1625-0024 Stat/Authority

PUBLIC LAW 95-208—DEC. 13, 1977

91 STAT. 1475

Public Law 95-208
95th Congress
An Act
To establish uniform structural requirements for intermodal cargo containers,
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, designed to be transported
interchangeably by sea and land carriers, and moving in, or designed to move
in, international trade, and for other purposes.

Uec. 13, 1977
[H.R. 8159]

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of RepresenJ;atives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may International
be cited as the "International Safe Container Act".
Safe Container
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

Act
46 b s C 1501

As used in this Act—
note.
(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation. 46 USC 1501.
(b) The term "Convention" means the International Convention
for Safe Containers, and the annexes thereto, done at Geneva, Switzerland, December 2,1972.
(c) The term "container" shall have the same meaning as that term
is defined in the Convention.
(d) The term "international transport" means the transportation
of a container—
(1) to any place within the jurisdiction of the United States
from a place within a foreign country;
(2) by United States carriers between two points both of which
are outside of the United States; or
(3) from any place within the jurisdiction of the United States
to any place within a foreign country.
(e) The term "United States" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone,
Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust
Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
(f) The term "new container" means a container (other than a
container specially designed for air transport) which is used or is
designed for use in international transport, the construction of which
began on or after September 6,1977.
(g) The term "existing container" means a container (other than
a container specially designed for air transport) which is used or is
designed for use in international transport and which is not a new
container.
(h) The term "owner" means a person who owns a container, or, if
a written lease or bailment provides for the lessee or bailee to exercise
the owner's responsibility for maintaining and examining the container, the lessee or bailee of a container, to the extent such agreement
so provides.
(i) The term "safety approval plate" shall have the same meaning
as that term is defined in annex I of the Convention.

91 STAT. 1476

PUBLIC LAW 95-208—DEC. 13, 1977
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF AN OWNER.

Containers,
approval and
examination.

46 use 1502.

. !

(a) Beginning on the date the instrument of ratification is deposited
by the United States in accordance with the provisions of article V I I
of the Convention, for new containers, and beginning on September 6,
1982, for existing containers, the owner of each such container—
(1) who is domiciled and has his principal office in the United
':. States, shall have each such container initially approved in
accordance with the procedure established by the Secretary or by
the administration of another contracting party to the Convention; and shall, thereafter, have each such container periodically
examined, as provided in the Convention, in accordance with the
procedure established by the Secretary; and
(2) who is either domiciled or has his principal office in the
United States, shall have each such container initially approved
in accordance with the procedure established by the Secretary or
by the administration of another contracting party to the Convention; and shall, thereafter, have each such container peri' odically examined, as provided in the Convention, in accordance
with the procedure established by the administration of either
the country where he is domiciled or has his principal office (so
long as such country is a party to the Convention).
Any owner of either a new or existing container who is neither domiciled nor maintains a principal office in the United States, or in any
other country which is a party to the Convention, may submit their
containers for approval and periodic examination according to the
procedure established b^y^ the Secretary.
(b) During the period beginning on the date the instrument of
ratification is deposited by the United States in accordance with the
provisions of article V I I of the Convention, and before September 6,
1982, an owner of an existing container may have such container
approved according to the procedure established by the Secretary, and
have a safety approval plate affixed to it, if such container is found
to meet the standards of the Convention.
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

Enforcement.
46 u s e 1503.

Regulations.

Containers,
testing and
approval
procedures.
Periodic
examination.
Data, collection
and
dissemination.

(a) On and after the date the instrument of ratification is deposited
by the United States in accordance with the provisions of article V I I
of the Convention, the Secretary shall enforce and carry out the provisions of the Convention, and, unless an earlier date is specifically
provided, the provisions of this Act, in the United States.
(b) The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, promulgate, and from time to time, amend,
those regulations he deems necessary for such enforcement. Such
regulations, among other things, shall—
(1) establish procedures for the testing, inspection, and initial
. approval of existing and new containers and of designs for new
containers, including procedures relating to the affixing, invali, dating, and removal of safety approval plates for containers;
*
(2) establish procedures to be followed by owners of containers
relating to the periodic examination of containers, as provided
in the Convention; and
(3) provide a method for developing, collecting, and disseminating data concerning container safety and the international
transport of containers.

