§53205 Obligations and Rights Under Operating Agreements

Summary

Requires that while a vessel is covered by an Operating Agreement it must be used either in the Cable Services trade or under a U.S. charter, and it must be officially registered under chapter 121. If funds are available, the Secretary must pay the Contractor as set out in section 53206, and the Operating Agreement is a U.S. government contract to pay those amounts only to the extent of actual appropriations. A vessel covered (including ones ended under section 53204(c)(2)) must stay registered under chapter 121 until the Agreement would normally end. The Contractor stays bound by section 53207 until that end date, and any Contingency Agreement under section 53207 stays in force until then unless the Contractor and the Operating Agency both agree to change it. Operating Agreements cannot be transferred. A Contractor may swap in another vessel eligible under section 53202(b) only if the Secretary and the Operating Agency both approve and find it meets national security needs.