
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC7291]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle C--Navy and Marine Corps
 
                     PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 
                       CHAPTER 633--NAVAL VESSELS
 
Sec. 7291. Classification

    The President may establish, and from time to time modify, as the 
needs of the service require, a classification of naval vessels.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 448.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
            Revised section                      Source (U.S. Code)            
   Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
7291..................................  34 U.S.C. 451 (as applicable to      Ma
r. 3, 1901, ch. 852 (last par. as
                                         classification of vessels).          a
pplicable to classification of
                                                                              v
essels), 31 Stat. 1133.
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---------------------------------

                     Vessel Scrapping Pilot Program

    Pub. L. 105-262, title VIII, Sec. 8124, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 
2333, provided that: ``The Secretary of the Navy may carry out a 
competitively awarded vessel scrapping pilot program during fiscal years 
1999 and 2000 using funds made available in this Act under the heading 
`Operation and Maintenance, Navy' [112 Stat. 2282]: Provided, That the 
Secretary of the Navy shall define the program scope sufficient to 
gather data on the cost of scrapping Government vessels and to 
demonstrate cost-effective technologies and techniques to scrap such 
vessels in a manner that is protective of worker safety and health and 
the environment.''


  Consideration of Vessel Location for Award of Layberth Contracts for 
                             Sealift Vessels

    Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title III, Sec. 375, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2385, provided that:
    ``(a) Consideration of Vessel Location in the Award of Layberth 
Contracts.--As a factor in the evaluation of bids and proposals for the 
award of contracts to layberth sealift vessels of the Department of the 
Navy, the Secretary of the Navy shall include the location of the 
vessels, including whether the vessels should be layberthed at locations 
where--
        ``(1) members of the Armed Forces are likely to be loaded onto 
    the vessels; and
        ``(2) layberthing the vessels maximizes the ability of the 
    vessels to meet mobility and training needs of the Department of 
    Defense.
    ``(b) Establishment of Location as a Major Criterion.--In the 
evaluation of bids and proposals referred to in subsection (a), the 
Secretary of the Navy shall give the same level of consideration to the 
location of the vessels as the Secretary gives to other major factors 
established by the Secretary.
    ``(c) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply to any solicitation 
for bids or proposals issued after the end of the 120-day period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 23, 1992].''


