---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 55112"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "55112"
heading: "Vessel escort operations and towing assistance"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/55112"
units:
  - "Subtitle V — Merchant Marine"
  - "Part D — Promotional Programs"
  - "Chapter 551 — Coastwise Trade"
---

# §55112. Vessel escort operations and towing assistance

- (a) **In General.—** Except in the case of a [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) in distress, only a [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) of the [United States](/usc/46/53101.md?p=10) may perform the following escort [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) operations within the [navigable waters of the United States](/usc/46/2101.md?p=25):
  - (1) Operations that commence or terminate at a port or place in the [United States](/usc/46/53101.md?p=10).
  - (2) Operations required by [United States](/usc/46/53101.md?p=10) law or regulation.
  - (3) Operations provided in whole or in part within or through navigation facilities owned, maintained, or operated by the [United States](/usc/46/53101.md?p=10) Government or the approaches to those facilities, other than facilities operated by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation on the St. Lawrence River portion of the Seaway.
- (b) **Escort Vessels.—** For purposes of this section, an escort [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) is—
  - (1) any [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) that is assigned and dedicated to assist another [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9), whether or not tethered to that [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9), solely as a safety precaution to assist in controlling the speed or course of the assisted [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) in the event of a steering or propulsion equipment failure, or any other similar emergency circumstance, or in restricted waters where additional assistance in maneuvering the [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) is required to ensure its safe operation; and
  - (2) in the case of a [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) being towed under [section 55111 of this title](/usc/46/55111.md), any [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) that is assigned and dedicated to the [vessel](/usc/46/53501.md?p=9) being towed in addition to any [towing vessel](/usc/46/2101.md?p=54) required under that section.
- (c) **Relationship to Other Law.—** This section does not affect [section 55111 of this title](/usc/46/55111.md).
- (d) **Penalty.—** A [person](/usc/46/53101.md?p=6) violating this section is liable to the Government for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each day during which the violation occurs.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1638; Pub. L. 116–260, div. AA, title V, § 512(c)(6)(D), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2757.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 55112 | 46 App.:316a. | Pub. L. 107–295, title IV, § 404, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2114. |

In subsection (a), the words “(as that term is defined in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code)” are omitted because the definition of “vessel of the United States” is being moved from section 2101 to chapter 1 of the revised title and will apply title-wide.

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2020—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 116–260 substituted “Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation” for “St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation”.