Section 55102 of this title does not apply to the transportation of merchandise loaded on a railroad car or to a motor vehicle with or without a trailer, and with its passengers or contents when accompanied by the operator, when the railroad car or motor vehicle is transported in a railroad car ferry operated between fixed terminals on the Great Lakes as part of a rail route, if—

1. (1) the car ferry is owned by a common carrier by water and operated as part of a rail route with the approval of the Surface Transportation Board;
2. (2) the stock of the common carrier by water, or its predecessor, was owned or controlled by a common carrier by rail prior to June 5, 1920;
3. (3) the stock of the common carrier owning the car ferry is, with the approval of the Board, now owned or controlled by a common carrier by rail; and
4. (4) the car ferry is built in and documented under the laws of the United States.

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 8(c), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1640.)