---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 502"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "502"
heading: "Cargo exempt from forfeiture"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/502"
units:
  - "Subtitle I — General"
  - "Chapter 5 — Other General Provisions"
---

# §502. Cargo exempt from forfeiture


Cargo on a vessel is exempt from forfeiture under this title if—

- (1) the cargo is owned in good faith by a person not the owner, master, or crewmember of the vessel; and
- (2) the customs duties on the cargo have been paid or secured for payment as provided by law.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 4, Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1490.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 502 | 46 App.:326. | R.S. § 4378. |