          Revitalization of United States Shipbuilding Industry

    Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title X, Sec. 1031, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2489, provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall require that all 
sealift ships built under the fast sealift program established in 
section 1424 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
1991 (Public Law 101-510; 104 Stat. 1683) [set out below] shall be 
constructed and designed to commercial specifications.
    ``(b) Interagency Working Group To Formulate a Program To Preserve 
Shipyard Industrial Base.--(1) Not later than March 1, 1993, the 
President shall establish an interagency working group for the sole 
purpose of developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to enable 
and ensure that domestic shipyards can compete effectively in the 
international shipbuilding market.
    ``(2) The working group shall include representatives from all 
appropriate agencies, including the Department of Defense, the 
Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the Department of 
Transportation, the Department of Labor, the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, and the Maritime Administration.
    ``(3) The President shall submit to Congress the comprehensive plan 
developed by the working group not later than October 1, 1993.
    ``(c) Report on Ship Dumping Practices.--The Secretary of 
Transportation shall prepare a report on the countries that provide 
subsidies for the construction or repair of vessels in foreign shipyards 
or that engage in ship dumping practices.
    ``(d) Report on Defense Contracts.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
prepare a report on--
        ``(1) the amount of Department of Defense contracts that were 
    awarded to companies physically located or headquartered in the 
    countries identified in the Secretary of Transportation's report 
    under subsection (d) for the most recent year for which data is 
    available; and
        ``(2) the effect on defense programs of a prohibition of 
    awarding contracts to companies physically located or headquartered 
    in the countries identified in the Secretary of Transportation's 
    report under subsection (d).
    ``(e) Report on Adequacy of United States Shipbuilding Industry.--
The Secretary of Defense shall prepare a report on--
        ``(1) the adequacy of United States shipbuilding industry to 
    meet military requirements, including sealift, during the period of 
    1994 through 1999; and
        ``(2) the causes of any inadequacy identified and actions that 
    could be taken to correct such inadequacies.
    ``(f) Submission of Reports.--The reports under subsections (c), 
(d), and (e) shall be submitted to Congress with the President's budget 
for fiscal year 1994.
    ``(g) Penalty for Failure to Comply.--(1) Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), if the President fails to submit to Congress a 
comprehensive plan as required by subsection (b) by October 1, 1993, no 
funds appropriated to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1994 may 
be used to enter into a contract for the construction, repair, or 
purchase of any product or service with any company that has 
headquarters in any country that continues to provide a subsidy to a 
foreign shipyard for the construction or repair of vessels or that 
engages in ship dumping practices.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the President--
        ``(A) notifies Congress that he is unable to submit the plan by 
    the time required under subsection (c); and
        ``(B) includes with the notice a brief explanation of the 
    reasons for the delay and a statement that the plan will be 
    submitted by April 15, 1994.
    ``(h) Definitions.--For purposes of subsection (c):
        ``(1) The term `foreign shipyard' includes a ship construction 
    or repair facility located in a foreign country that is directly or 
    indirectly owned, controlled, managed, or financed by a foreign 
    shipyard that receives or benefits from a subsidy.
        ``(2) The term `subsidy' includes any of the following:
            ``(A) Officially supported export credits and development 
        assistance.
            ``(B) Direct official operating support to the commercial 
        shipbuilding and repair industry, or to a related entity that 
        favors the operation of shipbuilding and repair, including--
                ``(i) grants;
                ``(ii) loans and loan guarantees other than those 
            available on the commercial market;
                ``(iii) forgiveness of debt;
                ``(iv) equity infusions on terms inconsistent with 
            commercially reasonable investment practices;
                ``(v) preferential provision of goods and services; and
                ``(vi) public sector ownership of commercial shipyards 
            on terms inconsistent with commercially reasonable 
            investment practices.
            ``(C) Direct official support for investment in the 
        commercial shipbuilding and repair industry, or to a related 
        entity that favors the operation of shipbuilding and repair, 
        including the kinds of support listed in clauses (i) through (v) 
        of subparagraph (B), and any restructuring support, except 
        public support for social purposes directly and effectively 
        linked to shipyard closures.
            ``(D) Assistance in the form of grants, preferential loans, 
        preferential tax treatment, or otherwise, that benefits or is 
        directly related to shipbuilding and repair for purposes of 
        research and development that is not equally open to domestic 
        and foreign enterprises.
            ``(E) Tax policies and practices that favor the shipbuilding 
        and repair industry, directly or indirectly, such as tax 
        credits, deductions, exemptions and preferences, including 
        accelerated depreciation, if the benefits are not generally 
        available to persons or firms not engaged in shipbuilding or 
        repair.
            ``(F) Any official regulation or practice that authorizes or 
        encourages persons or firms engaged in shipbuilding or repair to 
        enter into anticompetitive arrangements.
            ``(G) Any indirect support directly related, in law or in 
        fact, to shipbuilding and repair at national yards, including 
        any public assistance favoring shipowners with an indirect 
        effect on shipbuilding or repair activities, and any assistance 
        provided to suppliers of significant inputs to shipbuilding, 
        which results in benefits to domestic shipbuilders.
            ``(H) Any export subsidy identified in the Illustrative List 
        of Export Subsidies in the Annex to the Agreement on 
        Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI, and XXIII of 
        the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or any other export 
        subsidy that may be prohibited as a result of the Uruguay Round 
        of trade negotiations.
        ``(3) The term `vessel' means any self-propelled, sea-going 
    vessel--
            ``(A) of not less than 100 gross tons, as measured under the 
        International Convention of Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969; 
        and
            ``(B) not exempt from entry under section 441 of the Tariff 
        Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431).''


                          Fast Sealift Program

    Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title X, Sec. 1021, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2485, provided that:
    ``(a) Acquisition and Conversion of U.S. Built Vessels.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Navy 
may use funds available for the Fast Sealift Program--
        ``(1) to acquire vessels for the program from among available 
    vessels built in United States shipyards; and
        ``(2) to convert in United States shipyards vessels built in 
    United States shipyards.
    ``(b) Acquisition of Five Foreign-Built Vessels.--Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, funds available for the Fast Sealift Program 
may be used for the acquisition of five vessels built in foreign 
shipyards and for conversion of those vessels in United States shipyards 
if the Secretary of the Navy determines that acquisition of those 
vessels is necessary to expedite the availability of vessels for 
sealift.''

