33 U.S.C. § 1228
Section 1228 · Conditions for entry to ports in the United States
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case United States v. Locke (2000)
Most recently applied in 75 F. Supp. 3d 163 - Wilmina Shipping as v. United States Department of Homeland Security (December 2014)
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.
No vessel, subject to the provisions of chapter 37 of title 46, shall operate in the navigable waters of the United States or transfer cargo or residue in any port or place under the jurisdiction of the United States, if such vessel—
(1) has a history of accidents, pollution incidents, or serious repair problems which, as determined by the Secretary, creates reason to believe that such vessel may be unsafe or may create a threat to the marine environment; or
(2) fails to comply with any applicable regulation issued under this chapter, chapter 37 of title 46, or under any other applicable law or treaty; or
(3) discharges oil or hazardous material in violation of any law of the United States or in a manner or quantities inconsistent with the provisions of any treaty to which the United States is a party; or
(4) does not comply with any applicable vessel traffic service requirements; or
(5) is manned by one or more officers who are licensed by a certificating state which the Secretary has determined, pursuant to section 9101 of title 46, does not have standards for licensing and certification of seafarers which are comparable to or more stringent than United States standards or international standards which are accepted by the United States; or
(6) is not manned in compliance with manning levels as determined by the Secretary to be necessary to insure the safe navigation of the vessel; or
(7) while underway, does not have at least one licensed deck officer on the navigation bridge who is capable of clearly understanding English.
The Secretary may allow provisional entry of a vessel not in compliance with subsection (a) of this section, if the owner or operator of such vessel proves, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such vessel is not unsafe or a threat to the marine environment, and if such entry is necessary for the safety of the vessel or persons aboard. In addition, paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if the owner or operator of such vessel proves, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such vessel is no longer unsafe or a threat to the marine environment, and is no longer in violation of any applicable law, treaty, regulation or condition, as appropriate. Clauses (5) and (6) of subsection (a) of this section shall become applicable eighteen months after October 17, 1978.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–380, §4106(c)(1), substituted “chapter 37 of title 46” for “section 4417a of the Revised Statutes, as amended” in provisions preceding par. (1) and in par. (2) and substituted “section 9101 of title 46” for “section 4417a(11) of the Revised Statutes, as amended” in par. (5).
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 101–380 applicable to incidents occurring after Aug. 18, 1990, see section 1020 of Pub. L. 101–380, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2701 of this title.