---
type: "LegalText"
title: "33 U.S.C. § 153"
description: "Penalty for use of unlawful towline"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 33
title_name: "NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS"
chapter_number: "3"
chapter_name: "NAVIGATION RULES FOR HARBORS, RIVERS, AND INLAND WATERS GENERALLY"
section: "153"
citation: "33 U.S.C. § 153"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc33@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t33/s153"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-33/usc33.xml"
source_hash: "f156d6592a012ee61c6ae2367baaf65e4ce7e641ff3d45e8e6055c99d7006fc8"
raw_snapshot_hash: "de3d130b31eae77f8c0fc593f61b7287899297718d678d500eea123559828523"
text_hash: "325f4c1f75d46bae23adfa392d08f547896aa2d76a3db0380a30c689465fa7ee"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 33 U.S.C. § 153 - Penalty for use of unlawful towline

## Text

The master of the towing vessel shall be liable to the suspension or revocation of his license for any willful violation of regulations issued pursuant to section 152 of this title in the manner prescribed for incompetency, misconduct, or unskillfulness.

(May 28, 1908, ch. 212, § 15, 35 Stat. 429.)

## Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was not enacted as part of act June 7, 1897, ch. 4, 30 Stat. 96, which comprises a major part of this chapter.