Hurd, Donald P., member, Maine Association of Passenger Boat Owners, 24 Storer Street, Portland, Maine.... Levy, David P., manager, small boat division, Equitable Equipment Co., Inc., 410 Camp Street, New Orleans 12, La... Long, Hon. Russell B., United States Senator from Louisiana. Smathers, Hon. George A., United States Senator from Florida.......... Baslow, Maurice J., president, Point Judith Charter Boat Association, 5875 Post Road, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, dated May 8, 1957, Campbell, Lynn, Seattle, Harbor Water Tours, Pier 55, Seattle 1, Daniel, Tom, Commodore, Westport Charter Association, Westport, Dennis, Í. O., 5290 South Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad, Calif., dated May Gourley, John B., vice president, New Jersey Association of Small Passenger Carrying Vessels, Inc., 43 Fourth Avenue, Atlantic High- lands, N. J., dated May 20, 1957.. Gray, F. C., Jr., marine sales manager, Sudbury Laboratory, South Jones, S. T., vice president, Offshore Boat Rental Service, Inc., 2800 LeMay, Capt. Edwin P., Pacific Building, Miami 32, Fla., dated Lowe, W. Hilton, president, American Pilots Association, 2000 K Street, NW., Washington 6, D. C., dated May 29, 1957. MacGregor, D. Stewart, Long Island Boatmen's Association, 47 Rob- bins Avenue, Babylon, N. Y., dated May 1, 1957, to Maine Small Passenger Boats Association, Boothbay Harbor, Maine_ McRae, Gordon, president, Redondo Pleasure Fishing, Inc., 113 North El Paseo, Redondo Beach, Calif., dated May 14, 1957. Ritts, Barbara D., 7747 4th N. E., Seattle, Wash., dated May 13, Rogers, Hon. Paul G., Member of Congress from the 6th District, Florida, enclosing letter from Mr. Marshall Fishburn, 2927 Banyan Street, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla... Sargent, Frank E., secretary, the Golden Gate Sportfishers, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., received May 17, 1957__ Schuler, Versal V., member of West Coast Marine Council, Santa Monica Sportfishing Co., Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, Calif., Sweetser, John C., New Castle, N. H., dated April 4, 1957, to Senator Stees, Hubert S., 20 West 39th St., Wilmington, Del., dated May 126 123 171 127 General Accounting Office, dated May 21, 1957. Department of Justice, dated April 22, 1957. Wade, Charles H., president, Maine Association of Passenger Boat Owners, R. F. D., Boothbay, Maine, to Senator Payne, undated.. Suydam, John E., president, National Party Boat Owners Alliance, Inc., Lindenhurst, Long Island, N. Y., dated May 2, 1957, to Com- 119 TO DEFER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMALL BOAT INSPECTION LAW MONDAY, MAY 20, 1957 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., in room G-16, the Capitol, Senator Norris Cotton, presiding. Senator COTTON. The committee will be in order. The acting chairman of the subcommittee will state he is at least temporarily handling this hearing this morning, at the request of the chairman of the full committee and because of the fact that Senator Payne, of Maine, a member of this committee, who is one of the authors of the bill before the committee and particularly interested in the subject, is regrettably ill and unable to be here, and asked me to interest myself in seeing to it that interested parties receive a hearing. I will make a brief preliminary statement, and then I understand from Senator Smith, who is here, that she is willing to wait until after Admiral Hirshfield's statement. After Senator Smith has made her statement, I will read into the record a brief statement received from Senator Payne. (The bill referred to above is as follows:) [S. 1866, 85th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the Act entitled "An Act to require the inspection and certification of certain vessels carrying passengers," approved May 10, 1956, in order to provide adequate time for the formulation and consideration of rules and regulations to be prescribed under such Act Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 8 of the Act entitled "An Act to require the inspection and certification of certain vessels carrying passengers", approved May 10, 1956, is amended by striking out “January 1, 1957" and inserting in lieu thereof "January 1, 1959". The purpose of these hearings is to afford an opportunity to all interested parties to be heard on the question as to whether small vessel owners shall be given more time to comply with the rules and regulations now being readied by the Coast Guard under authority of Public Law 519, 84th Congress. In addition, the views expressed here will be of real assistance to Coast Guard authorities as their Merchant Marine Council wrestles with the task of formulating a final draft of the rules and regulations in question. (Staff members assigned to these hearings: Albert B. Luckey, Jr., and August J. Bourbon.) No need to tell anyone here, I am sure, that this is and has been for the past 3 years a rather controversial matter. When Senator Purtell and Congressman Ray introduced their respective bills back in 1954 to require inspection by the Coast Guard of small vessels carrying passengers for hire, so much controversy developed that a moratorium had to be authorized, until June 30, 1956, to allow time for more satisfactory legislation to be developed. Enactment of Public Law 519, although it was supported by the National Party Boat Owners Alliance, Inc., did not resolve the matter. The first draft of the regulations was discussed with boatowners at public hearings held by the Coast Guard last October, and out of the views expressed there was evolved a revised draft. This likewise met with so many objections that Senators Smith and Payne, at the behest of boatowners in their State and elsewhere, introduced the bill, S. 1866, for the consideration of which this hearing was called. So that the question of the need for delay in enforcement may be viewed in proper perspective, our hearings program has been arranged so that the Coast Guard representative, Rear Adm. James A. Hirshfield, Assistant Commandant, will present briefly the story of what has been done by the Coast Guard up to this time, and what the effect of the presently contemplated rules and regulations would be, chiefly with respect to vessels now being operated. Then the admiral will listen to the testimony of the various witnesses, answer any questions that Senators or counsel may ask, and at the conclusion he will be asked to offer some further comments on behalf of the Coast Guard. Following Admiral Hirshfield and the testimony of Senator Smith and the statement of Senator Payne, the witness for the National Party Boat Owners Alliance will be heard, opposing any delay in enforcement, so that the whole picture as it now appears will be presented. Then, in the order listed, we shall hear the various witnesses who have asked to be heard in