Section 53901 - DefinitionsIn this chapter:
(1) AMERICAN VESSEL.-The term "American vessel" includes-(A) a documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of this title;(B) an undocumented vessel owned or chartered by or made available to the United States Government; and(C) a tug, barge, or other watercraft (whether or not documented) owned by a citizen of the United States and used in essential water transportation or in the fisheries, except only for sport fishing.(2) CARGO.-The term "cargo" includes a loaded or empty container on a vessel.(3) TRANSPORTATION IN THE WATERBORNE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES.-The term "transportation in the waterborne commerce of the United States" includes the operation of a vessel in the fisheries, except only for sport fishing.(4) WAR RISKS.-The term "war risks" includes, to the extent the Secretary of Transportation determines-(A) any part of a loss excluded from marine insurance coverage under a "free of capture or seizure" clause or analogous clause; and(B) any other loss from a hostile act, including confiscation, expropriation, nationalization, or deprivation. Pub. L. 109-304, §8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1626.| HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES |
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 53901(1) | 46 App.:1281(a). | June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, §§1201(a), (b), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 773. |
| 53901(2) | 46 App.:1283(b) (last sentence). | June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, §1203(b) (last sentence), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 774; Pub. L. 94-523, §2, Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2474. |
| 53901(3) | 46 App.:1281(b). | |
| 53901(4) | 46 App.:1281(c). | June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XII, §1201(c), as added Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 906, 64 Stat. 773; restated Pub. L. 107-107, title XXXV, §35023502,, 115 Stat. 1392. |
In paragraph (1)(A), the words "a documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of this title" are substituted for "any vessel registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States" because of 46 U.S.C. 12101(b). In paragraph (1)(B). the words "or any department or agency thereof" are omitted as surplus.In paragraph (1)(C), the word "fisheries" is substituted for "fishing trade or industry" because of the definition of "fisheries" in chapter 1 of the revised title.