§ 1973. — Reimbursement of owner for any direct charges paid to secure release of vessel and crew.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 22USC1973]
TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE
CHAPTER 25--PROTECTION OF VESSELS ON THE HIGH SEAS AND IN TERRITORIAL
WATERS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Sec. 1973. Reimbursement of owner for any direct charges paid to
secure release of vessel and crew
(a) Reimbursement by Secretary of State; ``other direct charge''
defined; source of reimbursement
In any case where a vessel of the United States is seized by a
foreign country under the conditions of section 1972 of this title and a
fine, license fee, registration fee, or any other direct charge must be
paid in order to secure the prompt release of the vessel and crew, the
owners of the vessel shall be reimbursed by the Secretary of State in
the amount determined and certified by him as being the amount of the
fine, license fee, registration fee, or any other direct charge actually
paid. For purposes of this section, the term ``other direct charge''
means any levy, however characterized or computed (including, but not
limited to, any computation based on the value of a vessel or the value
of fish or other property on board a vessel), which is imposed in
addition to any fine, license fee, or registration fee. Any
reimbursement under this section shall be made from the Fishermen's
Protective Fund established pursuant to section 1979 of this title.
(b) Determination and certification of charges by Secretary of State;
reimbursement as lien on vessel; termination of lien
The Secretary of State shall make a determination and certification
under subsection (a) of this section as soon as possible after he is
notified pursuant to section 1972(b) of this title of the amounts of the
fines, fees, and other direct charges which were paid by the owners to
secure the release of their vessel and crew. The amount of reimbursement
made by the Secretary of State to the owners of any vessel under
subsection (a) of this section shall constitute a lien on the vessel
which may be recovered in proceedings by libel in rem in the district
court of the United States for any district within which the vessel may
be. Any such lien shall terminate on the ninetieth day after the date on
which the Secretary of State reimburses the owners under this section
unless before such ninetieth day the United States initiates action to
enforce the lien.
(Aug. 27, 1954, ch. 1018, Sec. 3, 68 Stat. 883; Pub. L. 90-482, Sec. 2,
Aug. 12, 1968, 82 Stat. 730; Pub. L. 92-569, Sec. 2, Oct. 26, 1972, 86
Stat. 1182; Pub. L. 94-265, title IV, Sec. 403(a)(2), Apr. 13, 1976, 90
Stat. 360; Pub. L. 98-364, title III, Sec. 302(a), July 17, 1984, 98
Stat. 444.)
Amendments
1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-364, Sec. 302(a)(1), substituted
``Secretary of State in the amount determined and certified by him'' for
``Secretary of the Treasury in the amount certified to him by the
Secretary of State''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98-364, Sec. 302(a)(2), inserted
``determination and'' before ``certification'' in first sentence, and
substituted ``State'' for ``the Treasury'' in second and third
sentences.
1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-265 inserted definition of ``other
direct charge''.
1972--Pub. L. 92-569 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a),
inserted provision that reimbursement under this section shall be made
from the Fishermen's Protective Fund, and added subsec. (b).
1968--Pub. L. 90-482 inserted ``, license fee, registration fee, or
any other direct charge'' after ``fine'' wherever appearing.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Section 403(b) of Pub. L. 94-265 provided in part that the amendment
made by section 403(a)(2) of Pub. L. 94-265 to this section was to apply
with respect to seizures of vessels of the United States occurring on or
after Dec. 31, 1974, prior to the general amendment of title IV of Pub.
L. 94-265 by Pub. L. 104-297.
Effective Date of 1972 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 92-569 applicable with respect to seizure of
vessels of the United States occurring on or after Oct. 26, 1972, except
that reimbursements under this section may be made from the fund
established by section 1979 of this title with respect to seizure of
vessels occurring after Dec. 31, 1970 and before Oct. 26, 1972 if no
reimbursement was made before Oct. 26, 1972, see section 6 of Pub. L.
92-569, set out as a note under section 1972 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979 of
this title.
