46 USC 1126. Effective date. 46 USC 1119 note. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, establishment of additional office. 15 USC 1507b. SEC. 6. (a) Section 209 (b) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended (46 U.S.C. 1119(b)), is further amended by striking out "and" after the semicolon at the end of item (7), and by inserting immediately after item (8) the following new items: "(9) expenses necessary for extension and correspondence courses authorized under section 216(c) of this Act; and "(10) other operations and training expenses related to the development of waterborne transportation systems, the use of waterborne transportation systems, or general administration;". (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) of this section shall be effective for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1978. SEC. 7. Subsections (c) and (d) of section 216 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended (46 U.S.C. 1126), are each amended by striking out "Commission" wherever it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof "Secretary of Commerce". SEC. 8. Section 509 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1159) is amended by inserting in the fourth sentence thereof immediately after "eight knots" the following: ", or in the case of a ferry operating solely in point-to-point transportation which is designed to be of not less than seventy-five gross tons and to be capable of a sustained speed of not less than eight knots,”. SEC. 9. (a) There shall be in the Department of Commerce, in addition to the Assistant Secretaries provided by law as of the date of the enactment of this Act, one additional Assistant Secretary of Commerce who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Such Assistant Secretary shall receive compensation at the rate prescribed by law for Assistant Secretaries of Commerce, and shall perform such duties as the Secretary of Commerce shall prescribe. (b) Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out paragraph (12) and inserting in lieu thereof: "(12) Assistant Secretaries of Commerce (8).". Approved November 12, 1977. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: HOUSE REPORTS: No. 95-332 accompanying H.R. 4963 (Comm. on Merchant Marine SENATE REPORT No. 95-160 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation). May 24, considered and passed Senate. July 13, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 4963. Oct. 31, House agreed to conference report. Nov. 1, Senate agreed to conference report. Nov. 15, 1977 [H.R. 7278] Public Law 95-177 An Act To amend section 10 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Merchant Marine United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection 510(i) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1160(i)) is hereby amended to read as follows: Act, 1936, Obsolete vessels, "(i) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to acquire mariner class vessels constructed under title VII of this Act and Public Law 911, Eighty-first Congress, and other suitable vessels, constructed in the United States, which have never been under foreign documentation, in exchange for obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. For purposes of this subsection, the trade-in and trade-out vessels shall be valued at the higher of their scrap value in domestic or foreign markets as of the date of the exchange: Provided, That in any exchange transactions, the value assigned to the traded-in and tradedout vessels will be determined on the same basis. The value of the traded-out vessels shall be as nearly as possible equal to the value of the traded-in vessel plus the fair value of the cost of towing the Excess, payment. traded-out vessel to the place of scrapping. To the extent the value of the traded-out vessel exceeds the value of the traded-in vessel plus the fair value of the cost of towing, the owner of the traded-in vessel shall pay the excess to the Secretary of Commerce in cash at the time of exchange. This excess shall be deposited into the Vessel Operations Revolving Fund and all costs incident to the lay-up of the vessels acquired under this Act may be paid from balances in the Fund. No payments shall be made by the Secretary of Commerce to the owner of any traded-in vessel in connection with any exchange under this subsection. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9 and 37 of the Shipping Act, 1916, vessels traded out under this subsection may be scrapped in approved foreign markets. The provision of this subsection (i) as it read prior to the 1975 amendment shall govern all transactions made thereunder prior to that amendment.". 46 USC 808, 835. Approved November 15, 1977. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: HOUSE REPORT No. 95-727 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries). Oct. 25, considered and passed House. Public Law 95-194 95th Congress An Act To extend the provisions of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967, relating to the reimbursement of seized commercial fishermen, until October 1, 1978. