46 U.S.C. § 57100 — National Defense Reserve Fleet

Page 507 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 57100 sels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet’’ for ‘‘Sale of obsolete vessels in National Defense Reserve Fleet’’ in item 57103. § 57100. National Defense Reserve Fleet (a) FLEET COMPONENTS.—The Secretary of Transportation shall maintain a National De- fense Reserve Fleet, including any vessel as- signed by the Secretary to the Ready Reserve Force component of the fleet, consisting of those vessels owned or acquired by the United States Government that the Secretary of Trans- portation, after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, determines are of value for national defense purposes and that the Secretary of Transportation decides to place and maintain in the fleet. Vessels in the National Defense Re- serve Fleet, including vessels loaned to State maritime academies, shall be considered public vessels of the United States. (b) PERMITTED USES.—Except as otherwise pro- vided by law, a vessel in the fleet may be used— (1) for an account of an agency of the United States Government in a period during which vessels may be requisitioned under chapter 563; or (2) on the request of the Secretary of De- fense, and in accordance with memoranda of agreement between the Secretary of Transpor- tation and the Secretary of Defense, for— (A) testing for readiness and suitability for mission performance; (B) defense sealift functions for which other sealift assets are not reasonably avail- able; and (C) support of the deployment of the United States armed forces in a military contingency, for military contingency oper- ations, or for civil contingency operations upon orders from the National Command Au- thority; (3) for otherwise lawfully permitted storage or transportation of non-defense-related cargo as directed by the Secretary of Transportation with the concurrence of the Secretary of De- fense; (4) for training purposes to the extent au- thorized by the Secretary of Transportation with the concurrence of the Secretary of De- fense; (5) on a reimbursable basis, for charter to the government of any State, locality, or Ter- ritory of the United States, except that the prior consent of the Secretary of Defense for such use shall be required with respect to any vessel in the Ready Reserve Force or in the National Defense Reserve Fleet which is main- tained in a retention status for the Depart- ment of Defense; or (6) for civil contingency operations and Mar- itime Administration promotional and media events, in accordance with subsection (f). (c) READY RESERVE FORCE MANAGEMENT.— (1) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—To ensure the readiness of vessels in the Ready Reserve Force component of the National Defense Re- serve Fleet, the Secretary of Transportation shall, at a minimum— (A) maintain all of the vessels in a manner that will enable each vessel to be activated within a period specified in plans for mobili- zation of the vessels; (B) activate and conduct sea trials on each vessel at a frequency that is considered by the Secretary to be necessary; (C) maintain and adequately crew, as nec- essary, in an enhanced readiness status those vessels that are scheduled to be acti- vated in 5 or less days; (D) locate those vessels that are scheduled to be activated near embarkation ports spec- ified for those vessels; and (E) notwithstanding section 2109 of title 46, United States Code, have each vessel in- spected by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to de- termine if the vessel meets the safety stand- ards that would apply under part B of sub- title II of that title if the vessel were not a public vessel. (2) VESSEL MANAGERS.— (A) ELIGIBILITY FOR CONTRACT.—A person, including a shipyard, is eligible for a con- tract for the management of a vessel in the Ready Reserve Force if the Secretary deter- mines, at a minimum, that the person has— (i) experience in the operation of com- mercial-type vessels or public vessels owned by the United States Government; and (ii) the management capability nec- essary to operate, maintain, and activate the vessel at a reasonable price. (B) CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.—The Sec- retary of Transportation shall include in each contract for the management of a ves- sel in the Ready Reserve Force a require- ment that each seaman who performs serv- ices on any vessel covered by the contract hold the license or merchant mariner’s docu- ment that would be required under chapter 71 or chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, for a seaman performing that service while operating the vessel if the vessel were not a public vessel. (d) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS ON OVER- HAUL, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE IN FOREIGN SHIPYARDS.— (1) APPLICATION OF LIMITATION.—The provi- sions of section 8680 of title 10 shall apply to vessels specified in subsection (b), and to the Secretary of Transportation with respect to those vessels, in the same manner as those provisions apply to vessels specified in sub- section (b) of such section, and to the Sec- retary of the Navy, respectively. (2) COVERED VESSELS.—Vessels specified in this paragraph are vessels maintained by the Secretary of Transportation in support of the Department of Defense, including any vessel assigned by the Secretary of Transportation to the Ready Reserve Force that is owned by the United States. (e) EXEMPTION FROM TANK VESSEL CONSTRUC- TION STANDARDS.—Vessels in the National De- fense Reserve Fleet are exempt from the provi- sions of section 3703a. (f) USE OF NDRF VESSELS FOR CIVIL CONTIN- GENCY OPERATIONS AND PROMOTIONAL AND MEDIA Page 508 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 57100 1 So in original. EVENTS.—With the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation may allow the use of vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) for civil contingency op- erations requested by another Federal agency, and for Maritime Administration promotional and media events relating to demonstration projects and research and development sup- porting the Administration’s mission, if the Sec- retary of Transportation determines such use is in the best interest of the Government after considering the following factors: (1) AVAILABILITY.—The availability of NDRF or Ready Reserve Force (RRF) resources and the impact of such use on NDRF and RRF mis- sion support to the defense and homeland se- curity requirements of the Government. (2) INTERFERENCE.—Whether the use of such of 1 vessels will support the mission of the Maritime Administration and not signifi- cantly interfere with NDRF vessel mainte- nance, repair, safety, readiness, and resource availability. (3) SAFETY.