Pub. Law 553

All 68 Stat. 583.

provisions respecting the requisition or the acquisition of ownership by the United States, and documentation shall run with the title to each such vessel and be binding on all owners thereof.

Approved July 29, 1954.

To extend emergency foreign merchant vessel acquisition and operating authority of Public Law 101, Seventy-seventh Congress, and for other purposes.

46 USC 1242.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That during any Foreign vessels, period in which vessels may be requisitioned under section 902 of Emergenoy aothe Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, the President is author- quisition.. ized and empowered through the Secretary of Commerce to purchase, 49 Stat. 2015. or to requisition, or for any part of such period to charter or requisition the use of, or to take over the title to or possession of, for such use or disposition as he shall direct, any merchant vessel not owned by citizens of the United States which is lying idle in waters within the jurisdiction of the United States, including the Canal Zone, and which the President finds to be necessary to the national defense. Just compensation shall be determined and made to the owner or owners of any such vessel in accordance with the applicable provisions of section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended. Such compensation hereunder, or advances on account thereof, shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States in a separate deposit fund. Payments for such compensation and also for payment of any valid claim upon such vessel in accord with the provisions of the second paragraph of subsection (d) of such section 902, as amended, shall be made from such fund upon the certificate of the Secretary of Commerce.

SEC. 2. During any period in which vessels may be requisitioned under section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, the 46 USC 1242. President is authorized through the Secretary of Commerce to acquire by voluntary agreement of purchase or charter the ownership or use of any merchant vessel not owned by citizens of the United States.

SEC. 3. (a) Any vessel not documented under the laws of the United States, acquired by or made available to the Secretary of Commerce under this Act, or otherwise, may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury be documented as a vessel of the United States under such rules and regulations or orders, and with such limitations, as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe or issue as necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act, and in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) hereof, engage in the coastwise trade when so documented. Any document issued to a vessel under Surrender of the provisions of this subsection shall be surrendered at any time that document. such surrender may be ordered by the Secretary of the Treasury. No 68 Stat. 675. vessel, the surrender of the documents of which has been so ordered, 68 Stat. 676. shall, after the effective date of such order, have the status of a vessel of the United States unless documented anew.

(b) The President may, notwithstanding any other provisions of Compliance law, by rules and regulations or orders, waive compliance with any waiver. provision of law relating to masters, officers, members of the crew, or crew accommodations on any vessel documented under authority of this section to such extent and upon such terms as he finds necessary because of the lack of physical facilities on such vessels, and because of the need to employ aliens for their operation. No vessel shall cease to enjoy the benefits and privileges of a vessel of the United States by reason of the employment of any person in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

(c) Any vessel while documented under the provisions of this sec- Coastwise tion, when chartered under this Act by the Secretary of Commerce to trade. ernment agencies or departments or to private operators, may

All 68 Stat. 676.

39 Stat. 730. 46 USC 808.

Inspection.

Reconditioning
of vessels.
41 USC 5.

engage in the coastwise trade under permits issued by the Secretary of Commerce, who is hereby authorized to issue permits for such purpose pursuant to such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and provisions of this section. The second paragraph of section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, shall not apply with respect to vessels chartered to Government agencies or departments or to private operators or otherwise used or disposed of under this Act. Existing laws covering the inspection of steam vessels are hereby made applicable to vessels documented under this section only to such extent and upon such conditions as may be required by regulations of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating: Provided, That in determining to what extent those laws should be made applicable, due consideration shall be given to the primary purpose of transporting commodities essential to the national defense.

(d) The Secretary of Commerce without regard to the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes may repair, reconstruct, or recondition any vessels to be utilized under this Act. The Secretary of Commerce and any other Government department or agency by which any vessel is acquired or chartered, or to which any vessel is transferred or made available under this Act may, with the aid of any funds available and without regard to the provisions of said section 3709, repair, reconstruct, or recondition any such vessels to meet the needs of the services intended, or provide facilities for such repair, reconstruction, or reconditioning. The Secretary of Commerce may operate or charter for operation any vessel to be utilized under this Act to private operators, citizens of the United States, or to any department or agency of the United States Government, without 49 Stat. 2001. regard to the provisions of title VII of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, and any department or agency of the United States Government is authorized to enter into such charters.

