(a) Lower Rate.— A tax is imposed at the rate of 2 cents per ton (but not more than a total of 10 cents per ton per year) at each entry in a port of the United States of
(1) a vessel entering from a foreign port or place in North America, Central America, the West Indies Islands, the Bahama Islands, the Bermuda Islands, or the coast of South America bordering the Caribbean Sea; or
(2) a vessel returning to the same port or place in the United States from which it departed, and not entering the United States from another port or place, except
(A) a vessel of the United States;
(B) a recreational vessel (as defined in section
2101 of this title); or
(C) a barge.
(b) Higher Rate.—
A tax is imposed at the rate of 6 cents per ton (but not more than a total of 30 cents per ton per year) on a vessel at each entry in a port of the United States from a foreign port or place not named in subsection (a)(1).
(c) Exception for Vessels Entering Other Than by Sea.—
Subsection (a) does not apply to a vessel entering other than by sea from a foreign port or place at which tonnage, lighthouse, or other equivalent taxes are not imposed on vessels of the United States.