—Whether safety precautions will be taken, including indemnification of liabil- ity when applicable. (4) COST.—Whether any costs incurred by such use will be funded as a reimbursable transaction between Federal agencies, as ap- plicable. (5) OTHER MATTERS.—Any other matters the Maritime Administrator considers appro- priate. (g) VESSEL STATUS.—A vessel in the National Defense Reserve Fleet determined by the Mari- time Administration to be an obsolete vessel shall remain a vessel within the meaning of that term in section 3 of title 1, United States Code, and subject to the rights and responsibilities of a vessel under admiralty law at least until such time as the vessel is delivered to a dismantling facility or is disposed of otherwise from the Na- tional Defense Reserve Fleet. (Added and amended Pub. L. 115–91, div. C, title XXXV, § 3502(a)(3), (b)(6), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1910; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(q), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1844; Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXV, § 3514(j)(2), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 811; Pub. L. 118–159, div. C, title XXXV, § 3535(c), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2314.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, as added and amended by Pub. L. 115–91, is based on act Mar. 8, 1946, ch. 82, § 11, 60 Stat. 49; June 28, 1947, ch. 161, § 1, 61 Stat. 190; Feb. 27, 1948, ch. 78, § 1(a), 62 Stat. 38; Feb. 28, 1949, ch. 12, 63 Stat. 9; June 29, 1949, ch. 281, § 1, 63 Stat. 349; June 30, 1950, ch. 427, § 2, 64 Stat. 308; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(157), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 167; Pub. L. 101–115, § 6, Oct. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 693; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 307(12), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1925; Pub. L. 102–241, § 57, Dec. 19, 1991, 105 Stat. 2234; Pub. L. 102–587, title VI, § 6205(a), Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5094; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1014(b), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 424; Pub. L. 104–239, § 9, Oct. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 3133; Pub. L. 109–364, div. C, title XXXV, § 3503, Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2516; Pub. L. 110–181, div. C, title XXXV, §§ 3513, 3516, Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 594, 595; Pub. L. 112–81, div. C, title XXXV, § 3502, Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1716; Pub. L. 112–213, title IV, § 410, Dec. 20, 2012, 126 Stat. 1572; Pub. L. 114–328, div. C, title XXXV, § 3504, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2776, which was formerly classified to section 4405 of Title 50, War and National Defense, before being transferred to this chapter and renumbered as this sec- tion. AMENDMENTS 2024—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3535(c)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘chapter 563’’ for ‘‘section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1242)’’. Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 118–159, § 3535(c)(2), substituted ‘‘the use of such’’ for ‘‘the such use’’. 2023—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted ‘‘an obso- lete vessel’’ for ‘‘of insufficient value to remain in the National Defense Reserve Fleet’’. 2018—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted ‘‘sec- tion 8680 of title 10’’ for ‘‘section 7310 of title 10, United States Code,’’. 2017—Pub. L. 115–91, § 3502(b)(6)(A), inserted section enumerator and catchline. Pub. L. 115–91, § 3502(a)(3), transferred section 11 of act Mar. 8, 1946, to this chapter and renumbered it as this section. See Codification note above. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–91, § 3502(b)(6)(A), inserted heading. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–91, § 3502(b)(6)(B), inserted heading. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–91, § 3502(b)(6)(C), inserted heading and struck out ‘‘of title 46, United States Code’’ after ‘‘section 3703a’’ in text. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of Title 10, Armed Forces. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relat- ing thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Secu- rity, and the Department of Homeland Security Reor- ganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST ESTIMATES FOR ACQUISITION AND PROCUREMENT OF VESSELS Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXV, § 3535, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 835, provided that: ‘‘In carrying out the acqui- sition and procurement of vessels in the National De- fense Reserve Fleet, the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the Maritime Ad- ministration, shall consider the life-cycle cost esti- mates of vessels during the design and evaluation proc- esses to the maximum extent practicable.’’ RECAPITALIZATION OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET Pub. L. 117–263, div. C, title XXXV, § 3546, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3100, as amended by Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXV, § 3532, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 827; Pub. L. 118–159, div. C, title XXXV, § 3533, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2313, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(1) VESSEL CONSTRUCTION.—Subject to the avail- ability of appropriations, the Secretary of Transpor- tation, in consultation with the Chief of Naval Oper- ations and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall complete the design of a sealift vessel for the Na- tional Defense Reserve Fleet to allow for the con- struction of such vessel to begin in fiscal year 2025. Page 509 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 57101 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT WITH VESSEL CONSTRUCTION MAN- AGER.—Notwithstanding section 8679 of title 10, United States Code, and subject to the availability of appropriations made specifically available for reim- bursements to the Ready Reserve Force, Maritime Administration account of the Department of Trans- portation for programs, projects, activities, and ex- penses related to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, the Secretary of the Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, shall seek to enter into an agreement with an appropriate vessel con- struction manager under which the vessel construc- tion manager shall enter into a contract for the con- struction of not more than ten such vessels in accord- ance with this section. ‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIRE- MENTS.