[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5707 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5707

   To require the owner of a cruise ship that calls at a port in the 
United States to report to the Secretary of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating crimes that occur on the cruise ship in which 
  a citizen of the United States was a victim, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2006

Mr. Shays (for himself and Mrs. Maloney) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the owner of a cruise ship that calls at a port in the 
United States to report to the Secretary of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating crimes that occur on the cruise ship in which 
  a citizen of the United States was a victim, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cruise Line Accurate Safety 
Statistics Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO REPORT CRIMES AND OTHER INFORMATION.

    (a) Requirement.--The owner of a cruise ship that calls at a port 
in the United States shall report to the Secretary--
            (1) each covered crime that occurred on the cruise ship in 
        the course of the voyage (or voyage segment) that ends at that 
        port, in which a citizen of the United States was a victim, by 
        not later than 4 hours after the crime is reported to the 
        master of the cruise ship;
            (2) each incident on the cruise ship in the course of the 
        voyage (or voyage segment) in which a citizen of the United 
        States was missing or reported overboard for a period of 4 
        hours or more, by not later than 4 hours after the incident is 
        reported to the master of the cruise ship; and
            (3) by not later than the end of each of March, June, 
        September, and December of each year--
                    (A) each crime that occurred on the cruise ship in 
                the preceding 3-month period; and
                    (B) each incident on the cruise ship in the 
                preceding 3-month period in which an individual was 
                missing or reported overboard for a period of 4 hours 
                or more.
    (b) Availability of Information.--The Secretary shall make 
information reported under this section available to the public, 
including on a site on the Internet.

SEC. 3. INSPECTION OF CRUISE SHIPS.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary shall inspect each cruise ship that 
seeks to enter a port in the United States to determine whether the 
cruise ship has adequate equipment and trained personnel to investigate 
covered crimes on the vessel in accordance with regulations under 
subsection (b).
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue regulations by not 
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act that 
establish what constitutes adequate equipment and trained personnel for 
purposes of this section.

SEC. 4. DISCLOSURES BY CRUISE LINES.

    (a) Requirement.--Any cruise line that sells a ticket for carriage 
of an individual on a cruise ship that, during such carriage, will call 
at a port in the United States shall--
            (1) before selling the ticket, refer the individual to the 
        Internet site referred to in section 2(b); and
            (2) provide to the individual--
                    (A) the name of each country the cruise ship will 
                visit during the course of such carriage; and
                    (B) the locations in such country of the embassy 
                and each consulate of the United States.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue regulations by not 
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act that 
establish what constitutes a cruise line for purposes of this section.

SEC. 5. PENALTY.

    (a) In General.--A person shall be liable for a civil penalty of 
not more than $250,000, if--
            (1) the person is the owner of a cruise ship and--
                    (A) the person fails to report in accordance with 
                section 2; or
                    (B) the Secretary determines in an inspection of 
                the cruise ship under section 3 that the cruise ship 
                does not have adequate equipment and trained personnel; 
                or
            (2) the person fails to provide information to the 
        purchaser of a cruise ship ticket as required by section 4.
    (b) Assessment of Penalty.--The Secretary shall assess a civil 
penalty under this section.
    (c) Liability in Rem.--A cruise ship shall be liable in rem for a 
civil penalty under subsection (a)(1) that is assessed with respect to 
the cruise ship.
    (d) Denial of Entry.--The Secretary of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating may deny entry into the United States to a 
cruise vessel if the owner of the cruise vessel--
            (1) commits an act or omission for which a civil penalty 
        may be imposed under this subsection (a)(1); or
            (2) fails to pay a civil penalty imposed on the owner under 
        this section.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered crime.--The term ``covered crime'' means--
                    (A) any act or omission that, if committed in an 
                area subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, 
                would be a violation of--
                            (i) section 81 of title 18, United States 
                        Code (relating to arson);
                            (ii) section 114 of such title (relating to 
                        maiming);
                            (iii) section 611 of such title (relating 
                        to certain crimes within the special maritime 
                        and territorial jurisdiction);
                            (iv) section 1111 of such title (relating 
                        to murder);
                            (v) section 1112 of such title (relating to 
                        manslaughter);
                            (vi) section 1201 of such title (relating 
                        to kidnaping); or
                            (vii) section 2241 of such title (relating 
                        to aggravated sexual abuse); and
                    (B) any assault that, if committed in an area 
                subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, would 
                be a violation of section 13 of title 18, United States 
                Code.
            (2) Cruise ship.--The term ``cruise ship''--
                    (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means 
                any vessel over 100 gross registered tons, that--
                            (i) is capable of carrying more than 12 
                        passengers for hire;
                            (ii) carries passengers for hire on a 
                        voyage lasting more than 24 hours, any part of 
                        which is on the high seas; and
                            (iii) embarks or disembarks passengers in 
                        the United States (including any commonwealth 
                        or territories of the United States); and
                    (B) does not include a ferry that--
                            (i) has been issued a Certificate of 
                        Inspection endorsed for lakes, bays, and 
                        sounds; and
                            (ii) transits international waters for only 
                        short periods of time on frequent schedules.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating.
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