46 USC § 2301 - Application

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s2301"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 2301 - Application"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "2301"
section_name: "Application"
chapter_number: 23
chapter_name: "OPERATION OF VESSELS GENERALLY"
part_number: "A"
part_name: "General Provisions"
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. 508; Pub. L. 98–498, title II, § 212(a)(2), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2305; Pub. L. 105–383, title III, § 301(b)(2), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3417; Pub. L. 109–304, § 15(7), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1702.)"
---


# § 2301. Application

December 27, 1988

Except as provided in sections 2304 and 2306 of this title, this chapter applies to a vessel operated on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (including the territorial sea of the United States as described in Presidential Proclamation No. 5928 of ) and, for a vessel owned in the United States, on the high seas.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 508; Pub. L. 98–498, title II, § 212(a)(2), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2305; Pub. L. 105–383, title III, § 301(b)(2), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3417; Pub. L. 109–304, § 15(7), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1702.)

| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| --- | --- |
| 2301 | 46:480 |

Section 2301 provides that this chapter is applicable to all vessels, including foreign flag vessels, when operating on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any vessel owned in the United States while operating on the high seas would be included. By ownership the Committee means those vessels that are documented or numbered under United States laws and those other vessels that are neither documented or numbered but are of national origin and are not documented under the laws of a foreign nation. This chapter is applicable to a foreign flag vessel that is in innocent passage through territorial waters of the United States, presently 3 miles seaward, whether or not it is bound to or from a port subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

## Editorial Notes

### References in Text

Presidential Proclamation No. 5928, referred to in text, is set out under , Public Lands.

### Amendments

2006— substituted “sections 2304 and” for “section”.

1998— inserted “(including the territorial sea of the United States as described in Presidential Proclamation No. 5928 of )” after “of the United States”.

1984— substituted “Except as provided in , this chapter” for “This chapter”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by  effective 180 days after , see , set out as an Effective Date note under .