Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73not60
§50102 Survey of Merchant Marine
Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— Merchant Marine › Part A— General › Chapter 501— POLICY, STUDIES, AND REPORTS › § 50102
Summary
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to survey the U.S. merchant fleet and promptly make a long-range plan for replacements and additions. It must meet four goals: a balanced, emergency-convertible fleet; U.S. citizen ownership/operation; vessels that protect passengers/crew from fire and marine dangers; and a U.S. capacity to build/repair ships with enough skilled workers. It must coordinate with the Secretary of the Navy on defense needs.
Full Legal Text
Title 46, §50102
Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Secretary of Transportation shall survey the merchant marine of the United States to determine whether replacements and additions are required to carry out the objectives and policy of section 50101 of this title. The Secretary shall study, perfect, and adopt a long-range program for replacements and additions that will result, as soon as practicable, in—
(1)an adequate and well-balanced merchant fleet, including vessels of all types, that will provide shipping service essential for maintaining the flow of foreign commerce by vessels designed to be readily and quickly convertible into transport and supply vessels in a time of national emergency;
(2)ownership and operation of the fleet by citizens of the United States insofar as practicable;
(3)vessels designed to afford the best and most complete protection for passengers and crew against fire and all marine perils; and
(4)an efficient capacity for building and repairing vessels in the United States with an adequate number of skilled personnel to provide an adequate mobilization base.
(b)In carrying out subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Transportation shall cooperate closely with the Secretary of the Navy as to national defense requirements.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5010246 App.:1120.June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title II, § 210, 49 Stat. 1989; Pub. L. 91–469, §§ 3, 35(a), Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1018, 1035; Pub.L. 97–31, § 12(67) (related to § 210), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 159.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 50102
Title 46 — Shipping
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60