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LAWS GOVERNING MARINE INSPECTION

Chapter I.-ORGANIC LAWS GOVERNING BUREAU OF MARINE INSPECTION AND NAVIGATION 1

Establishment of Bureau; Director.

(June 30, 1932, sec. 501; 47 Stat. 415; 5 U. S. C. 597a.) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed to consolidate and coordinate the Steamboat Inspection Service and the Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce in a Bureau in such Department to be known as the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, to be under the direction of a Chief of Bureau who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. (See act of May 27, 1936, section 1, below.)

Change in Name of Bureau.

(May 27, 1936, sec. 1; 49 Stat. 1380; 5 U. S. C. 597a-1.) The Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection in the Department of Commerce shall hereafter be known as the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.

Duties of Director of Bureau.1

(R. S. 4403-46 U. S. C. 372.) The Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation shall, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce, superintend the administration of the steamboat-inspection laws, preside at the meetings of the board of supervising inspectors, receive all reports of inspectors, receive and examine all accounts of inspectors, report fully at stated periods to the Secretary of Commerce upon all matters pertaining to his official duties, and produce a correct and uniform administration of the inspection laws, rules, and regulations. (Feb. 14, 1903, secs. 4, 10, Mar. 4, 1913; June 30, 1932, sec. 502.)

(July 5, 1884, sec. 2; 23 Stat. 118; 46 U. S. C. 2.) The Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce, shall have general superintendence of the commercial marine and merchant seamen of the United States, so far as vessels and seamen are not, under existing laws, subject to the supervision of any other officer of the Government.

He shall be specially charged with the decision of all questions relating to the issue of registers, enrollments, and licenses of vessels, and to the filing and preserving of those documents; and wherever in title 46 of the United States Code any of the above-named documents are required to be surrendered they shall be surrendered and returned to the Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and

1 See Executive Order No. 9083 in the Introduction, p. III.

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Navigation. (Feb. 14, 1903, secs. 4, 10; Mar. 4, 1913; June 30, 1932, sec. 501, May 27, 1936, sec. 1.)

(July 5, 1884, sec. 3; 23 Stat. 119; 46 U. S. C. 3.) The Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation shall be charged with the supervision of the laws relating to the admeasurement of vessels, and the assigning of signal letters thereto, and of designating their official numbers; and on all questions of interpretation growing out of the execution of the laws relating to these subjects, and relating to the collection of tonnage tax, and to the refund of such tax when collected erroneously or illegally, his decision shall be final. (June 30, 1932, sec. 501, May 27, 1936, sec. 1.)

(July 5, 1884, sec. 4; 23 Stat. 119; 46 U. S. C. 4.) The Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation shall annually prepare and publish a list of vessels of the United States belonging to the commercial marine, specifying the official number, signal letters, names, rig, tonnage, home port, and place and date of building of every vessel, distinguishing in such list sailing vessels from such as may be propelled by steam or other motive power.

He shall also report annually to the Secretary of Commerce the increase of vessels of the United States, by building or otherwise, specifying their number, rig, and motive power. He shall also investigate the operations of the laws relative to navigation, and annually report to the Secretary of Commerce such particulars as may, in his judgment, admit of improvement or may require amendment. (Feb. 14, 1903, sec. 10; Mar. 4, 1913; June 30, 1932, sec. 501, May 27, 1936, sec. 1.)

(Feb. 19, 1920, sec. 1; 41 Stat. 436; 46 U. S. C. 51.) The Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation shall, under the Direction of the Secretary of Commerce, be empowered to change the names of vessels of the United States on application of the owner or owners of such vessels when in his judgment there shall be sufficient cause for so doing. (June 30, 1932, sec. 501, May 27, 1936, sec. 1.) Creation of Technical Staff.2

(May 27, 1936, sec. 5; 49 Stat. 1384; 46 U. S. C. 369.) (a) Hereafter there shall be in the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation a technical staff, consisting of the Director 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 Secretary of Commerce, without reference to the civil-service laws and regulations. The Director of the said Bureau, 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

2 This staff is now a section in the Merchant Marine Inspection Division, Coast Guard Headquarters. See Executive Order No. 9083 in Introduction, p. III.

the Director 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 Director 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 Director 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 Director: Provided, however, That such regulations and instructions shall in all cases be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce. (b) That 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 the passage of this act, shall be granted a certificate of inspection by a board of local inspectors of the Bureau unless the said general contract plans and specifications therefor shall have been submitted at least in triplicate to and approved by the aforesaid Director 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 Director, 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 Director as evidence of the structural efficiency of the hull and the reliability of the machinery of such vessels, except as far as existing law places definite responsibility on the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. The American Bureau of Shipping shall continue to function in connection with the Government, its bureaus, departments, boards, and commissions, as heretofore provided under the Merchant Marine Act, June 5, 1920 (ch. 250, sec. 25; 41 Stat. 998; 46 U. S. C. Annotated, sec. 881), and as provided in the Act of March 2, 1929, entitled "An act to establish load lines for American vessels, and for other purposes," or any similar act hereinafter enacted.