    Pub. L. 101-510, div. A, title XIV, Sec. 1424, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 
Stat. 1683, as amended by Pub. L. 102-190, div. A, title X, Sec. 1015, 
Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1458; Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title X, 
Sec. 1022, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2485; Pub. L. 103-337, div. A, title 
I, Sec. 125, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2683, provided that:
    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of the Navy shall 
establish a program for the construction and operation, or conversion 
and operation, of cargo vessels that incorporate features essential for 
military use of the vessels.
    ``(b) Program Requirements.--The program under this section shall be 
carried out as follows:
        ``(1) The Secretary of the Navy shall establish the design 
    requirements for vessels to be constructed or converted under the 
    program.
        ``(2) In establishing the design requirements for vessels to be 
    constructed or converted under the program, the Secretary shall use 
    commercial design standards and shall consult with the Administrator 
    of the Maritime Administration.
        ``(3) Construction or conversion of the vessels shall be 
    accomplished in private United States shipyards.
        ``(4) The vessels constructed or converted under the program 
    shall incorporate propulsion systems whose main components (that is, 
    the engines, reduction gears, and propellers) are manufactured in 
    the United States.
        ``(5) The vessels constructed or converted under the program 
    shall incorporate bridge and machinery control systems and interior 
    communications equipment which--
            ``(A) are manufactured in the United States; and
            ``(B) have more than half of their value, in terms of cost, 
        added in the United States.
        ``(6) The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement of 
    paragraph (5) with respect to a system or equipment described in 
    that paragraph if--
            ``(A) the system or equipment is not available; or
            ``(B) the costs of compliance would be unreasonable compared 
        to the costs of purchase from a foreign manufacturer.
    ``(c) Charter of Vessels Constructed.--(1) Except when the Secretary 
determines that having a vessel immediately available with a full or 
partial crew is in the national interest, the Secretary, in consultation 
with the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, shall charter 
each vessel constructed before October 1, 1995, under the program for 
commercial operation. Any such charter--
        ``(A) shall not permit the operation of the vessel other than in 
    the foreign commerce of the United States;
        ``(B) may be made only with an individual or entity that is a 
    citizen of the United States (which, in the case of a corporation, 
    partnership, or association, shall be determined in the manner 
    specified in section 2 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C. App. 
    802)) [46 App. U.S.C. 802, 803]; and
        ``(C) shall require that the vessel be documented (and remain 
    documented) under the laws of the United States.
    ``(2) The Secretary may enter into a charter under paragraph (1) 
only through the use of competitive bidding procedures that ensure that 
the highest charter rates are obtained by the United States consistent 
with good business practice, except that the Secretary may operate the 
vessel (or contract to have the vessel operated) in direct support of 
United States military forces during a time of war or national emergency 
and at other times when the Administrator of the Maritime Administration 
determines that that operation would not unfairly compete with another 
United States-flag vessel.
    ``(3) If the Secretary determines that a vessel previously chartered 
under the program no longer has commercial utility, the Secretary may 
transfer the vessel to the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
    ``(4) A contract for the charter of a vessel under paragraph (1) 
shall include a provision that the charter may be terminated for 
national security reasons without cost to the United States.
    ``(d) Reports To Congress.--(1) Not later than six months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 5, 1990], the Secretary of the 
Navy shall submit to Congress a report describing the Secretary's plan 
for implementing the fast sealift program authorized by this section.
    ``(2) Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of the plan described in the report submitted under 
paragraph (1). The report shall include a description of vessels built 
or under contract to be built pursuant to this section, the use of such 
vessels, and the operating experience and manning of such vessels.
    ``(3) The reports under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be prepared in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Maritime Administration.
    ``(e) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated to the Department 
of Defense for any fiscal year for acquisition of fast sealift vessels 
may be used for the program under this section.''


                 Funding for Ship Production Engineering

    Pub. L. 101-189, div. A, title XVI, Sec. 1613, Nov. 29, 1989, 103 
Stat. 1601, provided that:
    ``(a) Category for Funding.--Any request submitted to Congress for 
appropriations for ship production engineering necessary to support the 
procurement of any ship included (at the time the request is submitted) 
in the five-year shipbuilding and conversion plan of the Navy shall be 
set forth in the Shipbuilding and Conversion account of the Navy (rather 
than in research and development accounts).
    ``(b) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply only with respect 
to appropriations for a fiscal year after fiscal year 1990.''


                    Depot-Level Maintenance of Ships

    Pub. L. 101-189, div. A, title XVI, Sec. 1614(a), (b), Nov. 29, 
1989, 103 Stat. 1601, directed Secretary of the Navy to require that, to 
the extent feasible and consistent with policies of the Navy regarding 
family separations, not less than one-half of the depot-level 
maintenance work for naval vessels that was scheduled as of Oct. 1, 
1989, to be carried out in Japan during fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 
1992, was to be carried out in shipyards in the United States. Similar 
provisions were contained in Pub. L. 100-456, div. A, title XII, 
Sec. 1226, Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 2055, which was repealed by Pub. L. 
101-189, div. A, title XVI, Sec. 1614(c), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1601.


