46 U.S.C. § 55112 — Vessel escort operations and towing as-

Page 481 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 55113 HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 55111 .......... 46 App.:316(a), (b). R.S. § 4370; June 11, 1940, ch. 324, 54 Stat. 304; Pub. L. 99–307, § 10, May 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 447; Pub. L. 100–329, § 2, June 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 589; Pub. L. 104–324, title XI, § 1115(b)(3), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3972. In subsection (a), the words ‘‘or to do any part of such towing’’ and ‘‘other than a vessel in distress’’ in the source provision are made applicable to all the towing described in subsection (b) for clarity and consistency. In paragraph (1), the words ‘‘wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade’’ are substituted for ‘‘wholly owned by a person who is a citizen of the United States within the meaning of the laws respecting the documentation of vessels’’ for consistency in this chapter. Subsection (a)(2) is substituted for ‘‘having in force a certificate of documentation issued under section 12106 of title 46’’ for consistency in this chapter and with sec- tion 12102(b) as revised by the bill. In subsection (b)(1), the words ‘‘in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply’’ are substituted for ‘‘in the United States, its Territories or possessions, embraced within the coastwise laws of the United States’’ because of the definition of ‘‘United States’’ in chapter 1 of the revised title and because of section 55101 of the revised title. In subsection (b)(3), the words ‘‘or place’’ are omitted as surplus. The words ‘‘as defined in the Presidential Proclamation of March 10, 1983’’ are omitted because ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ is defined in chapter 1 of the revised title. In subsection (c), the penalty amounts reflect the ad- justment for inflation pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note). See 19 C.F.R. § 4.92 (2004). In paragraph (2), the words ‘‘which sum may be recovered by way of libel or suit’’ are omitted as surplus. The text of 46 App. U.S.C. 316(b) is omitted as unnec- essary because of the definition of ‘‘person’’ in section 1 of title 1. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries NONAPPLICABILITY OF PUB. L. 100–329 TO CERTAIN VESSEL Amendment by Pub. L. 100–329 to section 316 of the former Appendix to this title, from which this section was derived, not applicable to a vessel engaged in the transportation of valueless material or valueless dredged material and owned or chartered by a corpora- tion that had on file with Secretary of Transportation on Aug. 1, 1989, the certificate specified in section 883–1 of the former Appendix to this title (now section 12118 of this title), see section 5501(c) of Pub. L. 102–587, set out as a note under section 55110 of this title. § 55112. Vessel escort operations and towing as- sistance (a) IN GENERAL.—Except in the case of a vessel in distress, only a vessel of the United States may perform the following escort vessel oper- ations within the navigable waters of the United States: (1) Operations that commence or terminate at a port or place in the United States. (2) Operations required by United States law or regulation. (3) Operations provided in whole or in part within or through navigation facilities owned, maintained, or operated by the United States Government or the approaches to those facili- ties, other than facilities operated by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Develop- ment Corporation on the St. Lawrence River portion of the Seaway. (b) ESCORT VESSELS.—For purposes of this sec- tion, an escort vessel is— (1) any vessel that is assigned and dedicated to assist another vessel, whether or not teth- ered to that vessel, solely as a safety pre- caution to assist in controlling the speed or course of the assisted vessel in the event of a steering or propulsion equipment failure, or any other similar emergency circumstance, or in restricted waters where additional assist- ance in maneuvering the vessel is required to ensure its safe operation; and (2) in the case of a vessel being towed under section 55111 of this title, any vessel that is as- signed and dedicated to the vessel being towed in addition to any towing vessel required under that section. (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—This section does not affect section 55111 of this title. (d) PENALTY.—A person violating this section is liable to the Government for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each day during which the violation occurs. (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1638; Pub. L. 116–260, div. AA, title V, § 512(c)(6)(D), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2757.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised Section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 55112 .......... 46 App.:316a. Pub. L. 107–295, title IV, § 404, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2114. In subsection (a), the words ‘‘(as that term is defined in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code)’’ are omitted because the definition of ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ is being moved from section 2101 to chapter 1 of the revised title and will apply title-wide. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2020—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 116–260 substituted ‘‘Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Cor- poration’’ for ‘‘St. Lawrence Seaway Development Cor- poration’’. § 55113. Use of foreign documented oil spill re- sponse vessels Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an oil spill response vessel documented under the laws of a foreign country may operate in wa- ters of the United States on an emergency and temporary basis, for the purpose of recovering, transporting, and unloading in a United States port oil discharged as a result of an oil spill in or near those waters, if— (1) an adequate number and type of oil spill response vessels documented under the laws of the United States cannot be engaged to re- cover oil from an oil spill in or near those wa- ters in a timely manner, as determined by the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for a discharge or threat of a discharge of oil; and (2) the foreign country has by its laws ac- corded to vessels of the United States the