Sponsors (4)
The bill clarifies which large passenger vessels are covered and strengthens victims' ability to recover certain nonpecuniary damages for those voyages, improving legal clarity for private cruise operations while excluding government and many smaller/coastwise vessels and creating potential new disputes over the narrow definitions.
Victims and their families (e.g., passengers with chronic conditions) can more clearly seek recovery for nonpecuniary harms—like loss of care, comfort, and companionship—under the statute for covered voyages.
Passengers on large passenger vessels (cruise ships that embark or disembark in the U.S.) gain clearer legal protections because the bill explicitly defines 'cruise ship' for applicability of the statute.
Ship operators and insurers (including small business owners and transportation workers) receive clearer guidance about which vessels are covered, reducing uncertainty and the risk of inconsistent litigation outcomes.
Passengers and crew on smaller or coastwise vessels (those below the 250-passenger threshold or engaged in coastwise voyages) may be excluded from the statute's protections and remedies.
Passengers on federal or state-operated passenger vessels are explicitly excluded, which can limit remedies for people traveling on government-run vessels compared with private-operator passengers.
The narrow statutory definitions may shift disputes to other laws or provoke litigation over whether a vessel meets the new criteria, increasing legal costs and uncertainty for claimants, defendants, and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Rewrites part of 46 U.S.C. to define “cruise ship” and “nonpecuniary damages,” updates wording/punctuation, and revises the chapter table of sections.
Introduced April 17, 2025 by Donald J. Bacon · Last progress April 17, 2025
Amends a U.S. maritime statute to revise the legal definition of “cruise ship” and to define “nonpecuniary damages.” The change clarifies which passenger vessels count as cruise ships for that statutory provision by setting minimum passenger capacity, requiring onboard sleeping facilities for each passenger, requiring embarkation or disembarkation in the United States, and excluding coastwise voyages; it also defines nonpecuniary damages as losses for care, comfort, and companionship. The bill makes minor wording and punctuation adjustments in related subsections and updates the chapter table of sections; it does not appropriate money or create new programs.