46 USC § 10908 - Penalty for sending unseaworthy vessel to sea
---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s10908"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 10908 - Penalty for sending unseaworthy vessel to sea"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "10908"
section_name: "Penalty for sending unseaworthy vessel to sea"
chapter_number: 109
chapter_name: "PROCEEDINGS ON UNSEAWORTHINESS"
part_number: "G"
part_name: "Merchant Seamen Protection and Relief"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 577.)"
---
# § 10908. Penalty for sending unseaworthy vessel to sea
A person that knowingly sends or attempts to send, or that is a party to sending or attempting to send, a vessel of the United States to sea, in an unseaworthy state that is likely to endanger the life of an individual, shall be fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
---
**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 577.)
| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| --- | --- |
| 10908 | 46:658 |
Section 10908 provides a penalty for a person knowingly sending or attempting to send an unseaworthy vessel to sea.