Reimbursement by Secretary of State; “other direct charge” defined; source of reimbursement
section 1972 of this titlesection 1979 of this titleIn any case where a vessel of the United States is seized by a foreign country under the conditions of 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 .
Determination and certification of charges by Secretary of State; reimbursement as lien on vessel; termination of lien
section 1972(b) of this titleThe 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 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, § 368 Stat. 883Pub. L. 90–482, § 282 Stat. 730Pub. L. 92–569, § 286 Stat. 1182Pub. L. 94–265, title IV, § 403(a)(2)90 Stat. 360Pub. L. 98–364, title III, § 302(a)98 Stat. 444(, ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , .)
Editorial Notes
Amendments
Pub. L. 98–364, § 302(a)(1)1984—Subsec. (a). , 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”.
Pub. L. 98–364, § 302(a)(2)Subsec. (b). , inserted “determination and” before “certification” in first sentence, and substituted “State” for “the Treasury” in second and third sentences.
Pub. L. 94–2651976—Subsec. (a). inserted definition of “other direct charge”.
Pub. L. 92–5691972— 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).
Pub. L. 90–4821968— inserted “, license fee, registration fee, or any other direct charge” after “fine” wherever appearing.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Pub. L. 94–265, title IV, § 403(b)90 Stat. 360section 403(a)(2) of Pub. L. 94–265Pub. L. 94–265Pub. L. 104–297, , , provided in part that the amendment made by to this section was to apply with respect to seizures of vessels of the United States occurring on or after , prior to the general amendment of title IV of by .
Effective Date of 1972 Amendment
Pub. L. 92–569section 1979 of this titlesection 6 of Pub. L. 92–569section 1972 of this titleAmendment by applicable with respect to seizure of vessels of the United States occurring on or after , except that reimbursements under this section may be made from the fund established by with respect to seizure of vessels occurring after and before if no reimbursement was made before , see , set out as a note under .