§ 1481. Violations; penalties

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. 1974

   Intervention on the High Seas Act

   Pub. L. 93–248 § 12 · [88 Stat. 8]

   Enacted · 33 U.S.C. § 1481

   Pub. L. 93–248, § 12, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 10

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 93–248, § 12, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 10

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   Sec. 12. (a) Any person who— (1) willfully violates a provision of this Act or a regulation issued thereunder; or (2) willfully refuses or fails to comply with any lawful order or direction given pursuant to this Act; or (3) willfully obstructs any person who is acting in compliance Penalty. with an order or direction under this Act, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (b) In a criminal proceeding for an offense under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section it shall be a defense for the accused to prove that he used all due diligence to comply with any order or direction or that he had reasonable cause to believe that compliance would have resulted in serious risk to human life.

2. 1990

   Oil Pollution Act of 1990

   Pub. L. 101–380 title IV § 4302 · 104 Stat. 484

   1. Substituted · 33 U.S.C. § 1481(a)

      Pub. L. 101–380 substituted “A person commits a class A misdemeanor if that person” for “Any person who” in introductory provisions

   2. Struck · 33 U.S.C. § 1481(a)

      Pub. L. 101–380 struck out “, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both” after “under this chapter” in par. (3)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–380 substituted “A person commits a class A misdemeanor if that person” for “Any person who” in introductory provisions and struck out “, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both” after “under this chapter” in par. (3).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 4302. OTHER PENALTIES. (a) Negligent Operations.— Section 2302 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b) by striking “shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.”, and inserting “commits a class A misdemeanor.”, and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) by striking “, shall be” in the matter preceding paragraph (1); (B) by inserting “is” before “liable” in paragraph (1); and (C) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: “(2) commits a class A misdemeanor.”. (b) Inspections.— Section 3318 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b) by striking “shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”; (2) in subsection (c) by striking “shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”; (3) in subsection (d) by striking “shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”; (4) in subsection (e) by striking “shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class A misdemeanor.”; and (5) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of subsection (f) by striking “shall be fined not less than $1,000 but not more than $10,000, and imprisoned for not less than 2 years but not more than 5 years,” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”. (c) Carriage of Liquid Bulk Dangerous Cargoes.— Section 3718 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b) by striking “shall be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”; and (2) in subsection (c) by striking “shall be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class C felony.”. (d) Load Lines.— Section 5116 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (d) by striking “shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.” and inserting “commits a class A misdemeanor.”; and (2) in subsection (e) by striking “shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class A misdemeanor.”. (e) Complement of Inspected Vessels.— Section 8101 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (e) by striking “$50” and inserting “$1,000”; (2) in subsection (f) by striking “$100, or, for a deficiency of a licensed individual, a penalty of $500.” and inserting “$10,000.”; and (3) in subsection (g) by striking “$500.” and inserting “$10,000.”. (f) Watches.— Section 8104 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (i) by striking “$100.” and inserting “$10,000.”; and (2) in subsection (j) by striking “$500.” and inserting “$10,000.”. (g) Coastwise Pilotage.— Section 8502 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (e) by striking “$500.” and inserting “$10,000.”; and (2) in subsection (f) by striking “$500.” and inserting “$10,000.”. (h) Foreign Commerce Pilotage.— Section 8503(e) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking “shall be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”. (i) Crew Requirements.— Section 8702(e) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking “$500.” and inserting “$10,000.”. (j) Ports and Waterways Safety Act.— Section 13(b) of the Port and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1232(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1) by striking “shall be fined not more than $50,000 for each violation or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”; and (2) in paragraph (2) by striking “shall, in lieu of the penalties prescribed in paragraph (1), be fined not more than $100,000, or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class C felony.”. (k) Vessel Navigation.— Section 4 of the Act of April 28, 1908 (33 U.S.C. 1236) is amended— (1) in subsection (b) by striking “$500.” and inserting “$5,000.”; (2) in subsection (c) by striking “$500,” and inserting “$5,000,”; and (3) in subsection (d) by striking “$250.” and inserting “$2,500.”. (l) Intervention on the High Seas Act.— Section 12(a) of the Intervention of the High Seas Act (33 U.S.C. 1481(a)) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “Any person who” and inserting “A person commits a class A misdemeanor if that person”; and (2) in paragraph (3) by striking “, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both”. (m) Deepwater Port Act of 1974.— Section 15(a) of the Deep-water Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1514(a)) is amended by striking “shall on conviction be fined not more than $25,000 for each day of violation or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.” and inserting “commits a class A misdemeanor for each day of violation.”. (n) Act To Prevent Pollution From Ships.— Section 9(a) of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1908(a)) is amended by striking “shall, for each violation, be fined not more than $50,000 or be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.” and inserting “commits a class D felony.”.

   Effective date note
   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.

3 of 3 references resolved to an enrolled provision