12 2 STA T .4 2 9 9 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 40 7—O CT. 1 3, 200 8TI T LE II —C I V IL PROH I B ITIO NSEC.201 . OP E RATI O N O F S UBM ERSIB L E V ESSEL OR SEMI - SUBMERS- IBLE VESSEL W IT H OUT NATIONALIT Y . (a)FIND IN GA NDD ECL A R A T I O N . — Section705 0 1 o f tit l e 46,U nite d State s Code, is a m ended— (1) by inse r tin g‘ ‘(1) ’ ’ after ‘‘t h at’’
and ( 2 ) by stri k ing ‘‘States.’’ and inserting ‘‘States and (2) o p er - ating or embarking in a s u bmersible v essel or semi-submersible vessel w ithout nationality and on an international voyage is a serious international problem, facilitates transnational crime, including drug trafficking, and terrorism, and presents a spe- cific threat to the safety of maritime navigation and the security of the United States.’’. SEC. 202. OPERATION PROHIBITE D . (a) IN G ENERAL.—Chapter 705 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following
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‘ §705 0 8.Operation o fsubm ersib l e v essel or semi - submers- ible vessel w it h out nationalit y ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— A n individual may not operate by any means or embark in any submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating or has navigated into, through, or from waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country’s territorial sea with an ad j acent country, with the intent to evade detection. ‘‘(b) E V IDENCE O F INTENT TO EVADE D ETECTION.—In any civil enforcement proceeding for a violation of subsection (a), the presence of any of the indicia described in paragraph (1)(A), (E), (F), or (G), or in paragraph (4), (5), or (6), of section 70507(b) may be considered, in the totality of the circumstances, to be prima facie evidence of intent to evade detection. ‘‘(c) DEFEN S ES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is a defense in any civil enforcement proceeding for a violation of subsection (a) that the submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel involved was, at the time of the violation— ‘‘(A) a vessel of the United States or lawfully registered in a foreign nation as claimed by the master or individual in charge of the vessel when re q uested to make a claim by an officer of the United States authori z ed to enforce applicable provisions of United States law; ‘‘(B) classed by and designed in accordance with the rules of a classification society; ‘‘(C) lawfully operated in government-regulated or licensed activity, including commerce, research, or e x plo- ration; or ‘‘(D) equipped with and using an operable automatic identification system, vessel monitoring system, or long range identification and tracking system. ‘‘(2) PROD U CTION OF DOCU M ENTS.—The defenses provided by this subsection are proved conclusively by the production of— ‘‘(A) government documents evidencing the vessel’s nationality at the time of the offense, as provided in article 5ofthe1 9 5 8 Convention on the High Seas;
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