Each certificate of inspection issued to a vessel carrying passengers (except a ferry) shall include a statement on the number of passengers that the vessel is permitted to carry.
The owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel is liable to a person suing them for carrying more passengers than the number of passengers permitted by the certificate of inspection in an amount equal to—
(1) passage money; and
(2) $100 for each passenger in excess of the number of passengers permitted.
An owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel that knowingly carries more passengers than the number of passengers permitted by the certificate of inspection also shall be fined not more than $100, imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both.
The vessel also is liable in rem for a penalty under this section.
An offshore supply vessel may not carry passengers except in an emergency.
(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 519; Pub. L. 99–36, § 1(a)(2), May 15, 1985, 99 Stat. 67.)