33 U.S.C. § 409
Section 409 · Obstruction of navigable waters by vessels; floating timber; marking and removal of sunken vessels
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 210 court decisions — leading case Indian Towing Company v. United States (1955)
Most recently applied in United States v. Jhonathan Alfonso (June 2024)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 33 U.S.C. § 403 · 33 U.S.C. § 401 · 33 U.S.C. § 414
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
It shall not be lawful to tie up or anchor vessels or other craft in navigable channels in such a manner as to prevent or obstruct the passage of other vessels or craft; or to sink, or permit or cause to be sunk, vessels or other craft in navigable channels; or to float loose timber and logs, or to float what is known as “sack rafts of timber and logs” in streams or channels actually navigated by steamboats in such manner as to obstruct, impede, or endanger navigation. And whenever a vessel, raft or other craft is wrecked and sunk in a navigable channel, it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, or operator of such sunken craft to immediately mark it with a buoy or beacon during the day and, unless otherwise granted a waiver by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, a light at night, and to maintain such marks until the sunken craft is removed or abandoned, and the neglect or failure of the said owner, lessee, or operator so to do shall be unlawful; and it shall be the duty of the owner, lessee, or operator of such sunken craft to commence the immediate removal of the same, and prosecute such removal diligently, and failure to do so shall be considered as an abandonment of such craft, and subject the same to removal by the United States as provided for in sections 411 to 416, 418, and 502 of this title. The Commandant of the Coast Guard may waive the requirement to mark a wrecked vessel, raft, or other craft with a light at night if the Commandant determines that placing a light would be impractical and granting such a waiver would not create an undue hazard to navigation.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section is from act Mar. 3, 1899, popularly known as the “Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899”.
Amendments
2004—Pub. L. 108–293 substituted “day and, unless otherwise granted a waiver by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, a light” for “day and a lighted lantern” in second sentence and inserted at end “The Commandant of the Coast Guard may waive the requirement to mark a wrecked vessel, raft, or other craft with a light at night if the Commandant determines that placing a light would be impractical and granting such a waiver would not create an undue hazard to navigation.”
1986—Pub. L. 99–662 substituted “or to sink” for “or to voluntarily or carelessly sink”, struck out “accidentally or otherwise,” after “navigable channel,”, and inserted “, lessee, or operator” after “owner” in three places.