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§14302 Measurement

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Vessels and Seamen › Part J— Measurement of Vessels › Chapter 143— CONVENTION MEASUREMENT › § 14302

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Secretary must measure vessels covered by this chapter using the methods in this chapter and the Convention. That measurement replaces other measurement laws and counts for any U.S. law that depends on a vessel's tonnage and that began after July 18, 1994, or for older laws not listed in section 14305 that the Secretary names by regulation.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §14302

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(a)The Secretary shall measure a vessel to which this chapter applies in the way provided by this chapter and the Convention.
(b)A vessel measured under this chapter may not be required to be measured under another law.
(c)Unless otherwise provided by law, the measurement of a vessel under this chapter applies to a law of the United States whose applicability depends on a vessel’s tonnage, if that law—
(1)becomes effective after July 18, 1994; or
(2)is in effect before July 19, 1994, is not enumerated in section 14305 of this title, and is identified by the Secretary by regulation as a law to which this chapter applies.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised section 14302 Source: International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships. section 14302(a) requires the Secretary to measure a vessel to which this chapter applies, in the way provided by this chapter and by the Convention. section 14302(b) provides that a vessel that is required to be measured under this chapter can not also be required to be measured under another law. The exception allows the Panama Canal Commission to continue to use the Canal measurement system for calculation of tolls. section 14302(c) provides that the applicability of tonnage-based laws that become effective after
July 18, 1994, will be based on Convention tonnage measurements. The applicability of tonnage-based laws in effect before
July 19, 1994, which are listed by the Secretary, will also be based on Convention tonnage. Therefore, the laws that will be based on regulatory tonnage are those not listed by the Secretary by regulation and those listed in section 14305 of this legislation.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2010—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–281 amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: “Except as provided in section 1602(a) of the Panama Canal Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3792(a)), a vessel measured under this chapter may not be required to be measured under another law.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 14302

Title 46Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60