---
type: "LegalText"
title: "46 U.S.C. § 10308"
description: "Foreign engagements"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
chapter_number: "103"
chapter_name: "FOREIGN AND INTERCOASTAL VOYAGES"
section: "10308"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 10308"
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_usc46@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s10308"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-46/usc46.xml"
source_hash: "fa23ffde7c32e2102d0b33f9d946fdd63cad00f40ebf3faeced640dfd5c93412"
raw_snapshot_hash: "eb1331aa3c08ed87231a3606d86b30d1b5942cdf8542f6a3df8ac1d66e86057f"
text_hash: "f06b44b956d15a96bd73b408b000016ad149483dbb39f1cdfa2c865d1c546bc1"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 46 U.S.C. § 10308 - Foreign engagements

## Text

When a seaman is engaged outside the United States, the agreement required by section 10302 of this title shall be signed in the presence of a consular officer. If a consular officer is not available at the port of engagement, the seaman may be engaged, and the agreement shall be signed in the next port at which a consular officer is available.

(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 564; Pub. L. 103–206, title IV, § 406, Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2436.)

## Notes

Historical and Revision Notes Revised sectionSource section (U.S. Code) 1030846:570 Section 10308 requires that shipping agreements made in foreign ports be signed in the presence of a consular officer. The penalty for violation of this section is $100.

Editorial Notes

Amendments1993—Pub. L. 103–206 struck out “(a)” before “When a seaman” and struck out subsec. (b) which read as follows: “A master engaging a seaman in violation of this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of $100. The vessel also is liable in rem for the penalty.”