TITLE 46 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER VIIIA - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

46 USC Appendix 1222 - Repealed. Pub. L. 108136, div. C, title XXXV, 3534(a)(2), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1818

Section, acts June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title VIII, 804, 49 Stat. 2012; June 23, 1938, ch. 600, 35, 52 Stat. 963; Pub. L. 91–469, § 24, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1033; Pub. L. 96–470, title II, § 201(b), Oct. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 2241; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(121), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 164; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 307(7), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1925; Pub. L. 104–239, § 5(a), Oct. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 3131, prohibited the operation of a competing foreign-flag vessel.

46 USC Appendix 1223 - Forbidden practices relating to coastwise service, salaries, officers, and employees

(a) Foreign trade subsidy contractor engaging in coastwise or intercoastal trade 
It shall be unlawful to award or pay any subsidy to any contractor under authority of part A of subchapter VI of this chapter, or to charter any vessel to any person under subchapter VII of this chapter if said contractor or charterer, or any holding company, subsidiary, affiliate, or associate of such contractor or charterer, or any officer, director, agent, or executive thereof, directly or indirectly, shall own, operate, or charter any vessel or vessels engaged in the domestic intercoastal or coastwise service, or own any pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in any person or concern that owns, charters, or operates any vessel or vessels in the domestic intercoastal or coastwise service, without the written permission of the Secretary of Transportation. Every person, firm, or corporation having any interest in such application shall be permitted to intervene and the Secretary of Transportation shall give a hearing to the applicant and the intervenors. The Secretary of Transportation shall not grant any such application if the Secretary of Transportation finds it will result in unfair competition to any person, firm, or corporation operating exclusively in the coastwise or intercoastal service or that it would be prejudicial to the objects and policy of this chapter: Provided, That if such contractor or other person above-described or a predecessor in interest was in bona-fide operation as a common carrier by water in the domestic, intercoastal, or coastwise trade in 1935 over the route or routes or in the trade or trades for which application is made and has so operated since that time or if engaged in furnishing seasonal service only, was in bona-fide operation in 1935 during the season ordinarily covered by its operation, except in either event, as to interruptions of service over which the applicant or its predecessor in interest had no control, the Secretary of Transportation shall grant such permission without requiring further proof that public interest and convenience will be served by such operation, and without further proceedings as to the competition in such route or trade. If such application be allowed, it shall be unlawful for any of the persons mentioned in this section to divert, directly or indirectly, any moneys, property, or other thing of value, used in foreign-trade operations, for which a subsidy is paid by the United States, into any such coastwise or intercoastal operations; and whosoever shall violate this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Contractor in default paying more than specified salary 
Whenever any contractor under part A of subchapter VI of this chapter or subchapter VII of this chapter receiving an operating-differential subsidy is in default with respect to any mortgage, note, purchase contract, or other obligation to the Secretary of Transportation, or has not maintained, in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary of Transportation, all of the reserves provided for in this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation shall have the right to supervise the number and compensation of all officers and employees of the contractor.
(c) Repealed. Pub. L. 91–469, § 25, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1034 
(d) Employing other persons or concerns as managing or operating agent 
It shall be unlawful, without express written consent of the Secretary of Transportation, for any contractor holding a contract authorized under part A of subchapter VI or[1] VII of this chapter to employ any other person or concern as the managing or operating agent of such operator, or to charter any vessel, on which an operating-differential subsidy is to be paid, for operation by another person or concern, and if such charter is made, the person or concern operating the chartered vessel or vessels shall be subject to all the terms and provisions of this chapter, including limitations of profits and salaries.
(e) Repealed. Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 307(7), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1925 
(f) Penalty 
Any willful violation of any provision of this section shall constitute a breach of the contract or charter in force under this chapter, and upon determining that such a violation has occurred the Secretary of Transportation may forthwith declare such contract or charter rescinded and any person willfully violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
[1] So in original. Probably should be followed by “subchapter”.

46 USC Appendix 1226 - Discrimination in respect to cargo

It shall be unlawful for any contractor receiving an operating-differential subsidy under subchapter VI of this chapter or for any charterer under subchapter VII of this chapter unjustly to discriminate in any manner so as to give preference directly or indirectly in respect to cargo in which such contractor or charterer has a direct or indirect ownership, or purchase or vending interest; and whosoever shall violate this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

46 USC Appendix 1227 - Agreements with other carriers forbidden; withholding subsidies; actions by injured persons for damages

It shall be unlawful for any contractor receiving an operating-differential subsidy under subchapter VI of this chapter or for any charterer of vessels under subchapter VII of this chapter to continue as a party to or to conform to any agreement with another carrier or carriers by water, or to engage in any practice in concert with another carrier or carriers by water, which is unjustly discriminatory or unfair to any other citizen of the United States who operates a common carrier by water exclusively employing vessels registered under the laws of the United States on any established trade route from and to a United States port or ports. No payment or subsidy of any kind shall be paid directly or indirectly out of funds of the United States or any agency of the United States to any contractor or charterer who shall violate this section. Any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden by this section may sue therefor in any district court of the United States in which the defendant resides or is found or has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained, and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorneys fee.

46 USC Appendix 1228 - Fines and penalties; conviction as rendering persons ineligible to receive benefits of law

Whenever any natural person is found guilty in any district court of the United States of any act or acts declared in this chapter to constitute a misdemeanor, he shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not less than one year or more than five years, or by both fine and imprisonment. Whenever any corporation is found guilty of any act or acts declared in this chapter to be unlawful, such corporation shall be punished by a fine of not more than $25,000. In addition to the punishment prescribed in section 12241 of this Appendix, any person or corporation convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this chapter shall be ineligible, at the discretion of the Commission or the Secretary of Transportation, to receive any benefits under subchapters V and VI of this chapter, or to receive a charter under subchapter VII of this chapter for a period of five years after conviction. Whoever knowingly and willfully violates any order, rule, or regulation of the Federal Maritime Commission or the Secretary of Transportation made or issued in the exercise of the powers, duties, or functions transferred to it or him or vested in it or him by this chapter, as amended, for which no penalty is otherwise expressly provided, shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $500. If such violation is a continuing one, each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
[1] See References in Text note below.