Title 46, ShippingRelease 119-102
§70033 Limitation on Application to Foreign Vessels
Title 46 › Subtitle VII — Security and Drug Enforcement › CHAPTER 700 — PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY › SUBCHAPTER IV — DEFINITIONS, REGULATIONS, ENFORCEMENT, INVESTIGATORY POWERS, APPLICABILITY › § 70033
Summary
Subchapters I–III and this subchapter don’t apply to foreign vessels that are just passing through U.S. waters on innocent passage or transiting an international strait, unless the U.S. has an international agreement.
Full Legal Text
Title 46, §70033
Shipping, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Except pursuant to international treaty, convention, or agreement, to which the United States is a party, subchapters I through III and this subchapter shall not apply to any foreign vessel that is not destined for, or departing from, a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and that is in— (1)
(2)transit through the navigable waters of the United States that form a part of an international strait.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2021—Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “I through III” for “A through C” in introductory provisions.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 70033
Title 46, Shipping
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102