A Brief Look at the “Small Passenger Vessel Liability Fairness Act”
We recently reported that Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Salud Carbajal (both D-Cal.) introduced bills respectively in the Senate and House entitled the “Small Passenger Vessel Liability Fairness Act” to amend the 1851 Shipowner Limitation of Liability Act to deny small passenger vessel owners the right to institute an action in an appropriate federal court for exoneration from or have its liability limited. We now provide a brief review of the recently proposed legislation.
Section 30503 through Section 30512 are to be re-designated as §§ 30521-50530. This would restructure the Act to move all but definitions (§ 30501) and application (§ 30502) to new designations.
The proposed legislation amends 46 U.S.C. § 30501 designating the present definition of owner as subsection (1) and by adding subsection (2) defining a “small passenger vessel” as one less than 100 gross tons (as measured under 46 U.S.C. §14502 or an alternative method under that provision), carries no more than 49 passengers for overnight domestic voyages or more than 150 passengers for other voyages. It also includes any wooden vessels built prior to March 1, 1996 which carry passengers on overnight domestic voyages. This definition mirrors the definition of “small passenger vessel” in the “Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 2019” which went into effect in January, 2021.[1]
Section 30502 (Application of the Act) would be amended such that subchapter II except “Declaration of nature and value of goods” (present § 30503 and newly proposed § 30521) would apply to “seagoing vessels and vessels used on lakes or river or in inland navigation, including canal boats, barges and lighters that are not covered small passenger vessels.”
The new proposed law (2021 H.R. 5329; 2021 S. 2805) adds Subchapter III at 46 U.S.C. §30541 which would authorize the Commandant (of the Coast Guard) to promulgate rules within 180 days of the passage of the bill relating to exoneration from or limitation of liability and “to provide just compensation in any claim” in which the owner of the covered vessel is found liable. This would apply to “all seagoing vessels, and vessels used on lakes or rivers or in inland navigation, including canal boats, and lighters” which are “covered small passenger vessels.” The rules are to include a provision that the privity or knowledge of the master or owner’s superintendent or managing agent at the beginning of the voyage is to be imputed to the owner of the covered vessel. This is presently also contained in 46 U.S.C. § 30506(e).[2] Apportionment of losses is to be applied to covered vessels as other vessels in the current 46 U.S.C. § 30507. The rules would be effective on the date the proposed legislation is passed.
Finally, as previously noted, this Act if passed would be retroactive to September 2, 2019.
[1] This was also legislation in response to the M/V CONCEPTION fire on September 2, 2019 and amends 46 U.S.C. § 3306 and 3202 to address fire detection, suppression of fires, fire safety, and safety management on “small passenger vessels” as defined in that act.
[2] 46 U.S.C. § 30506 applies only to seagoing vessels and establishes a minimum amount of $420 times the tonnage of the vessel for personal injury or death claims. This provision does not apply to “pleasure yachts, tugs, towboats, towing vessels, tank vessels, fishing vessels, fish tender vessels, canal boats, scows, car floats, barges, lighters, or nondescript vessels.”
