any of the notes secured thereby, shall be limited to repossession of the vessel by the United States and the assignment of insurance claims, if the purchaser shall have complied with all provisions of the mortgage other than those relating to the payment of principal and interest when due, and the obligation of the purchaser shall be satisfied and discharged by the surrender of the vessel, and all right, title, and interest therein to the United States. Such vessel upon surrender shall be (i) free and clear of all liens and encumbrances whatsoever, except the lien of the preferred mortgage, (ii) in class, and (iii) in as good order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, as when acquired by the purchaser, except that any deficiencies with respect to freedom from encumbrances, condition, and class, may, to the extent covered by valid policies of insurance, be satisfied by the assignment to the United States of claims of the purchaser under such policies of insurance. The purchaser shall also comply with all the provisions of section 9 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920. SEC. 504. [46 App. U.S.C. 1154] If a qualified purchaser under the terms of this title desires to purchase a vessel to be constructed in accordance with an application for construction-differential subsidy under this title, the Secretary of Transportation may, in lieu of contracting to pay the entire cost of the vessel under section 502, contract to pay only construction-differential subsidy and the cost of national defense features to the shipyard constructing such vessel. The construction-differential subsidy and payments for the cost of national defense features shall be based upon the lowest responsible domestic bid unless the vessel is constructed at a negotiated price as provided by section 502(a) or under a contract negotiated by the Secretary of Transportation as provided in section 502(b) in which event the construction-differential subsidy and payments for the cost of national defense features shall be based upon such negotiated price. No construction-differential subsidy, as provided in this section, shall be paid unless the said contract or contracts or other arrangements contain such provisions as are provided in this title to protect the interests of the United States as the Secretary of Transportation deems necessary. Such vessel shall be documented under the laws of the United States as provided in section 503 of this title. The contract of sale, and the mortgage given to secure the payment of the unpaid balance of the purchase price, shall not restrict the lawful or proper use or operation of the vessel, except to the extent expressly required by law. SEC. 505. [46 App. U.S.C. 1155] All construction in respect of which a construction-differential subsidy is allowed under this title shall be performed in a shipyard of the United States as the result of competitive bidding, after due advertisement, with the right reserved in the Secretary of Transportation to disapprove, any or all bids. In all such construction the shipbuilder, subcontractors, materialmen, or suppliers shall use, so far as practicable, only articles, materials, and supplies of the growth, production, or manufacture of the United States as defined in paragraph K of section 401 of the Tariff Act of 1930; Provided, however, That with respect to other than major components of the hull, superstructure, and any material used in the construction thereof, (1) if the Secretary of Transportation determines that the requirements of this sentence will unreasonably delay completion of any vessel beyond its contract delivery date, and (2) if such determination includes or is accompanied by a concise explanation of the basis therefor, then the Secretary of Transportation may waive such requirements to the extent necessary to prevent such delay. No shipbuilder shall be deemed a responsible bidder unless he possesses the ability, experience, financial resources, equipment, and other qualifications necessary properly to perform the proposed contract. Each bid submitted to the Secretary of Transportation shall be accompanied by all detailed estimates upon which it is based. The Secretary of Transportation may require that the bids of any subcontractors, or other pertinent data, accompany such bid. All such bids and data relating thereto shall be kept on file until disposed of as provided by law. For the purposes of this title V, the term "shipyard of the United States" means shipyards within any of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. SEC. 506. [46 App. U.S.C. 1156] Every owner of a vessel for which a construction-differential subsidy has been paid shall agree that the vessel shall be operated exclusively in foreign trade, or on a round-the-world voyage, or on a round voyage from the west coast of the United States to a European port or ports which includes intercoastal ports of the United States, or a round voyage from the Atlantic coast of the United States to the Orient which includes intercoastal ports of the United States, or on a voyage in foreign trade on which the vessel may stop at the state of Hawaii, or an island possession or island territory of the United States, and that if the vessel is operated in the domestic trade on any of the above-enumerated services, he will pay annually to the Secretary of Transportation that proportion of one twenty-fifth of the construction-differential subsidy paid for such vessel as the gross revenue derived from the domestic trade bears to the gross revenue derived from the entire voyages completed during the preceding year. The Secretary may consent in writing to the temporary