46 U.S.C. § 51704 — Training for maritime oil pollution prevention, response, and clean-up

(a) Assistance in Establishing Program. The Secretary of Transportation must help approved maritime training institutions set up a training program for oil pollution prevention, response, and clean-up.

(b) Providing Training Vessels. Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary may give, free of all liens, institutions that have such a program certain offshore supply vessels and tug/supply vessels -- ones built in the U.S. and held by the Maritime Administration because a loan guaranteed under chapter 537 went into default.

(c) Requirements. Along with any other requirements the Secretary sets, a vessel^* given under this section comes with these rules: (1) the vessel is offered at a location the Secretary picks; (2) the institution must use it to train students and industry workers in oil spill prevention, response, clean-up, and related skills; (3) the institution must make the vessel and trained students available to federal, state^*, and local spill-response authorities during an actual spill; (4) the institution cannot sell, trade, charter, donate, scrap, alter, or dispose of the vessel without the Secretary's approval; (5) the institution cannot use the vessel to compete with a privately owned documented or state-titled vessel, unless necessary for this program; and (6) once the institution no longer needs the vessel for training, it must return the vessel to the Secretary, who takes it back and may give it to another institution or dispose of it.