Penalty for receiving passengers in absence of unexpired certificate of approval

46 U.S.C. 402 (R.S. 4424)

Whenever any passenger is received on board any steam vessel not having an unexpired certificate of approval or an unexpired temporary certificate of approval placed and kept as required by sections 399 and 400 of this title, such steam vessel shall be liable to a penalty of $100 for each offense.

Reinspections and notice for repairs; enforcement of requirements

46 U.S.C. 435 (R.S. 4453)

In addition to the annual or biennial inspection, the head of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall require the Coast Guard to examine, at proper times, inspected vessels arriving and departing to and from their respective ports, so often as to enable them to detect any neglect to comply with the requirements of law, and also any defects or imperfections becoming apparent after the inspection aforesaid, and tending to render the navigation of such vessels unsafe; and if there shall be discovered any omission to comply with the law, or that repairs have become necessary to make such vessel safe, the master shall at once be notified in writing as to what is required. All inspections and orders for repair shall be made promptly. When it can be done safely, repairs may be permitted to be made where those interested can most conveniently do them. And whenever it is ascertained that any vessel subject to the provisions of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, has been or is being navigated or operated without complying with the terms of the vessel's certificate of inspection regarding the number and class of licensed officers and crew, or without complying with the provisions of law and her said certificate as to the number or kind of life-saving or firefighting apparatus, or without maintaining in good and efficient condition her lifeboats, fire pumps, fire hose, and life preservers, or that for any other reason said vessel cannot be operated with safety to life, the owner or master of said vessel shall be ordered to correct such unlawful conditions, and the vessel may be required to cease navigating at once and to submit to reinspection; and in case the said orders shall not at once be complied with, the vessel's certificate of inspection shall be revoked, and the owner, master, or agent of said vessel shall_immediately be given notice, in writing, of such revocation; and no new certificate of inspection shall be again issued to her until the provisions of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto have been complied with. Any vessel subject to provisions of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto operating or navigating or attempting to operate or navigate after the revocation of her certificate of inspection and before the issuance of a new certificate, shall, upon application by a department or agency charged with the enforcement of such title or Acts, to any district court of the United States having jurisdiction, and by proper order or action of said court in the premises, be seized summarily by way of libel

and held without privilege of release by bail or bond until a proper certificate of inspection shall have been issued to said vessel: Provided, That the owner, master, or person in charge of any vessel whose certificate shall have been so revoked may within thirty days after receiving notice of such revocation appeal to the head of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating for a reexamination of the case, and upon such appeal the said head of the department shall have power to revise, modify, or set aside such action of revocation, and direct the issuance to such vessel of her original certificate or of a new certificate of inspection; and in case the said head of the department shall so direct the issuance of a certificate, all judicial process against said vessel based on this section shall thereupon be of no further force or effect, and the vessel shall thereupon be released. Delegation of Functions

See Treasury Department Order CGFR 56-28 with 46 U.S.C. 391, page 85.

Penalty for failure to make repairs on notice

46 U.S.C. 436 (R.S. 4454)

If any master or owner of any inspected vessel shall refuse or neglect to comply with the requirements of the examining official, made in pursuance of section 435 of this title, and shall, contrary thereto and while the same remains unreversed, employ the vessel by navigating her, the master and owner shall be liable to a penalty of $500 for each offense, one-half for the use of the informer; for which sum the vessel itself shall be liable, and may be seized and proceeded against by libel in any district court having jurisdiction; and the master and owner, and the vessel itself, shall, in addition thereto, be liable for any damage to passengers and their baggage, which shall occur from any defects as stated in the notice prescribed by section 435 of this title.

Special permit for excursions

46 U.S.C. 453 (R.S. 4466)

If any passenger vessel engages in excursions, the Coast Guard officials shall issue to such vessel a special permit, in writing, for the occasion, in which shall be stated the additional number of passengers that may be carried and the number and kind of lifesaving appliances that shall be provided for the safety of such additional passengers; and they shall also, in their discretion, limit the route and distance for such excursions: Provided, however, That the issuance of such special permit shall be reported by the Coast Guard officials to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and such special permit shall not be effective until approved by the said Commandant of the Coast Guard.

Vessels on Great Lakes carrying persons not passengers 46 U.S.C. 458

Any steam vessel engaged in the business of towing vessels, rafts, or water craft of any kind, also steam vessels engaged in oyster

dredging and planting, and fishing steamers engaged in food fishing on the Great Lakes and all other inland waters of the United States, and not carrying passengers, may be authorized and licensed by the Coast Guard to carry on board such number of persons, in addition to its crew, as the Coast Guard, in its judgment, shall deem necessary to carry on the legitimate business of such towing, oyster and fishing steamers, not exceeding, however, one person to every net ton of measurement of said steamer: Provided, however, That the person so allowed to be carried shall not be carried for hire.

Life preservers

46 U.S.C. 459

Every steam vessel licensed under section 458 of this title shall carry and have on board, in accessible places, one life preserver for every person allowed to be carried, in addition to those provided for the crew of such vessel.

Space and accommodations for crew; hospital compartments 46 U.S.C. 660-1

On all merchant vessels of the United States the construction of which shall be begun after March 4, 1915, except yachts, pilot boats, or vessels of less than one hundred tons register, every place appropriated to the crew of the vessel shall have a space of not less than one hundred and twenty cubic feet and not less than sixteen square feet, measured on the floor or deck of that place, for each seaman or apprentice lodged therein, and each seaman shall have a separate berth and not more than one berth shall be placed one above another; such place or lodging shall be securely constructed, properly lighted, drained, heated, and ventilated, properly protected from weather and sea, and, as far as practicable, properly shut off and protected from the effluvium of cargo or bilge water. And every such crew space shall be kept free from goods or stores not being the personal property of the crew occupying said place in use during the voyage.

