any form, including electronic, and” for “an official logbook, which”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–282, § 511(b), which directed amendment of section 11304(b), without specifying the title to be amended, by substituting “logbook” for “log book”, was executed to this section in the introductory provisions of subsec. (b), to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–282, § 511(a)(2), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: “An account of each accident, illness, and injury that occurs during each watch.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 11304

Title 46, Shipping

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102