§51506 — Title 46 Shipping | U.S. Code

Summary

To get yearly payments or to use government ships, a State maritime academy must do several things. It must teach navigation, marine engineering (including steam and diesel), how to operate and maintain new ships and equipment, and new practices for the merchant marine. The academy must sign to follow standards the Secretary of Transportation sets after talking with academy leaders, including standards for a shortened officer program. U.S. citizens in officer-prep must pass the license exam before graduating. Those students must also, within 9 months of enrollment, pass a medical and physical exam that meets the standards for an original license or the Coast Guard’s merchant mariner documentation with full operational authority, keep meeting those standards while enrolled, and be moved out of officer-prep or removed from the academy if they cannot meet them until they can. If an academy gets more than $25,000 a year, it must admit each year a number of U.S. citizens from states that do not support the academy, as set by the Secretary but not more than one-third of all students. An academy may offer a program that finishes officer training and licensing in under 3 years without requiring a degree for certain eligible people: veterans discharged honorably or Guard/Reserve members with at least six years of service who also have a bachelor’s degree. The Secretary can change or waive the medical/physical rules for any person or academy.

Title 46, §51506

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(a)As conditions of receiving an annual payment or the use of a vessel under this chapter, a State maritime academy shall—

(1)provide courses of instruction on navigation, marine engineering (including steam and diesel propulsion), the operation and maintenance of new vessels and equipment, and innovations being introduced to the merchant marine of the United States;

(2)agree in writing to conform to the standards for courses, training facilities, admissions, and instruction that the Secretary of Transportation may establish after consultation with the superintendents of State maritime academies, which shall include standards for a program described in subsection (c);

(3)agree in writing to require, as a condition for graduation, that each individual who is a citizen of the United States and who is attending the academy in a merchant marine officer preparation program pass the examination required for the issuance of a license under section 7101 of this title; and

(4)agree that any individual enrolled at such State maritime academy in a merchant marine officer preparation program—

(A)shall, not later than 9 months after such individual’s date of enrollment, pass an examination in form and substance satisfactory to the Secretary that demonstrates that such individual meets the medical and physical requirements—

(i)required for the issuance of an original license under section 7101; or

(ii)set by the Coast Guard for issuing merchant mariners’ documentation under section 7302, with no limit to the individual’s operational authority;

(B)following passage of the examination under subparagraph (A), shall continue to meet the requirements described in subparagraph (A) throughout the remainder of the individual’s enrollment at the State maritime academy; and

(C)if the individual has a medical or physical condition that disqualifies the individual from meeting the requirements referred to in subparagraph (A), shall be transferred to a program other than a merchant marine officer preparation program, or otherwise appropriately disenrolled from such State maritime academy, until the individual demonstrates to the Secretary that the individual meets such requirements.

(b)As a condition of receiving an annual payment of more than $25,000 under section 51505 of this title, a State maritime academy also must agree to admit each year a number of citizens of the United States who meet its admission requirements and reside in a State not supporting that academy. The Secretary shall determine the number of individuals to be admitted by each academy under this subsection. The number may not be more than one-third of the total number of individuals attending the academy at any time.

(c)(1)A State maritime academy may offer a program under which an eligible individual may complete a merchant marine officer preparation program approved by the Secretary, and the requirements for the issuance of a license under section 7101 of this title, in less than 3 years, without a requirement to earn a baccalaureate or other degree from the State maritime academy.

(2)For purposes of this subsection, an eligible individual is an individual—

(A)who is—

(i)a person who served in the Armed Forces, and who was discharged or released therefrom under honorable conditions; or

(ii)a member of the National Guard or Reserves who has performed at least six years of service therein; and

(B)who has earned a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)).

(d)The Secretary may modify or waive any of the terms set forth in subsection (a)(4) with respect to any individual or State maritime academy.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5150646 App.:1295c(f).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XIII, § 1304(f), as added Pub. L. 96–453, § 2, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2004; Pub. L. 101–115, § 3(a), Oct. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 692. In subsection (a)(3), the words “administered by the Coast Guard” are omitted as unnecessary.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3534(1), inserted before semicolon at end “, which shall include standards for a program described in subsection (c)”. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3534(2), (3), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3515(1)(A), substituted “shall” for “must” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3515(1)(B)–(D), added par. (4). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3515(2), added subsec. (c).

§51506 Conditions to Receiving Payments and Use of Vessels