CITE

    18 USC Sec. 2285                                            01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    PART I - CRIMES
    CHAPTER 111 - SHIPPING

HEAD

    Sec. 2285. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-submersible
      vessel without nationality

STATUTE

      (a) Offense. - Whoever knowingly operates, or attempts or
    conspires to operate, by any means, or embarks in any submersible
    vessel or semi-submersible vessel that is without nationality and
    that is navigating or has navigated into, through, or from waters
    beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country
    or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an
    adjacent country, with the intent to evade detection, shall be
    fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.
      (b) Evidence of Intent To Evade Detection. - For purposes of
    subsection (a), the presence of any of the indicia described in
    paragraph (1)(A), (E), (F), or (G), or in paragraph (4), (5), or
    (6), of section 70507(b) of title 46 may be considered, in the
    totality of the circumstances, to be prima facie evidence of intent
    to evade detection.
      (c) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. - There is extraterritorial
    Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section, including
    an attempt or conspiracy to commit such an offense.
      (d) Claim of Nationality or Registry. - A claim of nationality or
    registry under this section includes only -
        (1) possession on board the vessel and production of documents
      evidencing the vessel's nationality as provided in article 5 of
      the 1958 Convention on the High Seas;
        (2) flying its nation's ensign or flag; or
        (3) a verbal claim of nationality or registry by the master or
      individual in charge of the vessel.
      (e) Affirmative Defenses. -
        (1) In general. - It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution
      for a violation of subsection (a), which the defendant has the
      burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence, that the
      submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel involved was, at
      the time of the offense -
          (A) a vessel of the United States or lawfully registered in a
        foreign nation as claimed by the master or individual in charge
        of the vessel when requested to make a claim by an officer of
        the United States authorized to enforce applicable provisions
        of United States law;
          (B) classed by and designed in accordance with the rules of a
        classification society;
          (C) lawfully operated in government-regulated or licensed
        activity, including commerce, research, or exploration; or
          (D) equipped with and using an operable automatic
        identification system, vessel monitoring system, or long range
        identification and tracking system.
        (2) Production of documents. - The affirmative defenses
      provided by this subsection are proved conclusively by the
      production of -
          (A) government documents evidencing the vessel's nationality
        at the time of the offense, as provided in article 5 of the
        1958 Convention on the High Seas;
          (B) a certificate of classification issued by the vessel's
        classification society upon completion of relevant
        classification surveys and valid at the time of the offense; or
          (C) government documents evidencing licensure, regulation, or
        registration for commerce, research, or exploration.
      (f) Federal Activities Excepted. - Nothing in this section
    applies to lawfully authorized activities carried out by or at the
    direction of the United States Government.
      (g) Applicability of Other Provisions. - Sections 70504 and 70505
    of title 46 apply to offenses under this section in the same manner
    as they apply to offenses under section 70503 of such title.
      (h) Definitions. - In this section, the terms "submersible
    vessel", "semi-submersible vessel", "vessel of the United States",
    and "vessel without nationality" have the meaning given those terms
    in section 70502 of title 46.

SOURCE

    (Added Pub. L. 110-407, title I, Sec. 102(a), Oct. 13, 2008, 122
    Stat. 4296.)

FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS

      Pub. L. 110-407, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat.
    4296, provided that: "Congress finds and declares that operating or
    embarking in a submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel
    without nationality and on an international voyage is a serious
    international problem, facilitates transnational crime, including
    drug trafficking, and terrorism, and presents a specific threat to
    the safety of maritime navigation and the security of the United
    States."