# § 3501. Number of passengers
**(a)** Each certificate of inspection issued to a vessel carrying passengers (except a ferry) shall include a statement on the number of passengers that the vessel is permitted to carry.
**(b)** The owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel is liable to a person suing them for carrying more passengers than the number of passengers permitted by the certificate of inspection in an amount equal to—
**(1)** passage money; and
**(2)** $100 for each passenger in excess of the number of passengers permitted.
**(c)** An owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel that knowingly carries more passengers than the number of passengers permitted by the certificate of inspection also shall be fined not more than $100, imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both.
**(d)** The vessel also is liable in rem for a penalty under this section.
**(e)** An offshore supply vessel may not carry passengers except in an emergency.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 519; Pub. L. 99–36, § 1(a)(2), May 15, 1985, 99 Stat. 67.)
| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| --- | --- |
| 3501 | 46:404–146:45146:45246:462 |
Section 3501 requires that a vessel carrying passengers, including a passenger vessel as well as a small passenger vessel (except a ferry), shall have on the certificate of inspection a statement as to the number of passengers the vessel is permitted to carry. It also provides penalties for carrying passengers in excess of the number permitted.
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
1985—Subsec. (a). , struck out the comma after “(except a ferry)”.
Subsec. (c). , substituted “carries more passengers than the number of passengers permitted by the certificate of inspection” for “violates subsection (b) of this section”.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date
Chapter effective , see , set out as a note under .