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 7(e) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1977(e)) is amended by striking out "October 1, 1977” and inserting in lieu thereof "October 1, 1978". SEC. 2. The Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967, as amended, is further amended by adding the following new section at the end thereof: "SEC. 10. (a) After July 1, 1977, the Secretary may make a loan to the owner or operator of any vessel of the United States which is documented or certified as a commercial fishing vessel if— "(1) he receives an application for a loan under this section after such date; Nov. 18, 1977 [S. 1184] Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967, amendment. Seized commercial fishermen, reimbursement. Loans. Effective date. 22 USC 1980. "(2) he reasonably determines that such vessel, or its fishing gear, was lost, damaged, or destroyed by any vessel (or its crew or fishing gear) of a foreign nation operating within the fishery conservation zone established by sections 101 and 102 of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1811); 16 USC 1812. and "(3) the amount of such loss, damage, or destruction exceeds $2,000. Any such loan "(A) may be for an amount not exceeding the value of such loss, damage, or destruction; "(B) shall be conditional upon assignment to the Secretary of any right to recover for such loss, damage, or destruction; "(Č) shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed 32 per centum Interest rate. per annum; and "(D) shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems necessary and appropriate for the purposes of this section. The Secretary shall use the Fishermen's Protective Fund created under section 9 for the amounts of any loan made under this section. 22 USC 1979. Loans may be made for any loss, damage, or destruction occurring after July 1, 1976 for which claims are not already substantially resolved. "(b) The Secretary, in conjunction with other agencies or departments, shall investigate each incident of loss, damage, or destruction for which a loan was made under this section. If he determines that the owner or operator who received the loan was not at fault, the Secretary shall cancel repayment of such loan and refund to such owner or operator any principal and interest payments thereon made prior to the date of such cancellation. If he determines that the owner or operator who received the loan was at fault, the loan shall not continue for its term and shall be repaid within a reasonable time as determined by the Secretary. Investigation. Collection. 22 USC 1979. "Secretary." Fees. "(c) The Secretary, with the assistance of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the claimant, shall take appropriate action, pursuant to the provisions of title 28, United States Code, to collect on any right assigned to him under subsection (a). Amounts collected under this subsection shall "(1) if such loan was canceled pursuant to subsection (b), be paid into the Fishermen's Protective Fund created under section 9, to the extent of the amount so canceled; "(2) if not so canceled, be applied to the repayment of such loan; or "(3) to the extent not used pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), paid to the owner or operator who assigned such claim. "(d) For the purposes of this section, the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce. "(e) The Secretary may from time to time establish by regulation fees to recover the cost of administering this section. Such fees shall be paid by the owner or operator making claims under this section." Approved November 18, 1977. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: HOUSE REPORT No. 95-319 accompanying H.R. 4140 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries). SENATE REPORT No. 95–178 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation). May 16, considered in House. May 24, considered and passed Senate. Oct. 18, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 4140. Nov. 3, Senate agreed to House amendments with an amendment; House agreed to Senate amendment. To establish uniform structural requirements for intermodal cargo containers, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, designed to be transported interchangeably by sea and land carriers, and moving in, or designed to move in, international trade, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "International Safe Container Act". SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Act Dec. 13, 1977 [H.R. 8159] International 46 USC 1501 note. (a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation. 46 USC 1501. (b) The term "Convention" means the International Convention for Safe Containers, and the annexes thereto, done at Geneva, Switzerland, December 2, 1972. (c) The term "container" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in the Convention. (d) The term "international transport" means the transportation of a container (1) to any place within the jurisdiction of the United States from a place within a foreign country; (2) by United States carriers between two points both of which are outside of the United States; or (3) from any place within the jurisdiction of the United States to any place within a foreign country. (e) The term "United States" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States. (f) The term "new container" means a container (other than a container specially designed for air transport) which is used or is designed for use in international transport, the construction of which began on or after September 6, 1977. (g) The term "existing container" means a container (other than a container specially designed for air transport) which is used or is designed for use in international transport and which is not a new container. (h) The term "owner" means a person who owns a container, or, if a written lease or bailment provides for the lessee or bailee to exercise the owner's responsibility for maintaining and examining the container, the lessee or bailee of a container, to the extent such agreement so provides. (1) The term "safety approval plate" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in annex I of the Convention. |