(a) General Authority.—The President may make agreements with interested maritime countries to—

(1) maintain in the North Atlantic Ocean a service of ice patrol, of study and observation of ice and current conditions, and of assistance to vessels and their crews requiring assistance within the limits of the patrol;

(2) maintain a service of study and observation of ice and current conditions in the waters affecting the set and drift of ice in the North Atlantic Ocean; and

(3) take all practicable steps to ensure the destruction or removal of derelicts in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the line drawn from Cape Sable to a point in latitude 34 degrees north, longitude 70 degrees west, if the destruction or removal is necessary.

(b) Payment Between Countries.—The President may include in an agreement under subsection (a) a provision for—

(1) payment to the United States Government by other countries for their proportionate share of the expense of maintaining the services; or

(2) contribution by the Government for its proportionate share if the agreement provides for another country to maintain the services.

(c) Payments.—Payments received pursuant to subsection (b)(1) shall be credited to the appropriation for operating expenses of the Coast Guard.