110 STAT. 3130 PUBLIC LAW 104-239—OCT. 8, 1996 "(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, the Secretary may issue temporary permission for any United States citizen, as that term is defined in section 2 of the Shipping Act, 1916, to provide service to a noncontiguous State or Commonwealth upon the request of the Governor of such noncontiguous State or Commonwealth, in circumstances where an Act of Grod, a declaration of war or national emergency, or any other condition occurs that prevents ocean transportation service to such noncontiguous State or Commonwealth from being provided by persons currently providing such service. Such temporary permission shall expire 90 days from date of grant, unless extended by the Secretary upon written request of the Governor of such State or Commonwealth. "(h) As used in this section: "(1) The term 'level of service provided by a contractor' in a trade as of a date means— "(A) with respect to service other than service described in (B), the total annual capacity provided by the contractor in that trade for the 12 calendar months preceding that date: Provided, That, with respect to unscheduled, contract carrier tug and barge service between points in Alaska south of the Arctic Circle and points in the contiguous 48 States, the level of service provided by a contractor shall include 100 percent of the capacity of the equipment dedicated to such service on the date specified in subsection (c) and actually utilized in that service in the two-year period preceding that date, excluding service to points between Anchorage, Alaska and Whittier, Alaska, served by common carrier service unless such unscheduled service is only for carriage of oil or pursuant to a contract with the United States military: Provided further. That, with respect to scheduled barge service between the contiguous 48 States and Puerto Rico, such total annual capacity shall be deemed as such total annual capacity plus the annual capacity of two additional barges, each capable of carrying 185 trailers and 100 automobiles; and "(B) with respect to service provided by container vessels, the overall capacity equal to the sum of— "(i) 100 percent of the capacity of vessels operated by or for the contractor on that date, with the vessels' configuration and frequency of sailing in effect on that date, and which participate solely in that noncontiguous domestic trade; and "(ii) 75 percent of the capacity of vessels operated by or for the contractor on that date, with the vessels' configuration and frequency of sailing in effect on that date, and which participate in that noncontiguous domestic trade and in another trade, provided that the term does not include any restriction on frequency, or number of sailings, or on ports called within such overall capacity. "(2) The level of service set forth in paragraph (1) shall be described with the specificity required by subsection (e)(l) and shall be the level of service in a trade with respect to the applicable date established by subsection (c) only if the service is not abandoned thereafter, except for interruptions
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