46 USC

1191-1204.

Effectivity.

Definitions.

(e) In case of any voyage of a vessel documented under the provisions of this section begun before the date of termination of an effective period of section 1 hereof, but is completed after such date, the provisions of this section shall continue in effect with respect to such vessel until such voyage is completed.

(f) When used in this Act, the term "documented" means "registered", "enrolled and licensed", or "licensed".

Approved August 9, 1954.

To amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to provide a national defense reserve of tankers and to promote the construction of new tankers, and for other purposes.

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 510 Tankers.

of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, is amended by adding 53 Stat. 1183. at the end thereof the following new subsection:

46 USC 1160.

reserve.

"(h) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized until July 1, 1958 Acquisition for (subject to the provisions of this section as herein amended), to national defense acquire a tanker or tankers, determined by him to be desirable for inclusion in the national defense reserve, in exchange for an allowance of credit to be applied upon the purchase price of a new tanker or tankers: Provided, That each of the tankers to be traded in (1) is not Limitations. less than one thousand three hundred and fifty gross tons; (2) is not less than ten years old; (3) is owned by a citizen or citizens of the United States; (4) and preference shall be given to those tankers which have been documented under the laws of the United States for not less than three years immediately preceding; and (5) is in class with respect to hull and machinery satisfactory to the Secretary of Commerce on the date of its physical delivery to the United States and shall be considered an ‘obsolete vessel' for purposes of this sec tion: And provided further, That only a tanker which is constructed "New vessel." after the date of enactment of this subsection and documented under

the laws of the United States shall be considered a 'new vessel' for

purposes of this section.

"The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to pay the cost of national Payment. defense features incorporated in any such new tanker. In the event that the United States acquires ownership of such new tanker, the price paid therefor shall not include any amount for national defense features paid for by the United States. The foregoing provisions shall run with the title to each new tanker and be binding on all owners thereof.

"The allowance of credit for a traded-in tanker which was sold Credit allowunder the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946, as amended, or which ance.

was eligible for a price adjustment under section 9 of such Act, shall 60 Stat. 41. be: (1) in the case of tankers sold under such Act, the depreciated 50 USC app. 1735 net sales price paid to the United States, and (2) in the case of note.

tankers which were eligible for price adjustment under such Act, the 50 USC app. 1742. statutory sales price of such tanker as of March 8, 1946, depreciated: plus the depreciated cost of any additions or betterments to the tanker which were capitalized by the owner and allowed for Federal income tax purposes. Such allowance shall be determined as of the date the

owner contracts for the construction of a new tanker. In each case, Depreciation. depreciation shall be computed on the basis of the life of the tanker adopted or accepted by the Internal Revenue Service for determining depreciation for income-tax purposes to the date the owner contracts for the construction of a new tanker.

"The allowance of credit for any other traded-in tanker shall be 68 Stat. 680. determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of 68 Stat. 681. this section.

"In no event shall the amount of credit allowed under this subsection Restriction. or subsection (d) for a traded-in tanker exceed the price paid by the owner for such tanker, plus the cost of any additions or betterments to the tanker capitalized by such owner and allowed for income-tax purposes.

"Îf an owner uses any tanker traded in pursuant to this section subsequent to the date of the contract for construction of a new tanker,

Title.

All 68 Stat. 681.

the allowance determined shall be reduced by an amount equal to depreciation for the period of such use and computed in accordance with the schedule adopted or accepted by the Internal Revenue Service. Title to the traded-in tanker shall in all instances vest in the United States, and the allowance of credit shall be applied at the time of physical delivery of such tanker to the United States, which shall be no later than ninety days after delivery of the new tanker. The traded-in tanker shall thereupon be placed in the national defense reserve subject to the provisions of section 11 of the Merchant Ship

50 USC app. 1744. Sales Act of 1946, as amended."

Approved August 10, 1954.