46 U.S.C. § 31342

Establishing maritime liens

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person providing necessaries to a vessel on the order of the owner or a person authorized by the owner—

(1)

has a maritime lien on the vessel;

(2)

may bring a civil action in rem to enforce the lien; and

(3)

is not required to allege or prove in the action that credit was given to the vessel.

(b)

This section does not apply to a public vessel.

( Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 102(c) , Nov. 23, 1988 , 102 Stat. 4748 ; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 303(6) , Dec. 12, 1989 , 103 Stat. 1924 .)