A bill to promote the construction and operation of cruise ships in the United States.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 10, 1998
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement for a cruise vessel not constructed in the United States to a person who enters into a binding contract for construction in the United States of a cruise vessel or vessels with a total combined berth or stateroom capacity equal to at least 75 percent of the total combined berth or stateroom capacity of the cruise vessel or vessels for which a certificate is to be issued. Declares that such certificate shall terminate two years after the date on which all vessels constructed under a binding contract have been delivered. Prohibits a vessel that has been issued a certificate of documentation under this Act from operating in the coastwise cruise trade on a route served by a cruise vessel built in the United States. Prohibits a vessel issued such a certificate, or constructed under a binding contract under this Act, from operating between or among the Hawaiian islands. Authorizes a cruise vessel issued a certificate of documentation, or constructed under a binding contract, under this Act to be placed under foreign registry after its documentation. Requires the Secretary, in the event of such a placement, to revoke the vessel's coastwise endorsement.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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