transfer of such vessel to service other than the service covered by such agreement for periods not exceeding six months in any year, whenever the Secretary may determine that such transfer is necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act. Such consent shall be conditioned upon the agreement by the owner to pay to the Secretary upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, an amount which bears the same proportion to the construction-differential subsidy paid by the Secretary as such temporary period bears to the entire economic life of the vessel. No operating-differential subsidy shall be paid for the operation of such vessel for such temporary period. SEC. 507. [46 App. U.S.C. 1157] If a contract is made by the Secretary of Transportation under authority of this title for the construction and sale of a new vessel to replace a vessel then operated in foreign trade or domestic trade, which in the judgment of the Secretary of Transportation should be replaced because it is obsolete or inadequate for successful operation in such trade, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized in his discretion, to buy such replaced vessel from the owner at a fair and reasonable valuation, which valuation shall not exceed the cost to the owner or any former owner plus the actual cost previously expended thereon for reconditioning and less a reasonable and proper depreciation, based upon not more than a twenty-five year life of the vessel, and apply the purchase price agreed upon to that portion of the construction cost of such new vessel which is to be borne by the purchaser thereof: Provided, That the owner of such replaced vessel shall execute a bond, with one or more approved sureties, conditioned upon indemnifying the United States from all loss resulting from any existing lien against such vessel: And provided further, That such vessel has been documented under the laws of the United States for a period of at least ten years prior to the date of its purchase by the United States. SEC. 508. [46 App. U.S.C. 1158] If the Secretary of Transportation shall determine that any vessel transferred to the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation by section 202 of this Act, or hereafter acquired, is of insufficient value for commercial or military operation to warrant its further preservation, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized (1) to scrap said vessel, or (2) to sell such vessel for cash, after appraisement and due advertisement, and upon competitive sealed bids, either to citizens of the United States or to aliens: Provided, That the purchaser thereof shall enter into an undertaking with sureties approved by the Secretary of Transportation that such vessel shall not be operated in the foreign commerce of the United States at any time within the period of ten years after the date of the sale, in competition with any other vessel owned by a citizen or citizens of the United States and registered under the laws thereof. SEC. 509. [46 App. U.S.C. 1159] Any citizen of the United States may make application to the Secretary of Transportation for aid in the construction of a new vessel to be operated in the foreign or domestic trade (excepting vessels engaged solely in the transportation of property on inland rivers and canals exclusively). If such application is approved by the Secretary of Transportation, the vessel may be constructed under the terms and conditions of this title, but no construction-differential subsidy shall be allowed. The Secretary of Transportation shall pay for the cost of national-defense features incorporated in such vessels. In case the vessel is designed to be of not less than three thousand five hundred gross tons and to be capable of sustained speed of not less than ten knots, or in the case of a passenger vessel operating solely on the inland rivers and waterways which is designed to be of not less than one thousand gross tons and to be capable of sustained speed of not less than eight knots, or in the case of a ferry operating solely in pointto-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, or in the case of an oceangoing tug of more than two thousand five hundred horsepower or oceangoing barge of more than two thousand five hundred gross tons, or in the case of a vessel of more than two thousand five hundred horsepower designed to be capable of sustained speed of not less than forty knots, the purchaser shall be required to pay the Secretary of Transportation not less than 121⁄2 per centum of the cost of such vessel, and in the case of any other vessel the purchaser shall be required to pay the Secretary of Transportation not less than 25 per centum of the cost of such vessel (excluding from such cost, in either case, the cost of national defense features); and the balance of such purchase price shall be paid by the purchaser within twenty-five years in not to exceed twenty-five equal annual installments, with interest at a rate not less than (i) a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the average maturities of such loans, adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of 1 per centum, plus (ii) an allowance adequate in the judgment of the Secretary of Transportation to cover administrative costs, the balance of such purchase price being secured by a preferred mortgage on the vessel sold and otherwise secured as the Secretary of Transportation may determine: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the balance of the purchase price of a passenger vessel constructed under this section which is delivered subsequent to March 8, 1946, and which has the tonnage, speed, passenger