Title 46, ShippingRelease 119-110

§53901 Definitions

Title 46 › Subtitle V — Merchant Marine › Part C — Financial Assistance Programs › CHAPTER 539 — WAR RISK INSURANCE › § 53901

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter. "American vessel" means three kinds of boats: vessels documented under chapter 121, undocumented vessels owned, chartered, or made available to the U.S. Government, and tugs, barges, or craft owned by U.S. citizens used for essential water transport or fisheries (not sport fishing). "Cargo" includes loaded or empty containers. "Transportation in the waterborne commerce of the United States" includes fisheries (not sport fishing). "War risks," if the Secretary of Transportation decides, include losses excluded by insurance clauses against capture or seizure and losses from hostile acts like confiscation, expropriation, nationalization, or deprivation.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §53901

Shipping, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:
(1)American vessel.—
The term “American vessel” includes—
(A)a documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of this title;
(B)an undocumented vessel owned or chartered by or made available to the United States Government; and
(C)a tug, barge, or other watercraft (whether or not documented) owned by a citizen of the United States and used in essential water transportation or in the fisheries, except only for sport fishing.
(2)Cargo.—
The term “cargo” includes a loaded or empty container on a vessel.
(3)Transportation in the waterborne commerce of the united states.—
The term “transportation in the waterborne commerce of the United States” includes the operation of a vessel in the fisheries, except only for sport fishing.
(4)War risks.—
The term “war risks” includes, to the extent the Secretary of Transportation determines—
(A)any part of a loss excluded from marine insurance coverage under a “free of capture or seizure” clause or analogous clause; and
(B)any other loss from a hostile act, including confiscation, expropriation, nationalization, or deprivation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 53901(1)46 App.:1281(a).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, §§ 1201(a), (b), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 773. 53901(2)46 App.:1283(b) (last sentence).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, § 1203(b) (last sentence), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 774; Pub. L. 94–523, § 2, Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2474. 53901(3)46 App.:1281(b). 53901(4)46 App.:1281(c).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, § 1201(c), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 773; restated Pub. L. 107–107, title XXXV, § 3502, Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1392. In paragraph (1)(A), the words “a documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of this title” are substituted for “any vessel registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States” because of 46 U.S.C. 12101(b). In paragraph (1)(B). the words “or any department or agency thereof” are omitted as surplus. In paragraph (1)(C), the word “fisheries” is substituted for “fishing trade or industry” because of the definition of “fisheries” in chapter 1 of the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 53901

Title 46, Shipping

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110