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Title 10 — Armed Forces

Part IV · Chapter 863 — Naval Vessels

§ 8678. Chief of Naval Operations: certification required for disposal of combatant vessels

Statutory text

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no combatant vessel of the Navy may be sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of unless the Chief of Naval Operations certifies that it is not essential to the defense of the United States.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 103–160 div. A title VIII § 824(b) · 107 Stat. 1547

    Enacted · 10 U.S.C. § 8678

    Added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1710, § 7308

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    Added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1710, § 7308

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (b) Revision and Streamlining of Certain Provisions Relating to Naval Vessels.— Chapter 633 of such title is amended by striking out sections 7304, 7305, 7306, 7307, 7308, and 7309 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “§ 7304. Examination of vessels; striking of vessels from Naval Vessel Register “(a) Boards of Officers To Examine Naval Vessels.— The Secretary of the Navy shall designate boards of naval officers to examine naval vessels, including unfinished vessels, for the purpose of making a recommendation to the Secretary as to which vessels, if any, should be stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Each vessel shall be examined at least once every three years if practicable. “(b) Actions by Board.— A board designated under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary in writing its recommendations as to which vessels, if any, among those it examined should be stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. “(c) Action by Secretary.— If the Secretary concurs with a recommendation by a board that a vessel should be stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, the Secretary shall strike the name of that vessel from the Naval Vessel Register. “§ 7305. Vessels stricken from Naval Vessel Register: sale “(a) Appraisal of Vessels Stricken From Naval Vessel Register.— The Secretary of the Navy shall appraise each vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register under section 7304 of this title. “(b) Authority To Sell Vessel.— If the Secretary considers that the sale of the vessel is in the national interest, the Secretary may sell the vessel. Any such sale shall be in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary for the purposes of this section. “(c) Procedures for Sale.— (1) A vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and not subject to disposal under any other law may be sold under this section. In such a case, the Secretary may sell the vessel to the highest acceptable bidder, regardless of the appraised value of the vessel, after the vessel is publicly advertised for sale for a period of not less than 30 days. “(2) If the Secretary determines that the bid prices for a vessel received after advertising under paragraph (1) are not acceptable and that readvertising will serve no useful purpose, the Secretary may sell the vessel by negotiation to the highest acceptable bidder if— “(A) each responsible bidder has been notified of intent to negotiate and has been given a reasonable opportunity to negotiate; and “(B) the negotiated price is— “(i) higher than the highest rejected price of any responsible bidder; or “(ii) reasonable and in the national interest. “(d) Applicability.— This section does not apply to a vessel the disposal of which is authorized by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.), if it is to be disposed of under that Act. “§ 7306. Vessels stricken from Naval Vessel Register; captured vessels: transfer by gift or otherwise “(a) Authority To Make Transfer.— Subject to subsections (c) and (d) of section 602 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 474), the Secretary of the Navy may transfer, by gift or otherwise, any vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, or any captured vessel, to— “(1) any State, Commonwealth, or possession of the United States or any municipal corporation or political subdivision thereof; “(2) the District of Columbia; or “(3) any not-for-profit or nonprofit entity. “(b) Vessel To Be Maintained in Condition Satisfactory to Secretary.— An agreement for the transfer of a vessel under subsection (a) shall include a requirement that the transferee will maintain the vessel in a condition satisfactory to the Secretary. “(c) Transfers To Be at No Cost to United States.— Any transfer of a vessel under this section shall be made at no cost to the United States. “(d) Notice to Congress.— (1) No transfer under this section takes effect unless— “(A) notice of the proposal to make the transfer is sent to Congress; and “(B) 60 days of continuous session of Congress have expired following the date on which such notice is sent to Congress. “(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the continuity of a session of Congress is Broken only by an adjournment of the Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of such 60-day period. “§ 7306a. Vessels stricken from Naval Vessel Register: use for experimental purposes “(a) Authority.— The Secretary of the Navy may use for experimental purposes any vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. “(b) Stripping Vessel.