(a) The Secretary shall maintain records, including electronic records, on the issuances, denials, suspensions, and revocations of licenses, certificates of registry, merchant mariners' documents, and endorsements on those licenses, certificates, and documents.
(b) The Secretary may prescribe regulations requiring a vessel owner or managing operator of a commercial vessel, or the employer of a seaman on that vessel, to maintain records of each individual engaged on the vessel subject to inspection under chapter 33 on matters of engagement, discharge, and service for not less than 5 years after the date of the completion of the service of that individual on the vessel. The regulations may require that a vessel owner, managing operator, or employer shall make these records available to the individual and the Coast Guard on request.
(c) A person violating this section, or a regulation prescribed under this section, is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.
Open Table| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
|---|---|
| 7502 | 46:414 46:643(f) |
Section 7502 requires the Secretary to maintain records on the issuances, denials, suspensions, and revocations of licenses, certificates of registry, merchant mariner's documents, and endorsements.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
Pub. L. 111–281 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted "records, including electronic records," for "computerized records", and added subsecs. (b) and (c).
1990—Pub. L. 101–380 substituted "maintain computerized records" for "maintain records".
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 101–380 applicable to incidents occurring after Aug. 18, 1990, see section 1020 of Pub. L. 101–380, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2701 of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters.
Electronic Records on Mariner Availability To Meet National Security Needs
Pub. L. 115–232, div. C, title XXXV, §3510, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2310, provided that: "The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall ensure that electronic records maintained under section 7502 of title 46, United States Code, are able to be used by the Secretary of Transportation—
"(1) to determine the potential availability of mariners credentialed under part E of subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, to meet national security sealift needs; and
"(2) to receive information on the qualification of such mariners."
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