(c) Upon the approval by the said Director of the original or modified plans and specifications for any such vessel or for any subsequent alteration of such vessel, an endorsement to that effect, signed by the Director, shall be placed upon such plans and specifications, and one copy thereof shall be delivered to the person or persons submitting the same. Whenever any inspector shall ascertain to his satisfaction that any such vessel does not conform in all material respects to said plans and specifications approved as aforesaid, he shall immediately report his conclusions to the aforesaid Director, setting forth the reasons for his belief; and if, after a preliminary examination of the facts of the case, the said Director shall be of the opinion that reasonable ground exists for believing the conclusions of such reporting officer to be correct, he shall notify

the person or persons who submitted the said plans and specifications and the board of local inspectors of the Bureau who shall not issue the vessel's certificate of inspection until the discrepancy has been corrected to the satisfaction of the said Director. The final decision of the Director shall be reached with as little delay as the proper consideration of the question will permit. The owner of any vessel coming within the provisions of this act shall notify the Director of any material alterations proposed to be made on such vessel, and should any such alteration be made on such vessel before the plans and specifications for such alteration have received the approval of the said Director the owners shall, in addition to any suspension of the certificate of inspection which the Director may determine to be necessary, incur a penalty of $500 for which the vessel shall be liable and which may be mitigated or remitted by the Secretary of Commerce on such condition as he may deem proper.

(d) That the words "plans and specifications" wherever used in this act shall be held to include prints of all general contract plans and copies of the specifications and other matters of a similar nature, as necessary to the purposes of this act for any vessel to which this act applies. The said plans and specifications of all passenger ships of one hundred gross tons and over shall specify for fire-retardant material in their construction so far as reasonable and practicable.

(e) That any person or persons who shall alter, deface, obliterate, remove, or destroy any plans or specifications approved as provided in this act, with intent to deceive or delay any officer of the United States in the discharge of his duties under this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction shall be punished by a fine of not to exceed $5,000 or by imprisonment for not to exceed five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.

(f) This section shall not take effect as to vessels under five hundred gross tons until three months, nor as to vessels of five hundred gross tons and over until thirty days, after its enactment.

Supervising Inspectors.3

(R. S. 4404-46 U. S. C. 373.) There shall be seven supervising inspectors who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. In the appointment of the supervising inspectors provided for by this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall give due consideration to the reappointment of such of the present supervising inspectors as by their record of efficiency and experience have demonstrated their fitness for their positions. All vacancies occurring thereafter in the Board of Supervising Inspectors may be filled by selection from the principal traveling inspectors provided for by section 3 of this act (46 U.S. C. 374a), or from the United States local inspectors. Each supervising inspector shall be entitled to a salary of not to exceed $6,000 per annum and his necessary traveling expenses while traveling on official business assigned him by competent authority, together with his actual and reasonable expenses for transportation of instruments, which shall be certified and sworn to under such instructions as shall be given by the Secretary of Commerce. (May 27, 1936, sec. 2.)

See Executive Order No. 3083 in Introduction, p. Ïïï.

(R. S. 4404-46 U. S. C. 374.) In the case of the absence of any such supervising inspector from his official station, the Secretary of Commerce may designate some officer of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to perform the duties of such officer during his absence. (May 27, 1936, sec. 2).

Board of Supervising Inspectors.3

(R. S. 4405—46 U. S. C. 375.) The supervising inspectors and the Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation shall assemble as a board once in each year at the city of Washington, District of Columbia, on the third Wednesday in January, and at such other times as the Secretary of Commerce shall prescribe, for joint consultation, and shall assign to each of the supervising inspectors the limits of territory within which he shall perform his duties. The board shall establish all necessary regulations required to carry out in the most effective manner the provisions of this Title [R. S. 4399 to 4500-46 U. S. C. 214, 215, and 361 to 440] and also regulations, prohibiting useless and unnecessary whistling, and such regulations, when approved by the Secretary of Commerce, shall have the force of law. The supervising inspector for the district embracing the Pacific coast shall not be under obligation to attend the meetings of the board oftener than once in two years; but when he does not attend such meeting he shall make his communications thereto, in the way of a report, in such manner as the board shall prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of Commerce may at any time call in session, after reasonable public notice, a meeting of an executive committee, to be composed of the Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation and any two supervising inspectors, which committee, with the approval of the said Secretary, shall have power to alter, amend, add to, or repeal any of the rules and regulations made, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, by the board of supervising inspectors, either by virtue of this section or under any power granted by this Title, or any amendments thereof, such alteration, amendment, addition, or repeal, when approved by the said Secretary, to have the force of law and to continue in effect until thirty days after the adjournment of the next meeting of the board of supervising inspectors. The foregoing powers of such executive committee, acting with the said Secretary, shall also extend to the approval of the instruments, machines, and equipments referred to in section 4491 [46 U. S. C. 489] of this Title. (Mar. 3, 1905; Feb. 8, 1907; Mar. 4, 1913; June 30, 1932, sec. 501, May 27, 1936, sec. 1.) Duties and Functions of Board of Supervising Inspectors.3

(R. S. 4411-46 U. S. C. 380.) The Board of Supervising Inspectors shall establish such regulations as may be necessary to make known in a proper manner, to local inspectors, the names of all persons licensed under the provisions of this Title [R. S. 4399-4500] the names of all persons from whom licenses have been withheld, and the names of all whose licenses have been suspended or revoked; also the names of all steam vessels neglecting or refusing to make such repairs as may be ordered pursuant to law, and the names of all that have been refused certificates of inspection.

8 See Executive Order No. 9083 in Introduction, p. III.

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