republic-os/legal/us/code/title-46/chapter-701/section-70116.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	46 U.S.C. § 70116	Port, harbor, and coastal facility security	us	united_states_code	code_section	46	SHIPPING	701	PORT SECURITY	70116	46 U.S.C. § 70116	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc46@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t46/s70116	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-46/usc46.xml	50ab35b139d49917812888f267cb2f0a37c5cbe48e06a3317f6fd06273371cbc	eb1331aa3c08ed87231a3606d86b30d1b5942cdf8542f6a3df8ac1d66e86057f	f1a2e00255f0103c02a13646f8ec20e367cdcce11a1ba1cd3b139940a9f2d99f	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

46 U.S.C. § 70116 - Port, harbor, and coastal facility security

Text

(a) General Authority.— The Secretary may take actions described in subsection (b) to prevent or respond to an act of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, and foreign state threats against—

(1) an individual, vessel, or public or commercial structure, that is—

(A) subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; and

(B) located within or adjacent to the marine environment; or

(2) a vessel of the United States or an individual on board that vessel.

(b) Specific Authority.— Under subsection (a), the Secretary may—

(1) carry out or require measures, including inspections, port and harbor patrols, the establishment of security and safety zones, and the development of contingency plans and procedures, to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, and foreign state threats;

(2) recruit members of the Regular Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve and train members of the Regular Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve in the techniques of preventing and responding to acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, and foreign state threats; and

(3) dispatch properly trained and qualified, armed (as needed), Coast Guard personnel on vessels and public or commercial structures on or adjacent to waters subject to United States jurisdiction to deter or respond to acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, foreign state threats, or transportation security incidents, as defined in section 70101 of title 46, United States Code.

(c) Definitions, Administration, and Enforcement.— This section shall be treated as part of chapter 700 for purposes of sections 70031, 70032, 70033, 70035, and 70036. When preventing or responding to acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, or foreign state threats, the Secretary may carry out this section without regard to chapters 5 and 6 of title 5 or Executive Order Nos. 12866 and 13563.

(Added and amended Pub. L. 115–282, title IV, § 402(b)(1), (2), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4264; Pub. L. 116–283, div. G, title LVXXXIII [LXXXIII], § 8341, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4709; Pub. L. 119–60, div. G, title LXXVII, § 7701(b), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1835.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

References in TextExecutive Order Nos. 12866 and 13563, referred to in subsec. (c), are set out as notes under section 601 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Codification Section, as added and amended by Pub. L. 115–282, is based on subsecs. (a) and (b) of Pub. L. 92–340, § 7, as added Pub. L. 99–399, title IX, § 906, Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 890; amended Pub. L. 107–295, title I, § 107(a), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2088, which was formerly classified to section 1226(a), (b) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters, before being transferred to this chapter and renumbered as this section. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 7 of Pub. L. 92–340 were also renumbered as section 70102a of this title by Pub. L. 115–282, title IV, § 408(a), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4268.

Prior ProvisionsA prior section 70116, added Pub. L. 107–295, title I, § 102(a), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2083, related to secure systems of transportation, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–254, div. J, § 1809(b), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3538.

Amendments2025—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 119–60, § 7701(b)(1), substituted “terrorism, cyber” for “terrorism cyber”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 7701(b)(2), inserted a comma after “acts of terrorism”. 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8341(1), inserted “, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, and foreign state threats” after “an act of terrorism” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(1), (2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8341(2)(A), inserted “cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, and foreign state threats” after “terrorism”. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8341(2)(B), substituted “, armed (as needed),” for “armed” and “terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, foreign state threats, or transportation security incidents,” for “terrorism or transportation security incidents,”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8341(3), substituted “70033,” for “70034,” and inserted at end “When preventing or responding to acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, or foreign state threats, the Secretary may carry out this section without regard to chapters 5 and 6 of title 5 or Executive Order Nos. 12866 and 13563.” 2018—Pub. L. 115–282, § 402(b)(1), transferred section catchline and subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 7 of Pub. L. 92–340 to this chapter and redesignated them as this section. See Codification note above. Catchline text was editorially conformed to the style used in this title. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–282, § 402(b)(2), added subsec. (c).