support of the bill. Finally, if time permits, any others who may wish to voice their views will be afforded opportunity to do so. The Chair would also like to suggest to the witnesses that it is our earnest desire that everyone who wishes to be heard may be given that opportunity. There are, however, a long list of witnesses, and so the Chair would request that the witnesses, so far as possible, make their remarks brief and avoid unnecessary repetition, simply in the interest of trying to give everyone a chance to be heard. The Chair is very happy to welcome Rear Adm. James A. Hirshfield. We appreciate your being here, Admiral, and we would like to have you proceed at this time. STATEMENT OF REAR ADM. JAMES A. HIRSHFIELD, UNITED STATES Admiral HIRSHFIELD. Would you like to have me sit here? Admiral HIRSHFIELD. I Would like to. Mr. Chairman, I would like to read a statement which has been submitted to the committee. Since the introduction and adaptation of internal combustion engines to marine use, many bills have been introduced for the extension of marine safety statutes to vessels fitted with other than steam power for propulsion purposes. Such legislation has been proposed and sponsored by public and private groups including the United States Coast Guard and its predecessor, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. Such proposed legislation failed of enactment until recent years when increased impetus for legislative action was brought to the fore as the result of the disasters and subsequent loss of life in the cases of the Jack, the Pelican, and the Levin J.Marvel. The Ray bill, H. R. 7952 (Public Law 519, 84th Cong., 2d sess.), requiring the inspection and certification of certain vessels carrying passengers, was approved by the President on May 10, 1956. This law, which applies to vessels carrying more than six passengers, was to become effective on January 1, 1957, or on the first day of the sixth month following the publication of rules and regulations to implement this act, whichever is later. The classes of vessels covered by the provisions of Public Law 519 include those carrying more than six passengers as follows: (1) propelled in whole or in part by steam or by any form of mechanical or electrical power and of 15 gross tons or less; (2) propelled in whole or in part by steam or by any form of mechanical or electrical power and of more than 15 and less than 100 gross tons and not more than 65 feet in length measured from end to end over the deck excluding sheer; (3) propelled by sail and of 700 gross tons or less; or (4) non-self-propelled and of 100 gross tons or less; except any public vessel of the United States or of any foreign state, or any lifeboat forming part of a vessel's lifesaving equipment. The rules and regulations intended to give force and effect to the act of May 10, 1956 (Public Law 519, 84th Cong., 2d sess.) were drafted by the Coast Guard and distributed to the interested public on August 17, 1956. The Merchant Marine Council held a public hearing on Tuesday, October 16, 1956, for the purpose of receiving comments, views, and data on those proposed rules and regulations for small passenger vessels. As a result of this public hearing, the Merchant Marine Council undertook to rewrite the proposed regulations based on the oral and written suggestions received at this public hearing. On March 15, 1957, the proposed rules and regulations for small passenger vessels, revised draft, were forwarded to all persons who commented on the original hearing dated October 16, 1956, as well as those who have evinced an interest therein. This revised draft invited comments which, it was suggested, should be made known to the appropriate Coast Guard district commander at meetings conducted by such officer or by direct communication with him. The revised draft referred to herein was prepared to cover all types of self-propelled craft; steam, gas, diesel, and electric motor. For this reason it may appear to the reader to be more complex than a straight-forward draft relating to a single type. Also included in the draft as appendix A, pages A-1 to A-23 inclusive, is a proposed Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular No. 1-58. The purpose of the circular was to acquaint interested parties with the application of the draft regulations in respect to existing vessels coming within the purview of Public Law 519. The contents of appendix A indicate the degree of acceptance of present construction and installations now in use by operators of existing craft engaged in the transportation for passengers for hire. The summation of comments on the March 15 draft is now in hand and is being further reviewed by a board of nine officers convened at Coast Guard Headquarters with a view toward final revision of the regulations. It is anticipated that with the report of this board coupled with the October 16, 1956, public hearing, and all the comments received from interested persons, the final rules and regulations will be published in the Federal Register during July 1957 to become effective January 1, 1958. The Coast Guard is of the opinion that further delay in the application of this statute will serve no useful purpose and would be undesirable from the standpoint of the public interest. Senator COTTON. Thank you, Admiral. Are you willing to remain with us, so that we can ask questions of you. Admiral HIRSHFIELD. Yes. Senator COTTON. In that case, counsel and the committee-and I trust there will be other members of the committee here later-will withhold any questions now, and we appreciate your statement. Admiral HIRSHFIELD. Thank you. Senator COTTON. Senator Smith, we are happy to have you here with us this morning. We would be glad to hear your statement. STATEMENT OF HON. MARGARET CHASE SMITH, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MAINE Senator SMITH. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am not a passenger-boat operator or owner. I am not an expert on the subject. But I have made some trips on passenger boats off the coast of Maine and particularly at Boothbay Harbor, one of the most beautiful areas in my State. The information which I have received from Maine passenger-boat operators and owners, together with what I have seen when on their boats, prompted me to introduce S. 1866 in their interest, protection, and relief. They can state the case for the legislation much better than anyone else and so I defer to them on the presentation of the full case. They are reliable. They are intelligent. They are articulate. They are experienced. They know what they are talking about. You can believe them without reservation. I greatly appreciate the committee hearing them. Senator COTTON. Thank you, Senator. It will be all right. I believe there are four witnesses that you are introducing to us and presenting to us? Senator SMITH. That is right. |