TITLE 46 - US CODE - CHAPTER 511 - GENERAL

46 USC 51101 - Policy

It is the policy of the United States that merchant marine vessels of the United States should be operated by highly trained and efficient citizens of the United States and that the United States Navy and the merchant marine of the United States should work closely together to promote the maximum integration of the total seapower forces of the United States.

46 USC 51102 - Definitions

In this part:

(1) Academy.—
The term Academy means the United States Merchant Marine Academy located at Kings Point, New York, and maintained under chapter 513 of this title.

(2) Cost of education provided.—
The term cost of education provided means the financial costs incurred by the United States Government for providing training or financial assistance to students at the Academy and the State maritime academies, including direct financial assistance, room, board, classroom academics, and other training activities.

(3) Merchant marine officer.—
The term merchant marine officer means an individual issued a license by the Coast Guard authorizing service as

(A) a master, mate, or pilot on a documented vessel that

(i) is of at least 1,000 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title; and

(ii) operates on the oceans or the Great Lakes; or

(B) an engineer officer on a documented vessel propelled by machinery of at least 4,000 horsepower.

(4) State maritime academy.—
The term State maritime academy means

(A) a State maritime academy or college sponsored by a State and assisted under chapter 515 of this title; and

(B) a regional maritime academy or college sponsored by a group of States and assisted under chapter 515 of this title.

46 USC 51103 - General authority of Secretary of Transportation

(a) Education and Training.—
The Secretary of Transportation may provide for the education and training of citizens of the United States for the safe and efficient operation of the merchant marine of the United States at all times, including operation as a naval and military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency.

(b) Surplus Property for Instructional Purposes.—

(1) In general.—
The Secretary may cooperate with and assist the institutions named in paragraph (2) by making vessels, shipboard equipment, and other marine equipment, owned by the United States Government and determined to be excess or surplus, available to those institutions for instructional purposes, by gift, loan, sale, lease, or charter on terms the Secretary considers appropriate.

(2) Institutions.—
The institutions referred to in paragraph (1) are

(A) the United States Merchant Marine Academy;

(B) a State maritime academy; and

(C) a nonprofit">nonprofit training institution jointly approved by the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating as offering training courses that meet Federal regulations for maritime training.

(1) In general.—
The Secretary of Transportation may secure directly from an agency, on a reimbursable basis, information, facilities, and equipment necessary to carry out this part.

(2) Detailing personnel.—
At the request of the Secretary, the head of an agency (including a military department) may detail, on a reimbursable basis, personnel from the agency to the Secretary to assist in carrying out this part.

(d) Academy Personnel.—
To carry out this part, the Secretary may

(1) employ an individual as a professor, lecturer, or instructor at the Academy, without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service; and

(2) pay the individual without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5.

46 USC 51104 - General authority of Secretary of the Navy

The Secretary of the Navy, in cooperation with the Maritime Administrator and the head of each State maritime academy, shall ensure that

(1) the training of future merchant marine officers at the United States Merchant Marine Academy and at State maritime academies includes programs for naval science training in the operation of merchant vessels as a naval and military auxiliary; and

(2) naval officer training programs for future officers, insofar as possible, are maintained at designated maritime academies consistent with Navy standards and needs.