  Reports on Effects of Naval Shipbuilding Plans on Maritime Industries

    Pub. L. 100-456, div. A, title XII, Sec. 1227, Sept. 29, 1988, 102 
Stat. 2055, directed Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress in 1989, 
1990, and 1991 a report on how, under the current Five-Year Defense 
Program of Department of Defense, programs for naval shipbuilding and 
conversion, for naval vessel repair, and for procurement of support 
equipment for naval vessels could be expected to affect private-sector 
shipbuilding and ship repair industries of United States in terms of 
effectiveness and preparedness of those industries for mobilization in 
their role in the sealift component of the conventional deterrent of the 
United States.


                 Repair of Vessels in Foreign Shipyards

    Pub. L. 99-500, Sec. 101(c) [title IX, Sec. 9101], Oct. 18, 1986, 
100 Stat. 1783-82, 1783-118, and Pub. L. 99-591, Sec. 101(c) [title IX, 
Sec. 9101], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341-82, 3341-118, provided that: 
``No naval vessel or any vessel owned and operated by the Department of 
Defense homeported in the United States may be overhauled, repaired, or 
maintained in a foreign owned and operated shipyard located outside of 
the United States, except for voyage repairs.''


 Encouragement of Construction in United States Shipyards of Combatant 
                    Vessels for United States Allies

    Pub. L. 99-145, title XIV, Sec. 1455, Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 761, 
provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Navy shall take such steps 
as necessary--
        ``(1) to encourage United States shipyards to construct 
    combatant vessels for nations friendly to the United States, subject 
    to the requirement to safeguard sensitive warship technology; and
        ``(2) to ensure that no effort is made by any element of the 
    Department of the Navy to inhibit, delay, or halt the provision of 
    any United States naval system to a nation allied with the United 
    States if that system is approved for export to a foreign nation, 
    unless approval of such system for export is withheld solely for the 
    purpose of safeguarding sensitive warship technology;
        ``(3) if opportunities arise to construct combatant vessels 
    (including diesel submarines) outside the United States in a 
    shipyard of a friendly foreign nation, with some or all of the costs 
    provided by United States funds--
            ``(A) to encourage United States firms to participate in 
        such construction to the maximum extent possible, subject to the 
        requirement to safeguard sensitive warship technology; and
            ``(B) to ensure, whenever practicable, that at least 51 
        percent of the dollar value of such construction is provided by 
        United States firms.
    ``(b) Definition.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
`sensitive warship technology' means technology relating to the design 
or construction of a combatant naval vessel that is determined by the 
Secretary of Defense to be vital to United States security.''


            Six-Hundred-Ship Goal for Navy; Sense of Congress

    Pub. L. 97-114, title VII, Sec. 791, Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1593, 
provided that: ``It is the sense of the Congress that--
        ``(1) A larger and stronger American Navy is needed as an 
    essential ingredient of our Armed Forces, in order to fulfill its 
    basic missions of (A) protecting the sea lanes to preserve the 
    safety of the free world's commerce, (B) assuring continued access 
    to raw materials essential to the well-being of the free world, (C) 
    enhancing our capacity to project effective American forces into 
    regions of the world where the vital interests of the United States 
    must be protected, (D) engaging the Navy of the Soviet Union or any 
    other potential adversary successfully, (E) continuing to serve as a 
    viable leg of our strategic triad, and (F) providing visible 
    evidence of American diplomatic, economic and military commitments 
    throughout the world.
        ``(2) In order to conduct the numerous and growing missions of 
    the modern American Navy, a goal of a naval inventory of 
    approximately six hundred active ships of various types by the end 
    of the century at the latest, is highly desirable, the exact figure 
    to be flexible to accommodate new designs as the specific details of 
    our naval missions evolve to meet various contingencies.
        ``(3) The Secretary of Defense comply with section 808 of Public 
    Law 94-106, the Department of Defense Appropriation Authorization 
    Act of 1976 [set out as a note under this section], in order that 
    the Congress may more properly appropriate the funds necessary to 
    reach a six hundred-ship goal at least by the end of the present 
    century.''


