(d) A preferred mortgage may bear such rate of interest as is agreed by the parties thereto.
Subsection I.
Each collector of customs shall permit records made under the provisions of this section to be inspected during office hours, under such reasonable regulations as the collector may establish. Upon the request of any person the collector of customs shall furnish him from the records of the collector's office (1) a certificate setting forth the names of the owners of any vessel, the interest held by each owner, and the material facts as to any bill of sale or conveyance of, any mortgage covering, or any lien or other incumbrance upon, a specified vessel, (2) a certified copy of any bill of sale, conveyance, mortgage, notice of claim of lien, or certificate of discharge in respect to such vessel, or (3) a certified copy as required by subdivision (c) of subsection H. The collector of customs shall collect a fee for any bill of sale, conveyance, or mortgage recorded, or any certificate or certified copy furnished, by him, in the amount of 20 cents a folio with a minimum charge of $1.00. All such fees shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.
PENALTIES.
Subsection J.
(a) If the master of the vessel willfully fails to exhibit the documents of the vessel or the copy of any preferred mortgage thereof, as required by subsection E, the board of local inspectors of vessels having jurisdiction of the license of the master, may suspend or cancel such license, subject to the provisions of "An Act to provide for appeals from decision of boards of local inspectors of vessels and for other purposes," approved June 10, 1918.
(b) A mortgagor who, with intent to defraud, violates any provision of subsection F, and if the mortgagor is a corporation or association, the president or other principal executive officer of the corporation or association, shall upon conviction thereof be held guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not more than 2 years, or both. The mortgaged indebtedness shall thereupon become immediately due and payable at the election of the mortgagee.
(c) If any person enters into any contract secured by, or upon the credit of, a vessel of the United States covered by a preferred mortgage, and suffers pecuniary loss by reason of the failure of the collector of customs, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, properly to perform any duty required of the collector under the provisions of this section, the collector of customs shall be liable to such person for damages in the amount of such loss. If any such person is caused any such loss by reason of the failure of the mortgagor, or master of the mortgaged vessel, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, to comply with any provision of subsection E or F or to file an affidavit as required by subdivision (a) of subsection D, correct in each particular thereof, the mortgagor shall be liable to such person for damages in the amount of such loss. The district courts of the United States are given jurisdiction (but not to the exclusion of the courts of the several States, Territories, Districts, or possessions) of suits for the recovery of such damages, irrespective of the amount involved in the suit or the citizenship of the parties thereto. Such suit shall be begun by personal service upon the defendant within the limits of the district. Upon judgment for the plaintiff in any such suit, the court shall include in the judgment an additional amount for costs of the action and a reasonable counsel's fee, to be fixed by the court.
FORECLOSURE OF PREFERRED MORTGAGES.