46 U.S.C. § 30501
Section 30501 · Definition
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 81 court decisions — leading case United States v. Citgo Asphalt Refining Co. (2013)
Most recently applied in William Ehart, Jr. v. Lahaina Divers, Inc. (February 2024)
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.
In this chapter:
(1) Covered small passenger vessel.—The term "covered small passenger vessel"—
(A) means a small passenger vessel, as defined in section 2101, that is—
(i) not a wing-in-ground craft; and
(ii) carrying—
(I) not more than 49 passengers on an overnight domestic voyage; and
(II) not more than 150 passengers on any voyage that is not an overnight domestic voyage; and
(B) includes any wooden vessel constructed prior to March 11, 1996, carrying at least 1 passenger for hire.
(2) Owner.—The term "owner" includes a charterer that mans, supplies, and navigates a vessel at the charterer's own expense or by the charterer's own procurement.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Section
The words "In this chapter" are substituted for "within the meaning of the provisions of title 48 of the Revised Statutes relating to the limitation of the liability of the owners of vessels" because of the codification of title 46, United States Code. The word "supplies" is substituted for "victual" for clarity. The words "and such vessel, when so chartered, shall be liable in the same manner as if navigated by the owner thereof" are omitted as unnecessary.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2022—Pub. L. 117–263 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "In this chapter, the term 'owner' includes a charterer that mans, supplies, and navigates a vessel at the charterer's own expense or by the charterer's own procurement."