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)  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)  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)  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)  the car ferry is built in and documented under the laws of the United States.