—A vessel constructed pursuant to this section shall meet the requirements for, and be issued a certifi- cate of, documentation and a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code. ‘‘(c) DESIGN STANDARDS AND CONSTRUCTION PRAC- TICES.—Subject to subsection (b), a vessel constructed pursuant to this section shall be constructed using commercial design standards and commercial construc- tion practices that are consistent with the best inter- ests of the Federal Government. ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.— The Secretary of Transportation shall consult and co- ordinate with the Secretary of the Navy and may con- sult with the heads of other appropriate Federal agen- cies regarding the vessel described in subsection (a) and activities associated with such vessel. ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR USED VES- SELS.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available to carry out this section may be used for the procurement of any used vessel. ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Of the amounts authorized to be ap- propriated by this Act [see Tables for classification] or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 for the Secretary of the Navy for travel expenses, not more than 50 percent may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of the Navy submits to the congressional de- fense committees [Committee on Armed Services and Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives] a report that includes a detailed de- scription of the acquisition strategy for the execution of the authority under subsection (a).’’ VESSEL REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE PILOT PROGRAM Pub. L. 104–239, § 16, Oct. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 3138, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a pilot program to evaluate the feasi- bility of using renewable contracts for the maintenance and repair of outported vessels in the Ready Reserve Force to enhance the readiness of those vessels. Under the pilot program, the Secretary, subject to the avail- ability of appropriations and within 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 8, 1996], shall award 9 contracts for this purpose. ‘‘(b) USE OF VARIOUS CONTRACTING ARRANGEMENTS.— In conducting a pilot program under this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall use contracting ar- rangements similar to those used by the Department of Defense for procuring maintenance and repair of its vessels. ‘‘(c) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Each contract with a shipyard under this section shall— ‘‘(1) subject to subsection (d), provide for the pro- curement from the shipyard of all repair and mainte- nance (including activation, deactivation, and drydocking) for 1 vessel in the Ready Reserve Force that is outported in the geographical vicinity of the shipyard; ‘‘(2) be effective for 1 fiscal year; and ‘‘(3) be renewable, subject to the availability of ap- propriations, for each subsequent fiscal year through fiscal year 1998. ‘‘(d) LIMITATION OF WORK UNDER CONTRACTS.—A con- tract under this section may not provide for the pro- curement of operation or manning for a vessel that may be procured under another contract for the vessel to which section 11(d)(2) of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 (50 U.S.C. App. 1774(d)(2)) [probably means ‘‘(50 U.S.C. App. 1744(d)(2))’’, now 46 U.S.C. 57100(c)(2)] applies. ‘‘(e) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall seek to distribute contract awards under this section to shipyards located throughout the United States. ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the Congress— ‘‘(1) an interim report on the effectiveness of each contract under this section in providing for economic and efficient repair and maintenance of the vessel in- cluded in the contract, no later than 20 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 8, 1996]; and ‘‘(2) a final report on that effectiveness no later than 6 months after the termination of all contracts awarded pursuant to this section.’’ § 57101. Placement of vessels in National Defense Reserve Fleet (a) IN GENERAL.—Any vessel acquired by the Maritime Administration of 1,500 gross tons or more or such other vessels as the Secretary of Transportation determines are appropriate shall be placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. (b) REMOVAL FROM FLEET.—A vessel placed in the Fleet under subsection (a) may not be traded out or sold from the Fleet, except as provided in section 57102, 57103, or 57104 or chapter 533, 537, 573, or 575 of this title, or section 308704 of title 54. (c) AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL ENTITIES TO TRANS- FER VESSELS.—All Federal entities are author- ized to transfer vessels to the National Defense Reserve Fleet without reimbursement subject to the approval of the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Navy with respect to Ready Reserve Force vessels and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to all other ves- sels. (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1658; Pub. L. 112–213, title IV, §§ 406, 407, Dec. 20, 2012, 126 Stat. 1571; Pub. L. 115–91, div. C, title XXXV, § 3502(b)(7), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1911; Pub. L. 118–31, div. C, title XXXV, § 3514(j)(3), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 811.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 57101 .......... 46 App.:1160(j). June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title V, § 510(j), as added Pub. L. 89–254, § 2, Oct. 10, 1965, 79 Stat. 980; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(91), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 161. In subsection (a), the words ‘‘vessel acquired by the Maritime Administration’’ are substituted for ‘‘vessel heretofore or hereafter acquired under this section, or otherwise acquired by the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation under any other au- thority’’ to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (b), the words ‘‘except as provided in section 57102, 57103, or 57104 or chapter 533, 537, 573, or 575 of this title’’ are substituted for ‘‘except as provided for in subsections (g) and (i) of this section. This limi- tation shall not affect the rights of the Secretary of Transportation to dispose of a vessel as provided in other sections of this subchapter or in subchapters VII or XI of this chapter’’ because of the restatement.