PUBLIC LAW 100-710—NOV. 23, 1988
102 STAT. 4741
"(b) A civil action may be brought to recover for losses referred to Courts, U.S. in subsection (a) of this section. The district courts have original jurisdiction of the action, regardless of the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties. If the plaintiff prevails, the court shall award costs and attorney fees to the plaintiff. "§ 31305. Waiver of lien rights "This chapter does not prevent a mortgagee or other lien holder from waiving or subordinating at any time by agreement or otherwise the lien holder's right to a lien, the priority or, if a preferred mortgage lien, the preferred status of the lien. "§ 31306. Declaration of citizenship "(a) When an instrument transferring an interest in a vessel is Records. presented to the Secretary of Transportation for filing or recording, the transferee shall file with the instrument a declaration, in the form the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, stating information about citizenship and other information the Secretary may require to show the transaction involved does not violate section 9 or 37 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 App. U.S.C. 808, 835). "(b) A declaration under this section filed by a corporation must Corporations. be signed by its president, secretary, treasurer, or other official authorized by the corporation to execute the declaration. "(c) An instrument transferring an interest in a vessel is not valid against any person until the declaration required by this section has been filed. "(d) A person knowingly making a false statement of a material Fraud. fact in a declaration filed under this section shall be fined under Law enforcement and title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. crime. "§ 31307. State statutes superseded "This chapter supersedes any State statute conferring a lien on a vessel to the extent the statute establishes a claim to be enforced by a civil action in rem against the vessel for necessaries. "§ 31308. Secretary of Commerce or Transportation as mortgagee "When the Secretary of Commerce or Transportation is a mortgagee under this chapter, the Secretary may foreclose on a lien arising from a right established under a mortgage under title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1241 et seq.), subject to section 362(b) of title 11. "§ 31309. General civil penalty "Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person violating this chapter or a regulation prescribed under this chapter is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. "SUBCHAPTER II—COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS "§ 31321. Filing, recording, and discharge "(a)(1) A bill of sale, conveyance, mortgage, sissignment, or related instrument, whenever made, that includes any part of a documented vessel or a vessel for which an application for documentation is filed, must be filed with the Secretary of Transportation to be valid, to the extent the vessel is involved, against any person except—
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