— (1) Before using a vessel for an experimental purpose pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out such stripping of the vessel as is practicable. “(2) Amounts received as proceeds from the stripping of a vessel pursuant to this subsection shall be credited to appropriations available for the procurement of scrapping services needed for such stripping. Amounts received which are in excess of amounts needed for procuring such services shall be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury. “§ 7307. Disposals to foreign nations “(a) Larger or Newer Vessels.— A naval vessel that is in excess of 3,000 tons or that is less than 20 years of age may not be disposed of to another nation (whether by sale, lease, grant, loan, barter, transfer, or otherwise) unless the disposition of that vessel is approved by law enacted after August 5, 1974. A lease or loan of such a vessel under such a law may be made only in accordance with the provisions of chapter 6 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2796 et seq.) or chapter 2 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.). “(b) Other Vessels. — (1) A naval vessel not subject to subsection (a) may be disposed of to another nation (whether by sale, lease, grant, loan, barter, transfer, or otherwise) in accordance with applicable provisions of law, but only after— “(A) the Secretary of the Navy notifies the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives in writing of the proposed disposition; and “(B) 30 days of continuous session of Congress have expired following the date on which such notice is sent to those committees. “(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the continuity of a session of Congress is broken only by an adjournment of the Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of such 30-day period. “§ 7308. Chief of Naval Operations: certification required for disposal of combatant vessels “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no combatant vessel of the Navy may be sold, transferred, or otherwise disposed of unless the Chief of Naval Operations certifies that it is not essential to the defense of the United States. “§ 7309. Construction of vessels in foreign shipyards: prohibition “(a) Prohibition.— Except as provided in subsection (b), no vessel to be constructed for any of the armed forces, and no major component of the hull or superstructure of any such vessel, may be constructed in a foreign shipyard. “(b) Presidential Waiver for National Security Interest.— (1) The President may authorize exceptions to the prohibition in subsection (a) when the President determines that it is in the national security interest of the United States to do so. “(2) The President shall transmit notice to Congress of any such determination, and no contract may be made pursuant to the exception authorized until the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the notice of the determination is received by Congress. “(c) Exception for Inflatable Boats.— An inflatable boat or a rigid inflatable boat, as defined by the Secretary of the Navy, is not a vessel for the purpose of the restriction in subsection (a). “§ 7310. Overhaul, repair, etc. of vessels in foreign shipyards: restrictions “(a) Vessels With Homeport in United States.— A naval vessel (or any other vessel under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy) the homeport of which is in the United States may not be overhauled, repaired, or maintained in a shipyard outside the United States, other than in the case of voyage repairs. “(b) Vessel Changing Homeports.— In the case of a naval vessel the homeport of which is not in the United States (or a territory of the United States), the Secretary of the Navy may not during the 15-month period preceding the planned reassignment of the vessel to a homeport in the United States (or a territory of the United States) begin any work for the overhaul, repair, or maintenance of the vessel that is scheduled to be for a period of more than six months.”.

  2. John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019

    Pub. L. 115–232 div. A title VIII § 807(d)(2) · 132 Stat. 1636

    Changed · 10 U.S.C. § 8678

    Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 7308 of this title as this section

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 7308 of this title as this section.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (2) Chapter 633.— Each section in chapter 633 is 10 USC 8661–8664, 8667, 8669–8671, 8673–8690. redesignated so that the number of the section, as redesignated, is the number equal to the previous number plus 1,370.

    Effective date note
    Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

2 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 7308 of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Credits

1993–2018 · 2 acts
  1. 1993Added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(b), , 107 Stat. 1710, § 7308
  2. 2018renumbered § 8678, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(d)(2), , 132 Stat. 1836.
Show as published

(Added Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(b), , 107 Stat. 1710, § 7308; renumbered § 8678, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(d)(2), , 132 Stat. 1836.)

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