48 U.S. Code Territories and Insular Possessions

Controlled Substances (Possession on United States Vessel) 46 USC § 1903(a)

Title 46, United States Code, Section 1903(a), makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone [on board a vessel of the United States] [on board a vessel subject to a jurisdiction of the United States] [who is a citizen of the United States or a resident alien of the United States on board any vessel] to knowingly possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute it is a controlled substance within the meaning of the law.

The Defendant can be found guilty of that offense only if both of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: That the Defendant was on board a vessel of the United States on board a vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States citizen of the United States or a resident alien of the United States on board any vessel ;

Second: That the Defendant knowingly and willfully possessed, with it.

A "vessel of the United States" means any vessel documented under the laws of the United States, any vessel owned in whole or in part by a citizen or a corporation of the United States and not registered or documented by some foreign nation, or a vessel that was once documented under the laws of the United States and, in violation of the laws of the United States, was either sold to a person not a citizen of the United States or placed under foreign registry or a foreign flag, whether or not the vessel has been granted the nationality of a foreign nation.

A "vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States" includes any vessel without nationality, and a vessel which purports to sail under the flags of two or more nations may be treated as a vessel without nationality. A "vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States" also includes a vessel registered in a foreign nation which has consented or waived objection to the enforcement of United States law by the United States; a vessel located within the customs waters of the United States; and a vessel located in the territorial waters of another nation, where the nation consents to the enforcement of United States law by the United States.

[The term "customs waters of the United States" includes all water within four leagues or twelve miles off the coast of the United States.] To "possess with intent to distribute" simply means to knowingly possess with intent to deliver or transfer possession of a controlled substance to another person, with or without any financial interest in the transaction.

ANNOTATIONS AND COMMENTS

46 USC § 1903 provides:

(a) It is unlawful for any person on board a vessel of the United States, on board a vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States, or who is a citizen of the United States or a resident alien of the United States on board any vessel, to knowingly or intentionally manufacture or distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture or distribute, a controlled substance.

19 USC § 1401(j) provides:

(j) The term "customs waters" means, in the case of a foreign vessel subject to a treaty or other arrangement between a foreign government and the United States enabling or permitting the authorities of the United States to board, examine, search, seize, or otherwise to enforce upon such vessel upon the high seas the laws of the United States, the waters within such distance of the coast of the United States as the said authorities are or may be so enabled or permitted by such treaty or arrangement and, in the case of every other vessel, the waters within four leagues of the coast of the United States.

46 USC § 1903 was formerly codified at 21 USC § 955a-955d.

"Vessel of the United States" means any vessel documented under the laws of the United States, or numbered as provided by the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971, as amended, or owned in whole or in part by the United States or a citizen of the United States, or a corporation created under the laws of the United States, or any State, Territory, District, Commonwealth, or possession thereof, unless the vessel has been granted nationality by a foreign nation in accordance with article 5 of the Convention on the High Seas, 1958. 46 USC § 1903(b).

Maximum Penalty: Varies depending upon nature of substance involved. See 21 USC § 960.

The offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance on a United States Vessel in Customs Waters, formerly codified at 21 USC § 955a(c) is now codified as part of 46 USC § 1903 by virtue of Congress including "a vessel located within the customs waters of the United States" as part of the definition for a "vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States." 46 USC § 1903(c)(1)(D).

Evidence may support a deliberate indifference instruction. Id. at 1028-29. See Special Instruction 8.

Vessel sailing under the flag/authority of two or more states is a "vessel assimilated to a vessel without nationality." U. S. v. Matute, 767 F.2d 1511, 1512-13 (11th Cir. 1985).