Any United States documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement, or both, may engage in trade between one port in the United States and one or more ports within the same, with the privilege of touching at one or more foreign ports during the voyage, and land and take in thereat merchandise, passengers and their baggage, and letters, and mails.
(R.S. § 3126; Pub. L. 91–271, title III, § 318, June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 293; Pub. L. 103–182, title VI, § 686(a)(2), Dec. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 2220; Pub. L. 104–295, § 21(e)(1), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3530.)
Editorial Notes
Codification
R.S. § 3126 derived from act May 27, 1848, ch. 48, § 1, 9 Stat. 232.
Amendments1996—Pub. L. 104–295 inserted comma after “or both”.
1993—Pub. L. 103–182 substituted “Any United States documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement, or both” for “Any vessel, on being duly registered in pursuance of the laws of the United States,” and struck out at end “All such vessels shall be furnished by the appropriate customs officers of the ports at which they shall take in their cargoes in the United States, with certified manifests, setting forth the particulars of the cargoes, the marks, number of packages, by whom shipped, to whom consigned, at what port to be delivered; designating such merchandise as is entitled to drawback, or to the privilege of being placed in warehouse; and the masters of all such vessels shall, on their arrival at any port of the United States from any foreign port at which such vessel may have touched, as herein provided, conform to the laws providing for the delivery of manifests of cargo and passengers taken on board at such foreign port, and all other laws regulating the report and entry of vessels from foreign ports, and be subject to all the penalties therein prescribed.”
1970—Pub. L. 91–271 substituted reference to appropriate customs officers for reference to collectors.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1970 AmendmentFor effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 91–271, see section 203 of Pub. L. 91–271, set out as an Effective Date of 1970 Amendment note under section 1500 of this title.