accommodations, and other characteristics set forth in section 503 of this Act, may, with the approval of the Secretary of Transportation, be secured as provided in such section, and the obligation of the purchaser of such a vessel shall be satisfied and discharged as provided in such section. SEC. 510. [46 App. U.S.C. 1160] (a) When used in this section (1) The term "obsolete vessel" means a vessel or vessels, each of which (A) is of not less than one thousand three hundred and fifty gross tons, (B) in the judgment of the Secretary of Transportation, should, by reason of age, obsolescence, or otherwise, be replaced in the public interest, and (C) has been owned by a citizen or citizens of the United States for at least three years immediately prior to the date of acquisition hereunder. (2) The term "new vessel" means a vessel or vessels, each of which (A) is constructed under the provisions of this Act, and is acquired within two years from the date of completion of such vessel, or is purchased under section 714, as amended, by the person turning in an obsolete vessel under this section, or (B) is hereafter constructed in a domestic shipyard on private account and not under the provisions of this Act, and documented under the laws of the United States. (b) In order to promote the construction of new, safe, and efficient vessels to carry the domestic and foreign water-borne commerce of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized, subject to the provisions of this section, to acquire any obsolete vessel in exchange for an allowance of credit. The obsolete vessel shall be acquired by the Secretary of Transportation, if the owner so requests, either at the time the owner contracts for the construction or purchase of a new vessel or within five days of the actual date of delivery of the new vessel to the owner. The amount of the allowance shall be determined at the time of the acquisition of the obsolete vessel by the Secretary of Transportation. In the event the obsolete vessel is acquired by the Secretary of Transportation at the time the owner contracts for the construction or purchase of the new vessel, the allowance shall not be paid to the owner of the obsolete vessel, but shall be applied upon the purchase price of a new vessel. In the case of a new vessel constructed under the provisions of this Act, such allowance may, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Transportation may prescribe, be applied upon the cash payments required under this Act. In case the new vessel is not constructed under the provisions of this Act, the allowance shall, upon acquisition of the obsolete vessel by the Secretary of Transportation be paid, for the account of the owner, to the shipbuilder constructing such new vessel. In the event that title to the obsolete vessel is acquired by the Secretary of Transportation at the time of delivery of the new vessel, the allowance shall be deposited in the owner's capital construction fund. This subsection shall apply to obsolete vessels exchanged for new vessels hereafter contracted to be built, or eligible for such exchange but not exchanged in connection with a contract for new vessels executed prior to October 1, 1960. (c) The utility value of the new vessel for operation in the domestic or foreign commerce of the United States shall not be substantially less than that of the obsolete vessel. The gross tonnage of the obsolete vessel may exceed the gross tonnage of the new vessel in a ratio not in excess of three to one, if the Secretary of Transportation finds that the new vessel, although of lesser tonnage, will provide utility value equivalent to or greater than that of the obsoÏete vessel. (d) The allowance for an obsolete vessel shall be the fair and reasonable value of such vessel as determined by the Secretary of Transportation. In making such determination the Secretary of Transportation shall consider: (1) the scrap value of the obsolete vessel both in American and foreign markets, (2) the depreciated value based on a twenty or twenty-five year life, whichever is applicable to the obsolete vessel, and (3) the market value thereof for operation in the world trade or in the foreign or domestic trade of the United States. In the event the obsolete vessel is acquired by the Secretary of Transportation at the time the owner contracts for the construction of the new vessel, and the owner uses such vessel during the period of construction of the new vessel, the allowance shall be reduced by an amount representing the fair value of such use. The rate for the use of the obsolete vessel shall be fixed by the Secretary of Transportation for the entire period of such use at the time of execution of the contract for the construction of the new vessel.. (e) No gain shall be recognized to the owner for the purpose of Federal income taxes in the case of a transfer of an obsolete vessel to the Secretary of Transportation under the provisions of this section. The basis for gain or loss upon a sale or exchange and for depreciation under the applicable Federal income-tax laws of a new vessel acquired as contemplated in this section shall be the same as the basis of the obsolete vessel or vessels exchanged for credit upon the acquisition of such new vessel, increased in the amount of the cost of such vessel (other than the cost represented by such obsolete vessel or vessels) and decreased in the amount of loss recognized upon such transfer. (f) The Secretary of Transportation shall include in his annual report to Congress a detailed statement of all transactions consummated under the provisions of the preceding subsection during the period covered by such report. |