10 USC 8680 - Overhaul, repair, etc. of vessels in foreign shipyards: restrictions

U.S Code last checked for updates: Aug 18, 2025

§ 8680.

Overhaul, repair, etc. of vessels in foreign shipyards: restrictions

(a)

Vessels Under Jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy With Homeport in United States or Guam.—

(1)

A naval vessel the homeport of which is in the United States or Guam may not be overhauled, repaired, or maintained in a shipyard outside the United States or Guam.

(2)

(A)

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subject to subparagraph (B), in the case of a naval vessel classified as a Littoral Combat Ship and operating on deployment, corrective and preventive maintenance or repair (whether intermediate or depot level) and facilities maintenance may be performed on the vessel—

(i)

in a foreign shipyard;

(ii)

at a facility outside of a foreign shipyard; or

(iii)

at any other facility convenient to the vessel.

(B)

(i)

(I)

Corrective and preventive maintenance or repair may be performed on a vessel as described in subparagraph (A) if the work is performed by United States Government personnel or United States contractor personnel.

(II)

Notwithstanding subclause (I), foreign workers may be used to perform corrective and preventive maintenance or repair on a vessel as described in subparagraph (A) only if the Secretary of the Navy determines that travel by United States Government personnel or United States contractor personnel to perform the corrective or preventive maintenance or repair is not advisable for health or safety reasons. The Secretary of the Navy may not delegate the authority to make a determination under this subclause.

(III)

Not later than 30 days after making a determination under subclause (II), the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional defense committees written notification of the determination. The notification shall include the reasons why travel by United States personnel is not advisable for health or safety reasons, the location where the corrective and preventive maintenance or repair will be performed, and the approximate duration of the corrective and preventive maintenance or repair.

(ii)

Facilities maintenance may be performed by a foreign contractor on a vessel as described in subparagraph (A) only as approved by the Secretary of the Navy.

(C)

In this paragraph:

(i)

The term “corrective and preventive maintenance or repair” means—

(I)

maintenance or repair actions performed as a result of a failure in order to return or restore equipment to acceptable performance levels; and

(II)

scheduled maintenance or repair actions to prevent or discover functional failures.

(ii)

The term “facilities maintenance” means—

(I)

the effort required to provide housekeeping services throughout the ship;

(II)

the effort required to perform coating maintenance and repair to exterior and interior surfaces due to normal environmental conditions; and

(III)

the effort required to clean mechanical spaces, mission zones, and topside spaces.

(3)

(A)

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subject to subparagraph (B), a naval vessel described in paragraph (1) may be repaired in a shipyard outside the United States or Guam if the repairs are—

(i)

voyage repairs;

(ii)

necessary to correct damage sustained due to hostile actions or interventions; or

(iii)

corrective and preventive maintenance of a deployed naval vessel planned to last not more than 21 days.

(B)

During any fiscal year, the cumulative work carried out under this paragraph for ships at any particular homeport may not exceed two percent of the average annual total workload of that homeport over the preceding three-year period, as measured in shipyard labor hours.

(b)

Vessel Changing Homeports.—

(1)

In the case of a naval vessel the homeport of which is not in the United States (or a territory of the United States), the Secretary of the Navy may not during the 15-month period preceding the planned reassignment of the vessel to a homeport in the United States (or a territory of the United States) begin any work for the overhaul, repair, or maintenance of the vessel that is scheduled to be for a period of more than six months.

(2)

In the case of a naval vessel the homeport of which is in the United States (or a territory of the United States), the Secretary of the Navy shall during the 15-month period preceding the planned reassignment of the vessel to a homeport not in the United States (or a territory of the United States) perform in the United States (or a territory of the United States) any work for the overhaul, repair, or maintenance of the vessel that is scheduled—

(A)

to begin during the 15-month period; and

(B)

to be for a period of more than six months.

(c)

Repair and Refurbishment of Certain Submarines.—

(1)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, and subject to paragraph (2), the President shall determine the appropriate public or private shipyard in the United States, Australia, or the United Kingdom to perform any repair or refurbishment of a United States submarine involved in submarine security activities between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

(2)

(A)

The President may determine under paragraph (1) that repair or refurbishment described in such paragraph may be performed in Australia or the United Kingdom only if—

(i)

such repair or refurbishment will facilitate the development of repair or refurbishment capabilities in the United Kingdom or Australia;

(ii)

such repair or refurbishment will be for a United States submarine that is operating forward outside of the United States; or

(iii)

the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that performing such repair or refurbishment at a shipyard in Australia or the United Kingdom is required due to an exigent threat to the national security interests of the United States.

(B)

In making a determination under subparagraph (A), the President shall consider any effects of such determination on the capacity and capability of shipyards in the United States.

(C)

Not later than 15 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense makes a certification under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary shall brief the congressional defense committees on—

(i)

the threat that requires the use of a shipyard in Australia or the United Kingdom; and

(ii)

opportunities to mitigate the future potential need to leverage foreign shipyards.

(3)

Repair or refurbishment described in paragraph (1) may be carried out by personnel and contractors of the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia in accordance with the international arrangements governing the submarine security activities described in such paragraph.

(d)

Report.—

(1)

The Secretary of the Navy shall submit to Congress each year, at the time that the President’s budget is submitted to Congress that year under section 1105(a) of title 31, a report listing all repairs and maintenance performed on any covered naval vessel that has undergone work for the repair of the vessel in any shipyard outside the United States or Guam (in this section referred to as a “foreign shipyard”) during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the report is submitted.

(2)

The report shall include the percentage of the annual ship repair budget of the Navy that was spent on repair of covered naval vessels in foreign shipyards during the fiscal year covered by the report.

(3)

Except as provided in paragraph (4), the report also shall include the following with respect to each covered naval vessel:

(A)

The justification under law and operational justification for the repair in a foreign shipyard.

(B)

The name and class of vessel repaired.

(C)

The category of repair and whether the repair qualified as voyage repair as defined in Commander Military Sealift Command Instruction 4700.15C (September 13, 2007) or Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual (Commander Fleet Forces Command Instruction 4790.3 Revision A, Change 7), Volume III. Scheduled availabilities are to be considered as a composite and reported as a single entity without individual repair and maintenance items listed separately.

(D)

The shipyard where the repair work was carried out.

(E)

The number of days the vessel was in port for repair.

(F)

The cost of the repair and the amount (if any) that the cost of the repair was less than or greater than the cost of the repair provided for in the contract.

(G)

The schedule for repair, the amount of work accomplished (stated in terms of work days), whether the repair was accomplished on schedule, and, if not so accomplished, the reason for the schedule over-run.

(H)

The homeport or location of the vessel prior to its voyage for repair.

(I)

Whether the repair was performed under a contract awarded through the use of competitive procedures or procedures other than competitive procedures.

(4)

In the case of a covered vessel described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (5), the report shall not be required to include the information described in subparagraphs (A), (E), (F), (G), and (I) of paragraph (3).

(5)

In this subsection, the term “covered naval vessel” means any of the following:

(A)

A naval vessel.

(B)

Any other vessel under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy.

(C)

A vessel not described in subparagraph (A) or (B) that is operated pursuant to a contract entered into by the Secretary of the Navy and the Maritime Administration or the United States Transportation Command in support of Department of Defense operations.

(Added and amended Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title III, § 367, title VIII, § 824(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1632, 1710, § 7310; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1017,

cite as: 10 USC 8680