; penalties Section 56101 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Transfer of foreign qualified freight vessels To promote the transfer of foreign qualified freight vessels to be documented under chapter 121 of this title for use for transportation referred to in section 55102(c)(2)(B) of this title, the Secretary may grant approval under subsection (a) with respect to such a vessel before the date the vessel is documented. (g) Foreign qualified freight vessel defined In this section, the term foreign qualified freight vessel has the meaning given such term in section 55102(c) of this title. . 4. Labor provisions (a) Liability for injury or death of master or crew member Section 30104(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: In an action brought under this section against a defendant employer that does not reside or maintain an office in the United States (including any territory or possession of the United States) and that engages in any enterprise that makes use of one or more ports in the United States (as defined in section 2101 of this title) jurisdiction shall be under the district court most proximate to the place of the occurrence of the personal injury or death that is the subject of the action. . (b) Election To under participate Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Section 30104 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Participation in an authorized compensation plan The employer of a master or member of the crew of a vessel may participate in an authorized compensation plan under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act ( 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq. ). An employer that participates in such a plan is subject to such Act. If an employer participates in an authorized compensation plan under such Act— (1) a master or crew member employed by such employer shall be considered to be an employee for the purposes of such Act