46 USC § 57304 - Eligible acquisition dates

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s57304"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 57304 - Eligible acquisition dates"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "57304"
section_name: "Eligible acquisition dates"
chapter_number: 573
chapter_name: "VESSEL TRADE-IN PROGRAM"
part_number: "F"
part_name: "Government-Owned Merchant Vessels"
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. 1662.)"
---


# § 57304. Eligible acquisition dates

At the option of the owner, the acquisition of an obsolete vessel under this chapter shall occur—

**(1)** when the owner contracts for the construction or purchase of a new vessel; or

**(2)** within 5 days of the actual date of delivery of the new vessel to the owner.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1662.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 57304 | 46 App.:1160(b) (2d sentence). | June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title V, § 510(b) (2d sentence), as added Aug. 4, 1939, ch. 417, § 7, 53 Stat. 1184; Pub. L. 87–401, subdiv. (1), Oct. 5, 1961, 75 Stat. 833; Pub. L. 91–469, § 35(a), Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1035; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(91), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 161. |

The words “At the option of the owner” are substituted for “if the owner so requests” for clarity.