MARITIME SECURITY FLEET PROGRAM; RESTRICTION ON OPERATION FOR NEW ENTRANTS.

SEC. 3503. MARITIME SECURITY FLEET PROGRAM; RESTRICTION ON OPERATION FOR NEW ENTRANTS. (a) Restriction.—Section 53105(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting “, except as provided in paragraph (2),” after “in the foreign commerce or”; (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “and” after the semicolon at the end; (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: “(2) in the case of a vessel, other than a replacement vessel under subsection (f), first covered by an operating agreement after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, the vessel shall not be operated in the transportation of cargo between points in the United States and its territories either directly or via a foreign port; and” . (b) Conforming Amendments.—Section 53106 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b), by striking “section 53105(a)(1)” and inserting “paragraph (1) and (2) of section 53105(a), as otherwise applicable with respect to such vessel,”; and (2) in subsection (d)(3), by striking “section 53105(a)(1)” and inserting “paragraph (1) and (2) of section 53105(a), as otherwise applicable with respect to such vessel”.