46 U.S.C. § 31342 | Establishing maritime liens

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person providing necessaries to a vessel on the order of the owner or a person authorized by the owner—

(1)

has a maritime lien on the vessel;

(2)

may bring a civil action in rem to enforce the lien; and

(3)

is not required to allege or prove in the action that credit was given to the vessel.

(b)

This section does not apply to a public vessel.

Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 102(c)Nov. 23, 1988102 Stat. 4748 Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 303(6)Dec. 12, 1989103 Stat. 1924(, , ; , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section	Source section (U.S. Code)
31342	46:971

in remin remSection 31342 provides that any authorized person providing necessaries for a vessel has a maritime lien on the vessel, may bring a civil action in admiralty to enforce the lien, and is not required to allege or prove that credit was given to the vessel. “Providing” has been substituted for “furnishing” for consistency with other laws. This section makes no substantive change to law. This section does not supersede the prohibition under the Public Vessels Act, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or the Suits in Admiralty Act, on bringing an action against a public vessel.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 101–225 section 31341 of this title1989— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted “Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person providing necessaries to a vessel on the order of the owner” for “A person providing necessaries to a vessel (except a public vessel) on the order of a person listed in ”, and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Jan. 1, 1989section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710 section 31301 of this titleSection effective , with certain exceptions and qualifications, see , set out as a note under .