46 U.S.C. § 10501
Section 10501 · Application
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 17 court decisions — leading case Pacific Merchant Shipping Ass'n v. Aubry (1990)
Most recently applied in Flecker v. Statue Cruises, LLC (July 2013)
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) Except for a vessel to which chapter 103 of this title applies, this chapter applies to a vessel of at least 50 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title on a voyage between a port in one State and a port in another State (except an adjoining State).
(b) This chapter does not apply to a vessel on which the seamen are entitled by custom or agreement to share in the profit or result of a voyage.
(c) Unless otherwise provided, this chapter does not apply to a foreign vessel.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Section 10501 specifies that vessels over 50 gross tons that are not subject to chapter 103 and are engaged on voyages between two states (except for adjoining states) are subject to the provisions of this chapter. Specifically excluded are foreign vessels and vessels on which seamen share the profits.
Amendments
1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–324 inserted “as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title” after “50 gross tons”.