Section 53403 - Award of operating agreements(a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Transportation shall require, as a condition of including any vessel in the Fleet, that the program participant of the vessel enter into an operating agreement with the Secretary under this section.(b) PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATIONS.-(1) ELIGIBLE VESSELS.-The Secretary of Transportation shall accept an application for an operating agreement for an eligible product tank vessel under the priority under paragraph (2) only from a person that has authority to enter into an operating agreement under this chapter.(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITY.-The Secretary of Transportation may enter into a new operating agreement with an applicant that meets the requirements of section 53402(c) for a vessel that meets the qualifications of section 53402(b), and shall give priority to applications based on-(A) vessel capabilities, as established by the Secretary of Defense; then(B) after consideration of vessel type, according to an applicant's record of owning and operating vessels; then(C) after consideration of ownership and operation, according to such additional priorities as the Secretary of Transportation may consider appropriate.(3) CONCURRENCE OF AWARD.-The Secretary of Transportation may not approve an application for an operating agreement without the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense.(c) LIMITATION.-The Secretary of Transportation may not award operating agreements under this chapter that require payments under section 53406 of this title for more than-.1(1) for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023, 10 vessels; and(2) for any subsequent fiscal year, 20 vessels.(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.-No court shall have jurisdiction to review the Secretary's decision with respect to the award or non-award of an operating agreement issued under this chapter.1 So in original. The period probably should not appear.
Added Pub. L. 116-283, div. C, title XXXV, §3511(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4412; amended Pub. L. 117-263, div. C, title XXXV, §3501(b)(2), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3064.EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS2022-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117-263 substituted "The Secretary" for "For any fiscal year, the Secretary" and "more than-" for "more than 10 vessels", designated existing provisions as introductory provisions, and added pars. (1) and (2).