§11103. Slop chests

§11103. Slop chests

(a) A vessel to which section 11102 of this title applies shall be provided with a slop chest containing sufficient clothing for the intended voyage for each seaman, including—

(1) boots or shoes;

(2) hats or caps;

(3) underclothing;

(4) outer clothing;

(5) foul weather clothing;

(6) everything necessary for the wear of a seaman; and

(7) a complete supply of tobacco and blankets.

(b) Merchandise in the slop chest shall be sold to a seaman desiring it, for the use of the seaman, at a profit of not more than 10 percent of the reasonable wholesale value of the merchandise at the port at which the voyage began.

(c) This section does not apply to a vessel on a voyage to Canada, Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico, or Central America, or a fishing or whaling vessel.

Section 11103 requires that a United States vessel on a foreign or intercoastal domestic voyage be equipped with a slop chest and lists the items the slop chest must contain.