PUBLIC LAW 101-380 —AUG. 18, 1990 104 STAT. 521 (2) REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT. — The Secretary shall— (A) periodically review recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and other qualified organizations on methods for further increeising the environmental and operational safety of tank vessels; (B) not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, assess the impact of this section on the safety of the marine environment and the economic viability and operational makeup of the maritime oil transportation industry; and (C) report the results of the review and assessment to the Congress with recommendations for legislative or other action. (f) VESSEL FINANCING. — Section 1104 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1274) is amended— (1) by striking "SEC. 1104." and inserting "SEC. 1104A."; and (2) by inserting after section 1104A (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following: "SEC. 1104B. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this title, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the Secretary, upon the terms the Secretary may prescribe, may guarantee or make a commitment to guarantee, payment of the principal of and interest on an obligation which aids in financing and refinancing, including reimbursement to an obligor for expenditures previously made, of a contract for construction or reconstruction of a vessel or vessels owned by citizens of the United States which are designed and to be employed for commercial use in the coastwise or intercoastal trade or in foreign trade as defined in section 905 of this Act if— "(1) the construction or reconstruction by an applicant is made necessary to replace vessels the continued operation of which is denied by virtue of the imposition of a statutorily mandated change in standards for the operation of vessels, and where, as a matter of law, the applicant would otherwise be denied the right to continue operating vessels in the trades in which the applicant operated prior to the taking effect of the statutory or regulatory change; "(2) the applicant is presently engaged in transporting cargoes in vessels of the type and class that will be constructed or reconstructed under this section, and agrees to employ vessels constructed or reconstructed under this section as replacements only for vessels made obsolete by changes in operating standards imposed by statute; "(3) the capacity of the vessels to be constructed or reconstructed under this title will not increase the cargo carrying capacity of the vessels being replaced; "(4) the Secretary has not made a determination that the market demand for the vessel over its useful life will diminish so as to make the granting of the guarantee fiduciarily imprudent; and "(5) the Secretary has considered the provisions of section 1104A(d)(l)(A) (iii), (iv), and (v) of this title. "(b) For the purposes of this section— "(1) the maximum term for obligations guaranteed under this program may not exceed 25 years; Reports. 46 USC app. 1274a.
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