§53734 — Title 46 Shipping | U.S. Code

Summary

Allows the Secretary or Administrator to guarantee loans that pay for building or rebuilding commercial ships used in coastwise, intercoastal, or foreign trade. The guarantee can also cover repaying past shipbuilding costs. The ship must be needed because a change in the law made the old ship unusable, and the borrower would otherwise lose the right to operate in the same trades. The borrower must now be carrying the same kind of cargo and must use the new ship only to replace vessels made obsolete by the rule change. The new ship can’t increase the replaced ship’s cargo capacity. If the ship is rebuilt, it must have at least 15 years of useful life. The Secretary or Administrator must also find that future market demand won’t make the guarantee a bad financial decision and must consider other specified criteria. A guaranteed loan can run no longer than 25 years. The guarantee may cover up to 87.5% of the actual cost or the depreciated actual cost to the borrower, and the agency can’t set one single percentage to apply to every case. Applicants must provide adequate security. The guarantee is also subject to other program rules, and the agency may charge an extra fee—either up to 1% per year in addition to the regular fee or a fee based on the loan amount versus how much of the borrower’s fleet is being replaced.

Title 46, §53734

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Secretary or Administrator, on terms the Secretary or Administrator may prescribe, may guarantee or make a commitment to guarantee the payment of the principal of and interest on an obligation that aids in financing or refinancing (including reimbursement of an obligor for expenditures previously made for) a contract for the construction or reconstruction of a vessel if—

(1)the vessel is designed and to be used for commercial use in coastwise, intercoastal, or foreign trade;

(2)the construction or reconstruction is necessary to replace a vessel that cannot continue to be operated because of a change required by law in the standards for the operation of vessels, and the applicant for the guarantee or commitment would not otherwise legally be able to continue operating vessels in the trades in which the applicant operated vessels before the change;

(3)the applicant is presently engaged in transporting cargoes in vessels of the type and class that will be constructed or reconstructed under this section and agrees to employ vessels constructed or reconstructed under this section as replacements only for vessels made obsolete by the change in operating standards;

(4)the capacity of the vessels to be constructed or reconstructed under this section will not increase the cargo carrying capacity of the vessels being replaced;

(5)the Secretary or Administrator has not determined that the market demand for the vessel over its useful life will diminish so as to make granting the guarantee fiduciarily imprudent;

(6)the vessel, if to be reconstructed, will have a useful life of at least 15 years after the reconstruction; and

(7)the Secretary or Administrator has considered the criteria specified in section 53708(a)(3)–(5) of this title.

(b)(1)The term of an obligation guaranteed under this section may not exceed 25 years.

(2)The amount of an obligation guaranteed under this section may not exceed 87.5 percent of the actual cost or depreciated actual cost to the applicant for the construction or reconstruction of the vessel. The Secretary or Administrator may not establish a percentage under this paragraph that is to be applied uniformly to all guarantees or commitments to guarantee made under this section.

(c)A guarantee or commitment to guarantee under this section is also subject to section 53701, 53702(a), 53704, 53705, 53707(a), 53708(d) and (e), 53709(a), 53710(a)(1), (2), and (4) and (c), 53711(a), 53713, 53714, 53717, and 53721–53725 of this title.

(d)The Secretary or Administrator shall require by regulation that an applicant under this section provide adequate security against default.

(e)The Secretary or Administrator may establish a fee for the guarantee of an obligation under this section that is in addition to the fee established under section 53714 of this title. The fee may be—

(1)an annual fee of not more than an additional 1 percent added to the fee established under section 53714 of this title; or

(2)a fee based on the amount of the obligation versus the percentage of the obligor’s fleet being replaced by vessels constructed or reconstructed under this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 53734(a)46 App.:1274a(a), (b)(3).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XI, § 1104B, as added Pub. L. 101–380, title IV, § 4115(f)(2), Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 521; amended Pub. L. 102–587, title VI, § 6204, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5094; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XIII, § 1356(4), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1814; Pub. L. 104–239, § 11(2), Oct. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 3134. 53734(b)46 App.:1274a(b) (less (3)). 53734(c)46 App.:1274a(d). 53734(d)46 App.:1274a(c)(1) (1st sentence). 53734(e)46 App.:1274a(c)(1) (2d sentence), (2). In subsection (a), in paragraph (1), the words “as defined in section 1244 of this Appendix” are omitted because the definition of “foreign commerce or trade” in chapter 1 of the revised title applies without having to say so specifically. Paragraph (6) is substituted for 46 App. U.S.C. 1274a(b)(3) to improve the organization of the source provisions. In subsection (b)(2), the words “by rule, regulation, or procedure” are omitted as unnecessary and for consistency with section 53709(d) of the revised title. In subsections (c) and (e), the language concerning the Vessel Replacement Guarantee Fund and the Federal Ship Financing Fund is omitted as obsolete. See the explanation for section 53717.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(b), repealed Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(E). See 2006 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(a)(10)(B), incorporated the substance of the amendment by Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(E), into this section by inserting “or Administrator” after “Secretary” wherever appearing. See 2006 Amendment note below and section 18(a) of Pub. L. 109–304, set out as a Legislative Purpose and

Construction

note preceding section 101 of this title. 2006—Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(E), which directed the amendment of section 1274a of the former Appendix to this title from which this section was derived, was repealed by Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(b). See 2008 Amendment notes and

Historical and Revision Notes

above.

§53734 Replacement of Vessels Because of Changes in Operating Standards

Summary

Title 46, §53734

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Construction

Historical and Revision Notes

Citations & Metadata