569 



tions 494 to 498 of this title, relating to the imposition 

 and enforcement of penalties and the enforcement 

 of law: Provided, however, That until June 30, 1956, 

 no vessel registered or licensed as a vessel of the 

 United States of fifteen gross tons or less on Decem- 

 ber 31, 1953, shall be deemed to be subject to the 

 inspection provisions of this section notwithstanding 

 the fact that such vessel may thereafter be found to 

 have a tonnage in excess of fifteen gross tons, un- 

 less such finding results from ua alteration in the 

 length, breadth, or depth effected after December 31, 

 1953: Provided further. That no vessel under one 

 hundred and fifty gross tons, owned by or demise 

 chartered to any cooperative or association engaged 

 solely in transporting cargo owned by any one or 

 more of the members of such cooperative or asso- 

 ciation on a nonprofit basis <1) between places 

 within the inland waters of southeastern Alaska, as 

 defined pursuant to section 151 of Title 33, or (2) 

 between places within said Inland waters of south- 

 eastern Alaska and Prince Rupert, British Colum- 

 bia, or (3) between places within said inland waters 

 of southeastern Alaska and places within the inland 

 waters of the State of Washington, as also defined 

 pursuant to such section, via sheltered waters, as de- 

 fined in article I, of the Treaty between United States 

 and Canada defining certain waters of the west coast 

 of North America as sheltered waters, dated Decem- 

 ber 9, 1933, shall be deemed to be carrying freight for 

 hire witliin the meaning of this section. As used 



herein, the phrase "engaged in fishing as a regular 

 business" includes cannery tender or fishing tender 

 vessels of not more than five hundred gross tons used 

 in the salmon or crab fisheries of the States of Ore- 

 gon, Washington, and Alaska which are engaged ex- 

 clusively in (1 ) the carriage of cargo to or from ves- 

 sels in the fishery or a facility used or to be used in 

 the processing or assembling of fishery products, or 

 ( 2 ) the transportation of cannery or fishing person- 

 nel to or from operating locations, and vessels of not 

 more than five thousand gross tons used in the proc- 

 essing or assembling of fishery products in the fish- 

 eries of the States of Oregon, Washington, and 

 Alaska. The exemptions in the preceding sentence 

 for cannery tender, fishing tender vessels and ves- 

 sels used in processing or assembling of fishery prod- 

 ucts shall continue in force until July 11, 1978. (As 

 amended July 9, 1973, Pub. L. 93-65. § 6(b) , 87 Stat. 

 151; Oct. 1. 1974. Pub. L. 93-430, §6(4), 88 Stat. 

 1183.) 



Amendments 



1974 — Pub. L. 93-430 added reference to vessels of not 

 more than five thousand gross tons used In the processing 

 or assembling of fishery products In the fisheries of the 

 States of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, In the defini- 

 tion of "engaged In fishing as a regular business", and In 

 pro'lslons relating to conclnuatlon of exemption until 

 July 11, 1978. added reference to vessels used In processing 

 or assembling of fishery products. 



1973 — Pub. L. 93-65 extended termination date for 

 cannery tender and fishery tender vessel exemption from 

 a date five years from July 11, 1968, to a date five years 

 from July 11, 1973. 



13. Federal Ship Mortgage Insurance 

 46 U.S.C. 1271-1280 



§ 1271. Definitions. 



As used in this subchapter — 



(a) The term "mortgage" includes a preferred 

 mortgage as defined in the Ship Mortgage Act, 1920, 

 as amended, on any vessel of the United States (other 

 than a towboat, barge, scow, lighter, car float, canal 

 boat, or tank vessel of less than twenty-five gross 

 tons), and a mortgage on such a vessel which will 

 become a preferred mortgage when recorded and 

 endorsed as required by the Ship Mortgage Act, 1920, 

 as amended : 



(b) The term "vessel" includes all types, whether 

 in existence or under construction, of passenger 

 cargo and combination passenger-cargo carrying 

 vessels, tankers, tugs, towboats, barges and dredges 

 which are or will be documented under the laws of 

 the United States, fishing vessels whose ownership 

 will meet the citizenship requirements for document- 

 ing vessels in the coastwise trnd'^ within the meaning 

 of section 802 of this title, floating drydocks which 

 have a capacity of thirty-flve thousand or more lift- 

 ing tons and a beam of one hundred and twenty-flve 

 feet or more between the wing walls and oceano- 

 graphic research or instruction or pollution treat- 

 ment, abatement or control vessels owned by citizens 

 of the United States; 



(c) The term "obligation" shall mean any note, 

 bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness 

 (exclusive of notes or other obligations issued by the 

 Secretary of Commerce pursuant to section 1275(d) 

 of this title and obligations e'igible for investment of 

 funds under sections 1272 and 1279a (d) of this 

 title), issued for one of the purposes specifled in 

 section 1274(a) of this title; 



(d) The term "obligor" shall mean any party prl- 

 mailly liable for payment of the principal of or in- 

 terest on any obligation; 



(e) The tei-m "obligee" shall mean the holder of 

 an obligation; 



(f) The term "actual cost" of a vessel as of any 

 specifled date means the aggregate, as determined 

 by the Secretary of Commerce, of (i) all amounts 

 paid by or for the aoccunt of the obligor on or before 

 that date, and (ii) all amounts which the obligor is 

 then obligated to pay from time to time thereafter, 

 for the construction, recons':ruction, or recondition- 

 ing of such vessel; 



(g) The term "depraciatsd actual cost" of a ves- 

 sel means the actual cost of the vessel depreciated 

 on a straightline basis over the useful lile of the 

 vessel as determined by the Secretai-y of Commerce, 