PUBLIC LAW 95-208—DEC. 13, 1977

91 STAT. 1477

(c) At any time after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary may—
(1) authorize the affixation of a safety approval plate to any
container which, after examination, is found not to have a safety
approval plate attached to it and which the owner has established
meets the standards of the Convention;
(2) delegate and withdraw the delegation of authority to
initially approve existing and new containers and designs for
new containers, and to authorize the affixing of safety approval
plates; and
(3) establish a schedule of fees to be charged and collected
for services performed by the Secretary, or under authority delegated by the Secretary, relating to the testing, inspection, and
initial approval of containers and container designs.
(d) Those delegations made under subsection (c) (2) may be made
to any person, including any public or private agency or nonprofit
organization. The Secretary before making any delegation under such
subsection, shall promulgate regulations relating to—
(1) the criteria to be followed in selecting a person, public or
private agency, or nonprofit organization as a recipient of delegated functions under such subsection;
(2) the manner in which such recipient shall carry out such
delegated functions, including the records such recipient must
keep, and a detailed description of the exact functions such
recipient may exercise; and
(3) the review that will be carried out by the Secretary to
determine that any recipient of delegated functions is performing
properly the functions so delegated.
No recipient of authority delegated under such subsection may assess
or collect, or attempt to assess or collect, any penalty for violation of
any provision of this Act, the Convention, or any order of the Secretary issued under this Act, or issue or attempt to issue any detention
or other order. Any records required to be kept by regulations promulgated by the Secretary under this subsection shall be available to
the Secretary, for inspection, upon request. The name and address of
the recipient, if other than the owner, together with the functions so
delegated and the period of designation, shall be published in the
J'ederal Register and otherwise publicized as appropriate.
(e) The Secretary shall, to the maximum possible extent, encourage the development and use of intermodal transport, using containers
constructed to facilitate economical, safe, and expeditious handling of
containerized cargo without intermediate reloading while such cargo
is in transport over land, air, and sea areas.

Safety approval
plate, affixation.

Authority
delegation.

Fees.

Regulations.

Records,
availability.
Publication in
Federal Register.

SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) (1) On and after the date the instrument of ratification is
dej)osited by the United States in accordance with the provisions of
article V I I of the Convention, to ensure compliance with this Act,
and with the Convention, the Secretary may—
(A) examine, or require to be examined, new containers, and
existing containers which are subject to this Act, in international
transport, and test, inspect, and approve designs for new containers and new containers being manufactured;
(B) issue a detention order removing or excluding a container
from service until the owner of the container establishes to the
Secretary's satisfaction that the container meets the standards of
the Convention, if the container is subject to this Act and does

46 u s e 1504.

Container
examination,
testing, and
approval.
Detention order.

91 STAT. 1478

Noncompliance.

Unsafe or invalid
container,
movement.

Internationally
used container
examination,
effective date.
Examination and
approval,
payment.

Order issuance,
notification.

PUBLIC LAW 95-208—DEC. 13, 1977

not have a valid safety approval plate attached to it, or if there
is significant evidence that such a container bearing a safety
approval plate is in a condition which creates an obvious risk to
safety; and
(C) take whatever other appropriate action he deems necessary,
including issuance of any necessary orders, to remove the container involved from service, or restrict its use, in those instances
where he finds that a container is not in compliance with the provisions of this Act or the Convention but does not present an obvious risk to safety.
The Secretary may permit the movement to another location of a
container which he finds to be unsafe or which does not have a valid
safety approval plate affixed to it, under whatever restriction he considers necessary and consistent with the intent of the Convention, for
repair or other appropriate disposition.
(2) Beginning on September 6, 1982, the Secretary may examine
or require to be examined any existing container in international
transport.
(b) The owner of the container involved in any action taken by
the Secretary under this section with respect to an examination of a
container, shall pay for or reimburse the Secretary for expenses arising
from such actions, except for the costs of routine examinations of containers or safety approval plates. In addition, the owner of containers
submitted to the procedure established by the Secretary for testing,
inspection, and initial approval, and the manufacturers who submit
designs of containers to the procedures established by the Secretary
for testing, inspection, and initial approval shall pay for or reimburse
the Secretary for the expenses arising from such testing, inspection or
approval. Funds received by the Secretary in reimbursement shall be
credited to the appropriations bearing the cost thereof.
(c) A container bearing a safety approval plate authorized by a
country which is a party to the Convention shall be presumed to be in
a safe condition unless there is significant evidence that the container
creates an obvious risk to safety.
(d) Whenever the Secretary issues'a detention or other order under
this section, he shall promptly notify, in writing, either the owner of
the container subject to such order, his agent, or, when the identity of
such owner is not apparent from the container of shipping documents,
the custodian. The notification shall reasonably identify the container
involved, give the location of the container, and reasonably describe
the condition or situation which gave rise to the order. An order issued
by the Secretary under this section shall remain in effect until the container is declared by the Secretary, or under regulations promulgated
by the Secretary, to be in compliance with the standards of the Convention, or until it is permanently removed from service, whichever
first occurs.
(e) If there is reason to believe that a container to which there is
affixed a safety approval plate issued by a foreign country was defective at the time of approval, the Secretary shall notify the country
which issued the approval of such defect.
SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

46 u s e 1505.

