46 U.S.C. § 30101
Section 30101 · Extension of jurisdiction to cases of damage or injury on land
This is the Extension of Admiralty Jurisdiction Act
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 78 court decisions — leading case Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend (2009)
Most recently applied in Nederland Shipping Corp v. United States (November 2021)
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.
(a) In General.—The admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States extends to and includes cases of injury or damage, to person or property, caused by a vessel on navigable waters, even though the injury or damage is done or consummated on land.
(b) Procedure.—A civil action in a case under subsection (a) may be brought in rem or in personam according to the principles of law and the rules of practice applicable in cases where the injury or damage has been done and consummated on navigable waters.
(c) Actions Against United States.—
(1) Exclusive remedy.—In a civil action against the United States for injury or damage done or consummated on land by a vessel on navigable waters, chapter 309 or 311 of this title, as appropriate, provides the exclusive remedy.
(2) Administrative claim.—A civil action described in paragraph (1) may not be brought until the expiration of the 6-month period after the claim has been presented in writing to the agency owning or operating the vessel causing the injury or damage.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 30101 46 App.:740. June 19, 1948, ch. 526, 62 Stat. 496. In subsections (b) and (c), the words “civil action” are substituted for “suit” for consistency with rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 App. U.S.C.).
In subsection (c)(1), the words “for all causes of action arising after June 19, 1948, and for all causes of action where suit has not been hitherto filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act” are omitted as obsolete.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 30101, Pub. L. 100–710, title I, §102(c), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4738, provided definitions for purposes of this subtitle, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 109–304, §6(b), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1509.
Short Title
This section is popularly known as the Admiralty Extension Act.