STATUS OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET VESSELS.

SEC. 3504. STATUS OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET VESSELS. Section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 (50 U.S.C. 4405) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: “Vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, including vessels loaned to State maritime academies, shall be considered public vessels of the United States.”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(g) Vessel Status. A vessel in the National Defense Reserve Fleet determined by the Maritime Administration to be of insufficient value to remain in the National Defense Reserve Fleet shall remain a vessel within the meaning of that term in section 3 of title 1, United States Code, and subject to the rights and responsibilities of a vessel under admiralty law at least until such time as the vessel is delivered to a dismantling facility or is disposed of otherwise from the National Defense Reserve Fleet.” .