46 USC § 56307 - Return of vessels

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s56307"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 56307 - Return of vessels"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "56307"
section_name: "Return of vessels"
chapter_number: 563
chapter_name: "EMERGENCY ACQUISITION OF VESSELS"
part_number: "E"
part_name: "Control of Merchant Marine Capabilities"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1656.)"
---


# § 56307. Return of vessels

When a vessel requisitioned for use but not ownership is returned to the owner, the Secretary of Transportation shall—

**(1)** return the vessel in a condition at least as good as when taken, less ordinary wear and tear; or

**(2)** pay the owner an amount sufficient to recondition the vessel to that condition, less ordinary wear and tear.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1656.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 56307 | 46 App.:1242(a) (4th sentence). | June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title IX, § 902(a) (4th sentence), 49 Stat. 2015; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(131), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 165. |

The words “requisitioned for use but not ownership” are substituted for “taken and used under authority of this section, but the ownership thereof is not required by the United States” to eliminate unnecessary words.