(a) Eligibility. To be eligible to be included in the fleet, the vessel must:

(1) Meet the requirements of § 294.11;

(2) Operate (or in the case of a vessel to be constructed, will be operated) in providing transportation in United States foreign commerce;

(3) Be self-propelled;

(4) Be not more than 10 years of age on the date the vessel is first included in the Fleet;

(5) Be suitable for use by the United States for national defense or military purposes in time of war or national emergency, as determined by the Secretary of Defense;

(6) Be commercially viable, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation; and

(7) Be—

(i) A vessel of the United States; or

(ii) Not a vessel of the United States, but the owner of the vessel has demonstrated that—

(A) The vessel is eligible for a USCG certificate of inspection; and

(B) The vessel owner intends to have the vessel documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121 at the time the vessel is to be included in the fleet.

(b) Telecommunications and other electronic equipment. The telecommunications and other electronic equipment on an existing vessel that is redocumented under the laws of the United States for operation under a TSP Operating Agreement will satisfy all Federal Communications Commission equipment certification requirements if:

(1) The equipment complies with all applicable international agreements and associated guidelines as determined by the country in which the vessel was documented immediately before becoming documented under the laws of the United States;

(2) The country has not been identified by the Secretary as inadequately enforcing international regulations as to that vessel; and

(3) The equipment, at the end of its useful life, will be replaced with equipment that meets Federal Communications Commission equipment certification standards.

Eligibility determination. For a vessel to be eligible to be included in the Fleet, vessel owners, charterers, and operators must evidence that, during the period of a TSP Operating Agreement, one of the following must be true:

(a) The vessel is owned and operated by one or more persons that are citizens of the United States in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 50501.

(b) The vessel is owned by a citizen of the United States in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 50501, or United States Citizen Trust, and the following conditions are met:

(1) The vessel is demise chartered to a person or entity that:

(i) Is eligible to document the vessel under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121;

(ii) Is organized such that the chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, and most of the members of the board of directors are citizens of the United States, and are appointed and subjected to removal only upon approval by the Secretary;

(iii) Certifies to the Secretary that there are no treaties, statutes, regulations, or other laws that would prohibit the program participant for the vessel from performing its obligations under a TSP Operating Agreement; and

(iv) In the case of a vessel that is demise chartered to an entity that is owned or controlled by another person or entity that is not a citizen of the United States under 46 U.S.C. 50501, that other person or entity certifies to the Secretary that there are no treaties, statutes, regulations, or other laws that would prohibit the person or entity from performing its obligations under a TSP Operating Agreement and enters into an agreement with the Secretary not to influence the vessel's operation in any way that would be detrimental to the United States.

(2) The Secretary and SecDef notify the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that the Secretaries concur with the certifications by the documentation citizen required under § 294.5(a)(13), and any ultimate foreign parent corporation under § 294.5(a)(14), and after a review, agree that there are no legal, operational, or other impediments that would prohibit the owner or operator of the vessel from performing its obligations under a TSP Operating Agreement.

(c) The vessel is owned and operated by a defense contractor, including affiliated or related companies within the same corporate group, that meets the following requirements:

(1) Eligible to document the vessel under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121;

(2) Operates or manages other United States-documented vessels for the SecDef, or charters other vessels to the SecDef;

(3) Enters into a special security agreement with the SecDef;

(4) Certifies to the Secretary, at the time of application and consistent with § 294.5(a)(13), that there are no treaties, statutes, regulations, or other laws that would prohibit the Agreement Holder from performing its obligations under a TSP Operating Agreement; and

(5) Any foreign corporate parent company of the Defense Contractor proffers, at the time of application for a TSP Operating Agreement, an agreement consistent with § 294.5(a)(14), not to influence the vessel's operation in a way that is detrimental to the United States.

(d) The vessel is owned by a Documentation Citizen in accordance with 46 U.S.C. Chapter 121 and demise chartered to a Citizen of the United States in accordance with 46 U.S.C. 50501.

An Applicant may apply for a TSP Operating Agreement with a vessel that exceeds the maximum entry age requirement of § 294.9(a)(4), if it satisfies the following conditions:

(a) The Applicant demonstrates their intent to replace the non-compliant vessel within 30 months after the commencement of operations under a TSP Operating Agreement;

(b) Nominated vessels 15 years or older must be enrolled in a classification society's CAP and be rated equivalent to ABS CAP 2 or better; and

(c) The Secretary determines that the Applicant has entered into an agreement to obtain and operate a replacement product tank vessel which, upon commencing operation under the same TSP Operating Agreement for the non-compliant vessel, will be eligible to be included in the fleet under § 294.9.