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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73not60

§50106 Studies on the Operation of Vessels

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— Merchant Marine › Part A— General › Chapter 501— POLICY, STUDIES, AND REPORTS › § 50106

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation must study and keep current records on the costs of running similar ships — like insurance, upkeep, repairs, crew pay and living costs — and compare ships covered by U.S. rules with foreign ships that compete with them. The Secretary must also track how many shipyards the United States has, where they are, and how well they work. The Secretary must review U.S. navigation laws and recommend changes to Congress to improve and grow the U.S. merchant fleet.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §50106

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Transportation shall investigate, determine, and keep current records of the relative cost of marine insurance, maintenance, repairs, wages and subsistence of officers and crews, and all other items of expense, in the operation of comparable vessels under the laws and regulations of the United States and those of the foreign countries whose vessels are substantial competitors of American vessels.
(b)The Secretary shall investigate, determine, and keep current records of the number, location, and efficiency of shipyards in the United States.
(c)The Secretary shall examine the navigation laws and regulations of the United States and make such recommendations to Congress as the Secretary considers proper for the amendment, improvement, and revision of those laws and for the development of the merchant marine of the United States.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 50106(a)46 App.:811 (1st sentence words after 1st comma).Sept. 7, 1916, ch. 451, § 12 (1st sentence words after 1st comma, 3d sentence), 39 Stat. 732; Ex. Ord. No. 6166, § 12, eff. June 10, 1933; June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title II, § 204, title IX, § 904, 49 Stat. 1987, 2016; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(27), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 155. 46 App.:1121(e).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title II, § 211(e), (g), 49 Stat. 1989; Pub. L. 91–469, §§ 4(2), 5, 35(a), Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1018, 1035; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(67), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 159. 50106(b)46 App.:1121(g). 50106(c)46 App.:811 (3d sentence). In subsection (b), the words “existing on June 29, 1936, or thereafter built” are omitted as obsolete.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 50106

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60