in effect
This is a final rule from the Maritime Administration (MARAD), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, that formally establishes the Tanker Security Program (TSP) in the regulations at 46 CFR Part 294. It finalizes an earlier interim rule from December 7, 2022, making adjustments based on public comments and MARAD’s experience running the program. The program pays annual stipends to owners of U.S.-flagged product tanker vessels in exchange for those vessels being available to the military during war or national emergency. It takes effect July 23, 2026.
The rule raises the maximum fleet from 10 to 20 vessels, phased in through funding (15 vessels funded for FY 2025-26, 20 for FY 2027-28), and extends the program’s authorization from 2035 to the end of FY 2040. Annual payments per ship are set at $8,160,000 for FY 2025-26 and rise on a schedule to $9,833,000 for FY 2039-40, all subject to Congress actually appropriating the money; if funding falls short, participants are paid pro rata rather than dropped. It adds a fourth vessel-selection priority favoring ships built in the United States, and clarifies that a vessel only loses eligibility from a long-term (over-180-day) government charter at the moment it is actually delivered to the government—and that being activated for military use under the Voluntary Tanker Agreement does not count as such a charter. It also adds a new requirement that operators report in advance any maintenance, survey, inspection, or repair that would leave a vessel unable to respond to an emergency, and says MARAD will not automatically terminate an agreement if an activated vessel suffers a marine casualty and the operator makes reasonable efforts to repair or replace it.
The rule directly affects private companies that own or operate U.S.-flagged product tanker vessels and want to enroll in or remain in the program, since it sets the eligibility rules, payment amounts, and reporting duties they must follow. Participating operators must sign the Voluntary Tanker Agreement, committing to make their vessels and services available to the Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) when the Secretary of War requests them in wartime, national emergency, or contingency operations. MARAD and U.S. Transportation Command administer the program, and the document frames the broader stakes as national defense fuel-transport capacity and the U.S. maritime workforce and shipping presence.