46 U.S.C. § 31342 Establishing Maritime Liens

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 46 U.S.C. § 31342

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person providing necessaries to a vessel on the order of the owner or a person authorized by the owner-

(1) has a maritime lien on the vessel;

(2) may bring a civil action in rem to enforce the lien; and

(3) is not required to allege or prove in the action that credit was given to the vessel.

(b) This section does not apply to a public vessel.

Cite as 46 U.S.C. § 31342

Source: Pub. L. 100-710, title I, §102(c), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4748; Pub. L. 101-225, title III, §303(6), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1924.

current through 7/7/2023

<TABLE> <TR><TD colspan="2">HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>Revised section</TD> <TD>Source section (U.S. Code)</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD>31342</TD> <TD>46:971</TD> </TR> </TABLE>

Section 31342 provides that any authorized person providing necessaries for a vessel has a maritime lien on the vessel, may bring a civil action in rem in admiralty to enforce the lien, and is not required to allege or prove that credit was given to the vessel. "Providing" has been substituted for "furnishing" for consistency with other laws. This section makes no substantive change to law. This section does not supersede the prohibition under the Public Vessels Act, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or the Suits in Admiralty Act, on bringing an in rem action against a public vessel.