USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Seward & Kissel LLP, Seward & Kissel LLP
law also permits filing a notice of claim of lien by anyone asserting a lien against a US-flagged vessel. It should be noted that, with the excep - tion of ship mortgages, most maritime liens arise by operation of law and there is no requirement that they be recorded with the NVDC. Potential creditors may also request a lien search from the relevant jurisdiction for recorded UCC financing statements relating to any potential debtors. 2. Marine Casualties and Owners’ Liability 2.1 International Conventions: Pollution and Wreck Removal With respect to wreck removal, the United States has not adopted the Nairobi International Con - vention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007 (the “Wreck Removal Convention”). Certain provi - sions of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, also known as the Wreck Act, impose a duty of diligent removal on the owner, lessee or opera - tor of a vessel sunken in a navigable waterway. Failure to remove such a vessel subjects it to removal by the US government, and subjects the vessel-owner, lessee or operator to reim - bursing the government for the cost of removal or destruction and disposal. With respect to pollution, currently the Unit - ed States is a signatory to Annexes I, II, III, V and VI of MARPOL. These annexes have been incorporated into US law by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and implemented within 33 USC 1901 and 33 CFR 151. The US incorporates Annex III by the Hazardous Mate - rials Transportation Act (HMTA), implemented within 46 USC 2101 and 49 CFR 171–174 and 176. The USA has not ratified Annex IV, but has
equivalent regulations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (as amended by the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1251 et seq, and implemented by 33 CFR 159) for treatment and discharge standards of shipboard sewage. On 4 December 2018, the Vessel Incidental Dis - charge Act (or VIDA) was also signed into law, restructuring the way the Environmental Protec - tion Agency (EPA) and US Coast Guard regulate incidental discharges from commercial vessels. The VIDA requires the EPA and the Coast Guard to develop standards of performance and imple - menting regulations, respectively, for these dis - charges. In October 2024, the EPA published its final rule concerning national performance standards for incidental discharges, which became effective on 8 November 2024. The Coast Guard is now required to develop corresponding regulations to implement these performance standards. Until the implementing regulations are finalised, the existing EPA Vessel General Permit (VGP) and Coast Guard ballast water regulations remain in full force and effect. Finally, the USA likewise has an extensive body of federal and state environmental laws and regulations concerning oil-pollution prevention and spill response, including (for example) the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 USC Section 2701, et seq. 2.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage The United States did not ratify the Brussels Collision Liability Convention of 1910, and has historically followed the general maritime law of the United States, only belatedly adopting prin - ciples of proportionate liability and comparative fault. The United States adheres to the Interna -
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