§ 51701. United States Maritime Service

• (a) The Secretary of Transportation may establish and maintain a voluntary organization, to be known as the United States Maritime Service, for the training of citizens of the United States to serve on merchant vessels of the United States and to perform functions to assist the United States merchant marine, as determined necessary by the Secretary.
• (b) The Secretary may—
  • (1) determine the number of individuals to be enrolled for training and reserve purposes in the Service;
  • (2) fix the rates of pay and allowances of the individuals without regard to chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5;
  • (3) prescribe the course of study and the periods of training for the Service; and
  • (4) prescribe the uniform of the Service and the rules on providing and wearing the uniform.
• (c) The ranks, grades, and ratings for personnel of the Service shall be the same as those prescribed for personnel of the Coast Guard.
• (d) The Secretary may establish and maintain a medals and awards program to recognize distinguished service, superior achievement, professional performance, and other commendable achievement by personnel of the Service.

§ 51702. Civilian nautical schools

• (a) In this section, the term “civilian nautical school” means a school operated in the United States (except the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a State maritime academy, or another school operated by the United States Government) that offers instruction to individuals quartered on a vessel primarily to train them for service in the merchant marine.
• (b) Each civilian nautical school is subject to inspection by the Secretary of Transportation.
• (c) The Secretary may, under regulations the Secretary may prescribe, provide for the rating and certification of civilian nautical schools as to the adequacy of their course of instruction, the competence of their instructors, and the suitability of the equipment used in their course of instruction.

§ 51703. Additional training

• (a) The Secretary of Transportation may provide additional training on maritime subjects to supplement other training opportunities and make the training available to the personnel of the merchant marine of the United States and individuals preparing for a career in the merchant marine of the United States.
• (b) The Secretary may—
  • (1) prepare or buy equipment or supplies required for the additional training; and
  • (2) without regard to section 6101(b) to (d) of title 41, make contracts for services the Secretary considers necessary to prepare the equipment and supplies and to supervise and administer the additional training.

§ 51704. Training for maritime oil pollution prevention, response, and clean-up

• (a) The Secretary of Transportation shall assist maritime training institutions approved by the Secretary in establishing a training program for maritime oil pollution prevention, response, and clean-up.
• (b) Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary may provide, with title free of all liens, to maritime training institutions that have a program established under subsection (a), offshore supply vessels and tug/supply vessels that were built in the United States and are in the possession of the Maritime Administration because of a default on a loan guaranteed under chapter 537 of this title.
• (c) In addition to any other requirements the Secretary considers appropriate, the following requirements apply to vessels provided under this section:
  • (1) The vessel shall be offered to the institution at a location selected by the Secretary.
  • (2) The institution shall use the vessel to train students and appropriate maritime industry personnel in oil spill prevention, response, clean-up, and related skills.
  • (3) The institution shall make the vessel and qualified students available to appropriate Federal, State, and local oil spill response authorities when there is a maritime oil spill.
  • (4) The institution may not sell, trade, charter, donate, scrap, or in any way alter or dispose of the vessel without prior approval of the Secretary.
  • (5) The institution may not use the vessel in competition with a privately-owned vessel documented under chapter 121 of this title or titled under the law of a State, unless necessary to carry out this section.
  • (6) When the institution can no longer use the vessel for its training program, the institution shall return the vessel to the Secretary. The Secretary shall take possession at the institution and thereafter may provide the vessel to another institution under this section or dispose of the vessel.

§ 51705. Training for use of force against piracy

The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall certify a training curriculum for United States mariners on the use of force against pirates. The curriculum shall include—

• (1) information on waters designated as high-risk waters by the Commandant of the Coast Guard;
• (2) information on current threats and patterns of attack by pirates;
• (3) tactics for defense of a vessel, including instruction on the types, use, and limitations of security equipment;
• (4) standard rules for the use of force for self-defense as developed by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating under section 912(c) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 ( Public Law 111–281 ; 46 U.S.C. 8107 note), including instruction on firearm safety for crewmembers of vessels carrying cargo under section 55305 of this title ; and
• (5) procedures to follow to improve crewmember survivability if captured and taken hostage by pirates.