---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 10308"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "10308"
heading: "Foreign engagements"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/10308"
units:
  - "Subtitle II — Vessels and Seamen"
  - "Part G — Merchant Seamen Protection and Relief"
  - "Chapter 103 — Foreign and Intercoastal Voyages"
---

# §10308. Foreign engagements


When a [seaman](/usc/46/10101.md?p=3) is engaged outside the United States, the agreement required by [section 10302 of this title](/usc/46/10302.md) shall be signed in the presence of a consular officer. If a consular officer is not available at the port of engagement, the [seaman](/usc/46/10101.md?p=3) may be engaged, and the agreement shall be signed in the next port at which a consular officer is available.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 564; Pub. L. 103–206, title IV, § 406, Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2436.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |
| --- | --- |
| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| 10308 | 46:570 |

Section 10308 requires that shipping agreements made in foreign ports be signed in the presence of a consular officer. The penalty for violation of this section is $100.

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1993—Pub. L. 103–206 struck out “(a)” before “When a seaman” and struck out subsec. (b) which read as follows: “A master engaging a seaman in violation of this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of $100. The vessel also is liable in rem for the penalty.”