AMENDMENTS TO THE REVISED STATUTES OF THE UNITED STATES.

SEC. 686. AMENDMENTS TO THE REVISED STATUTES OF THE UNITED STATES. (a) Technical Amendments.— The Revised Statutes of the United States are amended as follows: (1) Section 2793 (19 U.S.C. 288, 46 U.S.C. App. 111, 123) is amended— (A) by striking out “Enrolled or licensed vessels engaged in the foreign and coasting trade on the northern, northeastern, and northwestern frontiers of the United States,” and inserting “Documented vessels with a coastwise, Great Lakes endorsement,”; and (B) by striking out the first semicolon and all the text that follows thereafter and inserting a period. (2) Section 3126 (19 U.S.C. 293) is amended— (A) by striking out “Any vessel, on being duly registered in pursuance of the laws of the United States,” and inserting “Any United States documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement, or both” and (B) by striking out all the text occurring after the first sentence. (3) Section 3127 (19 U.S.C. 294) is amended by striking out “in registered vessels” and inserting “a United States documented vessel with a registry or coastwise endorsement, or both,”. (4) Section 4136 (46 U.S.C. App. 14) is amended by striking out— (A) “The Secretary of Commerce may issue a register or enrollment” and inserting “The Secretary of Transportation may issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement”; and (B) “Secretary of Commerce,” and inserting “Secretary of Transportation,”. (5) Section 4336 (46 U.S.C. App. 277) is amended— (A) by striking out “register or enrollment or license of any vessel” and inserting “certificate of documentation of any documented vessel”; and 107 STAT. 2221 (B) by striking out “Secretary of the Treasury is not required to have its register or enrollment or license” and inserting “Secretary of Transportation is not required to have its certificate of documentation”. (b) Clearance Requirements.— Section 4197 of such Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. App. 91) is amended to read as follows: “SEC. 4197. CLEARANCE; VESSELS. “(a) When Required; Vessels of the United States.— Except as otherwise provided by law, any vessel of the United States shall obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a port or place in the United States— “(1) for a foreign port or place; “(2) for another port or place in the United States if the vessel has on board bonded merchandise or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or “(3) outside the territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise while outside the territorial sea. “(b) When Required; Other Vessels.— Except as otherwise provided by law, any vessel that is not a vessel of the United States shall obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a port or place in the United States— “(1) for a foreign port or place; “(2) for another port or place in the United States; or “(3) outside the territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive or deliver merchandise while outside the territorial sea. “(c) Regulations.— The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulation— “(1) prescribe the manner in which clearance under this section is to be obtained, including the documents, data or information which shall be submitted or transmitted, pursuant to an authorized data interchange system, to obtain the clearance; “(2) permit the Customs Service to grant clearance for a vessel under this section before all requirements for clearance are complied with, but only if the owner or operator of the vessel files a bond in an amount set by the Secretary of the Treasury conditioned upon the compliance by the owner or operator with all specified requirements for clearance within a time period (not exceeding 4 business days) established by the Secretary of the Treasury; and “(3) authorize the Customs Service to permit clearance of any vessel to be obtained at a place other than a designated port of entry, under such conditions as he may prescribe.”.