MANNING OF CERTAIN VESSELS 145 



SUBCHAPTER 5B.— NATIONALITY OF OFFICERS AND CREWS 



Vessels of the United States and officers defined; officers to be 

 citizens 



46 U.S.C. 221 (R.S. 4131) 



Vessels registered pursuant to law and no others, except such as 

 shall be duly qualified according to law for carrying on the coasting 

 or fishing trade, shall be deemed vessels of the United States, and 

 entitled to the benefits and privileges appertaining to such vessels; 

 but no such vessel shall enjoy such benefits and privileges longer than 

 it shall continue to be wholly owned by a citizen or citizens of the 

 United States or a corporation created under the laws of any of the 

 States thereof, and be commanded by a citizen of the United States. 

 And all the officers of vessels of the United States who shall have 

 charge of a watch, including pilots, shall in all cases be citizens of the 

 United States. The word "officers" shall include the chief engineer 

 and each assistant engineer in charge of a watch on vessels propelled 

 wliolly or in part by steam ; and no person shall be qualified to hold a 

 license as a commander or watch officer of a merchant vessel of the 

 United States who is not a native-bom citizen, or whose naturalization 

 as a citizen shall not have been fully completed. 



Nationality of crews 

 46 U.S.C. 672a 



(a) From and after the enactment of this act all licensed officers 

 and pilots of vessels of the United States shall be citizens of the United 

 States, native-born, or completely naturalized. 



(b) From and after six months after the enactment of this act upon 

 each departure of any such vessel from a port of the United States, 75 

 per centum of the crew, excluding licensed officers, shall be citizens of 

 the United States, native-bom, or completely naturalized, unless the 

 Commandant of the Coast Guard shall, upon investigation, ascertain 

 that qualified citizen seamen are not available, when, under such con- 

 ditions, he may reduce the above percentages. 



(c) If any vessel while on a foreign voyage is for any reason 

 deprived of the services of any member of the crew, such position or 

 vacancy caused by the promotion of another to such position may be 

 supplied by a person other than defined in subsections (a) and (b) of 

 this section until the first call of such vessel at a port in the United 

 States where such replacements can be obtained. 



(d) The owner, agent, or officer of any such vessel, who shall em- 

 ploy any person in violation of the provisions of this section, shall 

 be subject to a penalty of $500 for each offense. 



Citizenship of officers and crew [on subsidized vessels] 



46 U.S.C. 1132 



(a) All licensed officers of vessels documented under the laws of 

 the United States, as now required by law, shall be citizens of the 

 United States, native-born or completely naturalized; and upon each 

 departure from the United States of a cargo vessel in respect of which 



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