In addition to the space allotment for lodgings provided in this section, on all merchant vessels of the United States which in the ordinary course of their trade make voyages of more than three days' duration between ports, and which carry a crew of twelve or more seamen, there shall be constructed a compartment, suitably separated from other spaces, for hospital purposes, and such compartment shall have at least one bunk for every twelve seamen, constituting her crew, provided that not more than six bunks shall be required in any case.

Every steamboat of the United States plying upon the Mississippi River or its tributaries shall furnish an appropriate place for the crew, which shall conform to the requirements of this section, so far as they are applicable thereto, by providing sleeping room in the engine room of such steamboat, properly protected from the cold, wind, and rain by means of suitable awnings or screens on either side of the guards or sides and forward, reaching from the boiler deck to the lower or main deck, under the direction and approval of the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and shall be properly heated.

All merchant vessels of the United States, the construction of which shall be begun after March 4, 1915, having more than ten men on deck must have at least one light, clean, and properly ventilated washing place. There shall be provided at least one washing outfit for every two men of the watch. The washing place shall be properly heated. A separate washing place shall be provided for the fireroom and engineroom men, if their number exceeds ten, which shall be large enough to accommodate at least one-sixth of them at the same time, and have hot and cold water supply and a sufficient number of washbasins, sinks, and shower baths.

Any failure to comply with this section shall subject the owner or owners of such vessel to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500: Provided, That forecastles shall be fumigated at such intervals as may be provided by regulations to be issued by the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, with the approval of the Coast Guard, and shall have at least two exits, one of which may be used in emergencies.

Inspection of crew quarters

46 U.S.C. 660a

(a) The Coast Guard shall inspect the crew quarters of every American vessel, at least once in each month, or at such times as such vessel shall enter an American port, and shall satisfy itself that such quarters are of the size required by law or regulation issued thereunder, are properly ventilated and in a clean and sanitary condition, and are equipped with the proper plumbing and mechanical appliances required by law or regulations issued thereunder, and that such plumbing and mechanical appliances are in good working order and condition.

(b) Whenever it shall be found that the crew quarters of any such vessel are not of the size required by law or regulations issued thereunder or are not properly ventilated or are not in a clean and sanitary condition or are not equipped with the proper plumbing and mechanical appliances required by law or regulations issued thereunder, or that such plumbing and mechanical appliances are not in good working order and condition, the appropriate Coast Guard official shall withdraw the certificate of inspection of such vessel and refuse to reissue the same until such improper conditions have been corrected; and the master or other licensed officer of such vessel who shall have willfully or negligently permitted such vessel to be in such improper condition shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $500.

Inspection of crew quarters; exception as to unrigged vessels 46 U.S.C. 660b

The provisions of section 660a of this title shall not apply to unrigged vessels except seagoing barges.1

1 For definition of terms "unrigged vessels" and "seagoing barges" see 46 U.S.C. 672c, page 184.

Plans and specifications for construction or alteration of passenger vessels; examination and approval by Commandant of the Coast Guard

46 U.S.C. 369

(a) There shall be in the Coast Guard a technical staff, consisting of the Commandant and technical members who shall be selected for their knowledge, skill, and practical experience in designing and supervising the construction and operation of vessels propelled by machinery, and they shall be competent judges of the character, strength, stability, and safety qualities of such vessels and their equipment. Such technical members shall be appointed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, without reference to the civil service laws and regulations. The Commandant of the Coast Guard with the advice and assistance of the technical staff so appointed shall pass upon all contract plans and specifications for passenger vessels of the United States of one hundred gross tons and over, propelled by machinery, as provided for by subsection (b) of this section, including the installation of tested and effective sprinkler systems, and upon arrangement plans for all material alterations to existing vessels. Such approval shall be given promptly and with due regard to the orderly progress of the work but only when the Commandant is satisfied, after a full and complete examination of the plans and specifications, that the vessel, when built or altered, as the case may be, can be navigated with safety to those on board. In case the said Commandant shall disapprove such plans and specifications, the person or persons submitting the same shall be apprised thereof the reasons for such disapproval and advised of the amendments necessary to secure such approval. The Commandant shall, at as early a date as practicable, and from time to time thereafter as he shall deem advisable, formulate and publish regulations and instructions for the guidance of builders of prospective vessels showing the safety characteristics of vessels which will meet the approval of the Commandant.

(b) No passenger vessel of the United States of one hundred gross tons and over, propelled by machinery, the construction or material alteration of which shall be begun subsequent to May 27, 1936, shall be granted a certificate of inspection by the Coast Guard unless the said general contract plans and specifications therefor shall have been submitted at least in triplicate to and approved by the aforesaid Commandant of the Coast Guard before the construction of such vessel or alteration thereof shall have been commenced; nor shall any such vessel, the said plans or specifications for which have been materially altered subsequent to such approval be granted a certificate, as aforesaid, unless such altered plans and specifications shall have been submitted at least in triplicate to and approved by the said Commandant, prior to such change in construction having been made. No such certificate shall be granted to any such vessel which has not been constructed and equipped in accordance with said plans and specifications approved as aforesaid: Provided, That approved plans and certificates of the American Bureau of Shipping classed vessels may be accepted by the Commandant as evidence of the structural efficiency