  Construction of Advanced, Versatile, Survivable, and Cost-Effective 
   Combatant Ships; Plans and Programs; Presidential Conclusions and 
        Recommendations To Accompany Ship Authorization Requests

    Pub. L. 95-485, title VIII, Sec. 810(a), (b), Oct. 20, 1978, 92 
Stat. 1623, which declared it the policy of the United States to 
construct more survivable, less costly, and more combat effective ships, 
and directed the President to include in any request for authorization 
of a ship his conclusions on the ship's possession of the above 
qualities and whether and why the ship should be nuclear powered, was 
repealed and reenacted as section 7310 of this title by Pub. L. 97-295, 
Secs. 1(49)(A), 6(b), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1298, 1315.


   Conversion, Overhaul, or Repair Work Under Service Life Extension 
   Program or DDG-2 Destroyer Modernization Program; Use of Public or 
  Private Shipyards; Additional Personnel; Least-Cost Approach Study; 
   Report to Congress; Advanced Planning or Purchasing Long Lead Items

    Pub. L. 95-485, title VIII, Sec. 811, Oct. 20, 1978, 92 Stat. 1624, 
prohibited Secretary of the Navy, with certain exceptions, from taking 
any action with respect to the use of either public shipyards or private 
shipyards for conversion, overhaul, or repair work under Service Life 
Extension Program (SLEP) or under program for modernization of DDG-2 
class guided missile destroyers, or for the employment of additional 
personnel for, or the transfer of additional personnel to, any public 
shipyard as a part of the necessary buildup of manpower for carrying out 
either such program, until a comprehensive least-cost approach study was 
conducted and a written report of such study was submitted after Oct. 
20, 1978, to Congress.


     Naval Ship New Construction and Conversion Program; Reports to 
                        Congressional Committees

    Pub. L. 94-106, title VIII, Sec. 808, Oct. 7, 1975, 89 Stat. 539, 
directed Secretary of Defense to submit a five-year naval ship new 
construction and conversion program with President's budget for fiscal 
year beginning Oct. 1, 1976, and to report annually thereafter on 
changes in the program, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 101-510, div. A, 
title XIII, Sec. 1322(g), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1672.


  Nuclear Powered Major Combatant Vessels; Construction; Definitions; 
Report to Congress by Secretary of Defense; Limitations on Authorization 
or Appropriation Requests: Report to Congress by President of Alternate 
                                 Program

    Pub. L. 93-365, title VIII, Secs. 801-804, Aug. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 
408, 409, authorized construction of nuclear powered major combatant 
vessels for the strike forces of the United States Navy and an adequate 
industrial base for research, design, maintenance, etc., of these 
vessels, defined the term ``major combatant vessels for the strike 
forces of the United States Navy'', required the Secretary of Defense to 
report to Congress each calendar year on the application of nuclear 
propulsion to these vessels, and provided all requests for 
authorizations or appropriations for these vessels be for the 
construction of nuclear powered vessels unless the President advises 
Congress that such construction would not be in the national interest 
and includes for consideration by Congress an alternate program of 
nuclear powered ships, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 95-485, title VIII, 
Sec. 810(c), Oct. 20, 1978, 92 Stat. 1623.


            Tonnage Balance for Construction of Ships; Repeal

    Pub. L. 89-37, title III, Sec. 301, June 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 128, 
provided that: ``Outstanding tonnage balances remaining in law for 
construction of Navy ships are hereby repealed.''


   Construction of Alternate Vessels in Government Navy Yards; Public 
                                Interests

    Pub. L. 89-37, title III, Sec. 302, June 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 128, 
which provided that construction of warships and escort vessels follow 
alternate vessel Navy yard construction requirement of Act of Mar. 27, 
1934, 48 Stat. 503, except in any year President finds it inconsistent 
with public interests, was repealed and restated as section 7299a(a) of 
this title by Pub. L. 97-295, Secs. 1(48)(A), 6(b), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 
Stat. 1298, 1314.


    Conversion, Alteration, and Repair Projects; Considerations and 
                              Requirements

    Pub. L. 89-37, title III, Sec. 303, June 11, 1965, 79 Stat. 128, 
which provided that assignment of naval ship conversion, alteration, and 
repair projects would be made on basis of economic and military 
considerations and would not be restricted by requirements that certain 
portions of such naval shipwork be assigned to particular types of 
shipyards or to particular geographical areas or by similar 
requirements, was repealed and restated as section 7299a(b) of this 
title by Pub. L. 97-295, Secs. 1(48)(A), 6(b), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 
1298, 1314.
