EconDefense
USC-28 / Logistics, depots and industrial partnerships

Finance defense sealift vessels and accept sealift-specific support

Use the National Defense Sealift Fund for authorized sealift construction, purchase, conversion, operation, maintenance, charter, and private-vessel defense features; accept money, personal property other than vessels, and in-kind sealift support.

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Authority / instrument · USC-28

Sealift capital and support

Logistics, depots and industrial partnerships

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

The usual U.S.-construction rules have limited used-vessel recapitalization exceptions, with findings, certifications, and congressional notice.

Recorded executor

Authorized contracting, grants, agreements, property, or finance office; implementation not verified

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedEligible appropriations or other funds lawfully available for the stated purpose; this section does not certify a presently available award balance. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Mission goalExpand production
Possible toolUSC-28 · Other statutory tools
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §2218

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense

Other statutory tools

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Statutory pathway identified; current implementation, intake, funding availability, and executing delegation unverified.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Observe authorized-purpose, fund-deposit, vessel-origin, shipyard, reporting, and notification requirements.
  • Receipts and accepted contributions must be handled under the fund provisions.

Limits & exclusions

  • The usual U.S.-construction rules have limited used-vessel recapitalization exceptions, with findings, certifications, and congressional notice.
  • FY2026 §1022 raises the §2218(f)(3)(C) ceiling on foreign-constructed vessels from 10 to 12.
  • Deposited appropriations ordinarily expire for new obligations five years after the appropriation fiscal year.

Funding conditions

  • Eligible appropriations or other funds lawfully available for the stated purpose; this section does not certify a presently available award balance.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Relevant statutory program or requirement sponsor; organizational routing to be confirmed

Resources

  • Responsible component resource owner and comptroller; available funding not verified

Approval

Execution

  • Authorized contracting, grants, agreements, property, or finance office; implementation not verified

Partners & review

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Requirement sponsor → statutory holder and responsible resource owner → legal and fiscal review → authorized executing office. Routing is illustrative; current program intake and individual delegations are unverified.

Actor and execution-role sources

October 5 statutory review

Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified.

Section coverage and review findings

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedEligible appropriations or other funds lawfully available for the stated purpose; this section does not certify a presently available award balance. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Confidence: High on cited statutory text; no claim of verified current implementation.

Currentness: The used foreign-vessel cap is the amended 12-vessel cap, not the 2024 baseline’s 10. Statutory scrub 2026-10-05: official GovInfo 2024 Code text and relevant provisions of Pub. L. 119-60/119-21 inspected. Direct OLRC current-text retrieval was unavailable under maintenance. This establishes the described statutory baseline and expressly identified amendments, not an exhaustive post-2024 session-law certification. Current implementation, open intake, available balances, and individual delegations were not verified.

Review scope: Record reviewed 2026-10-05. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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