(a) On and after the date the instrument of ratification is deposited
by the United States in accordance with the provisions of article V I I
of the Convention, any owner, agent, or custodian who—
(1) has been notified of an order issued by the Secretary under
section 5; and

PUBLIC LAW 9 5 - 2 0 8 — D E C . 13, 1977

91 STAT. 1479

(2) fails to take reasonable and p r o m p t action to prevent or
stop a container subject to t h a t order from being moved in violation of t h a t o r d e r ;
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more t h a n $5,000 for each
container so moved. E a c h day the container remains in service while
the order is in effect shall be treated as a separate violation.
(b) The Secretary shall assess and collect any penalty incurred under
this section, and, in his discretion may remit, mitigate, or compromise any such penalty. No penalty shall be assessed until after t h e
person charged has been given notice and an opportunity for a hearing. I n assessing, remitting, mitigating, or compromising a penalty
the Secretary shall consider the gravity of the violation, the hazards
involved, and the record of the person charged with respect to violations of this Act or of the Convention. Upon failure of any person to
pay any penalty assessed against him by the Secretary, t h e Secretary
shall request the Attorney General to begin an action in any district
court of the United States to recover the amount of the penalty unpaid.
SEC. 7. EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.
(a) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against
an employee because the employee has reported the existence of an
unsafe container or reported a violation of this Act to the Secretary
or his agents.
(b) A n employee who believes t h a t he has been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this section may, within 60 days
after the violation occurs, file a complaint alleging discrimination with
the Secretary of Labor.
(c) The Secretary of Labor may investigate the complaint and, if
he determines t h a t this section has been violated, b r i n g an action in an
appropriate United States district court. The district court shall have
jurisdiction to restrain violations of subsection (a) of this section and
to order a p p r o p r i a t e relief, including rehiring and reinstatement of
the employee to his former position with back pay.
(d) W i t h i n 30 days after the receipt of a complaint filed under this
section the Secretary of Labor shall notify the complainant of his
intended action regarding the complaint.
SEC. 8. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION.
(a) T h e Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary,
may propose amendments to the Convention or may request a conference for amending the Convention in accordance with article I X of
the Convention. A n amendment communicated to the United States in
accordance with article I X ( 2 ) of t h e Convention may be accepted for
the United States by the President, with the advice and consent of the
Senate. T h e President m a y make a declaration t h a t the United States
does not accept an amendment.
(b) T h e Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary,
may propose amendments to the annexes of the Convention, may propose a conference for amending annexes to the Convention and shall
consider and act on amendments to the annexes of the Convention
adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee and communicated to the
United States in accordance with article X ( 2 ) of the Convention. I f
a proposed amendment is approved by the United States, the amendment shall enter into force in accordance with article X of the Convention. I f any proposed amendment is objected to, the Secretary of State
shall promptly communicate the objection as provided in article X ( 3 )
of the Convention.

Assessment,
collection, and
remittance.

Recovery actions,

46 USC 1506.

Complaint, filing,

Investigation,
Jurisdiction,

Notification to
complainant,

46 USC 1507.

91 STAT. 1480
Arbitrator,
appointment by
Stet?.
46 use 1508.
•

PUBLIC LAW 95-208—DEC. 13, 1977
(c) The Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary,
gj^g^ij appoint an arbitrator when one is required to resolve a dispute
within the meaning of article X I I I of the Convention.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.
Beginning with the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, and for
each fiscal year thereafter, there are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Approved December 13, 1977.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
HOUSE REPORT No. 95-693, pt. 1 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries).
SENATE REPORT No. 95-552 accompanying S. 1597 (Comm. on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 123 (1977):
Nov. 1, considered and passed House; also S. 1597 considered and passed
Senate.
Nov. 4, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 1597.
'f
Nov. 29, House concurred in Senate amendment.