Page images
PDF
EPUB

provisions of this Act, a certificate of such award shall be issued by the collector, the said certificate to be at all times kept on board of such vessel and to constitute a document in lieu of enrollment or license.

The said numbers, on application of the owner or master, shall be awarded by the collector of customs of the district in which the vessel is owned and a record thereof kept in the customhouse of the district in which the owner as managing owner resides. No numbers not so awarded shall be carried on the bows of such vessel.

Notice of destruction or abandonment of such vessels or change in their ownership shall be furnished within ten days by the owners to the collectors of customs of the districts where such numbers were awarded. Such vessel sold into another customs district may be numbered anew in the latter district.

The penalty for violation of any provision of this Act shall be $10, for which the vessel shall be liable and may be seized and proceeded against in the district court of the United States in any district in which such vessel may be found. Such penalty on application may be mitigated or remitted by the Secretary of Commerce.

The Secretary of Commerce shall make such regulations as may be necessary to secure proper execution of this Act by collector of customs and other officers of the Government. (Aug. 5, 1935, sec. 210.) Inspection and Documentation of Ships Seized by United States During National Emergency.

4

(June 6, 1941, sec. 5; 55 Stat. 244, 245.) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the effective period of section 3 of this Act, any vessel (except a vessel constructed under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended), not documented under the laws of the United States, acquired by or made available to the Commission under this Act or otherwise, may (1) in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce be documented as a vessel of the United States under such rules and regulations or orders, and with such limitations, as the Secretary of Commerce may prescribe or issue as necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act; and (2) in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) hereof engage in the coast wise trade when so documented. Any document issued to a vessel under the provisions of this Act shall be surrendered at any time that such surrender may be ordered by the Secretary of Commerce. No vessel, the surrender of the documents of which has been so ordered, shall, after the effective date of such order, have the status of a vessel of the United States unless documented

anew.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the President may, by rules and regulations or orders, waive compliance with any provision of law relating to masters, officers, members of the crew, or crew accommodations on any vessel documented under authority of this Act to such extent and upon such terms as he finds necessary because of the lack of physical facilities on said ships, and because of the need to employ aliens for their operation. No vessel shall cease to enjoy the benefits and privileges of a vessel of the United

Under Executive Order No. 9054 (7 F. R. 837), the functions of the U. S. Maritime Commission under this Act were transferred to the War Shipping Administration.

States by reason of the employment of any person in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

4

(c) Any vessel while documented under the provisions of this Act, when chartered hereunder by the Commission to other Government agencies or departments or to private operators, may engage in the coastwise trade under permits issued by the Commission, which is hereby authorized to issue permits for such purpose pursuant to such rules and regulations as it may prescribe. The Commission is hereby authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

4

(d) The second paragraph of section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended, shall not apply with respect to vessels chartered to other Government agencies or departments or to private operators under section 3 or section 4 of this Act.

(e) Existing laws covering the inspection of steam vessels are hereby made applicable to vessels documented under this Act only to such extent and upon such conditions as may be required by the regulations of the Board of Supervising Inspectors with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce: Provided, That in determining to what extent those laws should be made applicable, due consideration shall be given to the primary purpose of transporting commodities essential to the national defense.

(f) The Commission without regard to the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes may repair, reconstruct, or recondition any vessels to be utilized under this Act. Any other Government department or agency by which any vessel is acquired or chartered, or to which any vessel is transferred or made available under this Act may, with the aid of any funds available, and without regard to the provisions of said section 3709, repair, reconstruct, or recondition any such vessels to meet the needs of the services intended, or provide facilities for such repair, reconstruction, or reconditioning. (g) In case of voyage of a vessel documented under the provisions of this Act is begun before the date of termination of the effective period of section 3, but is completed after such date, the provisions of this section shall continue in effect with respect to such vessel until such voyage is completed.

(h) When used in this Act, the term "documented" means "registered" and "enrolled and licensed."

4 Under Executive Order No. 9054 (7 F. R. 837), the functions of the U. S. Maritime Commission under this Act were transferred to the War Shipping Administration.

Chapter III.-TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS AND
MERCHANDISE 1

Number of Passengers Allowable.

(R. S. 4464—46 U. S. C. 451.) The board of local inspectors shall state in every certificate of inspection granted to vessels carrying passengers, other than ferryboats, the number of passengers of each class that any such vessel has accommodation for and can carry with prudence and safety. They shall report their action to the supervising inspector of the district, who may at any time order the number of such passengers decreased, giving his reasons therefor, in writing, and thereupon the board of local inspectors shall change the certificate of inspection of such vessel to conform with the decision of the supervising inspector. Whenever the allowance of passengers shall be increased by any board of local inspectors such increase shall be reported to the supervising inspector of the district, together with the reasons therefor, and such increase shall not become effective until the same has been approved in writing by the supervising inspector. (Feb. 14, 1917, sec. 1.)

Number of Passengers Cargo Vessel May Carry.

(June 5, 1920, sec. 26; 41 Stat. 998; 46 U. S. C. 882.) Cargo vessels documented under the laws of the United States may carry not to exceed sixteen persons in addition to the crew between any ports or places in the United States or its Districts, Territories, or possessions, or between any such port or place and any foreign port, or from any foreign port to another foreign port, and such vessels shall not be held to be "passenger vessels" or "vessels carrying passengers" within the meaning of the inspection laws and the rules and regulations thereunder: Provided, That nothing herein shall be taken to exempt such vessels from the laws, rules, and regulations respecting life-saving equipment: Provided further, That when any such vessel carries persons other than the crew as herein provided for, the owner, agent, or master of the vessel shall first notify such persons of the presence on board of any dangerous articles, as defined by law, or of any other condition or circumstance which would constitute a risk of safety for passenger or crew.

The privilege bestowed by this section on vessels of the United States shall be extended insofar as the foreign trade is concerned to the cargo vessels of any nation which allows the like privilege to cargo vessels of the United States in trades not restricted to vessels under its own flag.

Failure on the part of the owner, agent, or master of the vessel to give such notice shall subject the vessel to a penalty of $500, which may be mitigated or remitted by the Secretary of Commerce upon

1 See Introduction for certain changes in administration.

a proper representation of the facts. (See International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1929, p. 89.)

Penalty for Carrying Too Many Passengers.

(R. S. 4465-46 U. S. C. 452.) It shall not be lawful to take on board of any vessel a greater number of passengers than is stated in the certificate of inspection, and for every violation of this provision the master or owner shall be liable to any person suing for the same to forfeit the amount of passage money and $10 for each passenger beyond the number allowed.

The master or owner of the vessel, or either or any of them, who shall knowingly violate this provision shall be liable to a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than thirty days, or both. (Feb. 14, 1917, sec. 2.)

Count or List of Passengers.

(R. S. 4467-46 U. S. C. 460.) The master of every passenger steamer shall keep a correct count of all the passengers received and delivered from day to day, which count shall be open to the inspection of the inspectors and officers of the customs at all times, and the aggregate number of passengers shall be furnished to inspectors as often as called for: Provided, however, That a correct list of passengers received and delivered from day to day shall be kept, instead of a correct count, by the masters of seagoing passenger steamers in the coastwise trade and by the masters of passenger steamers on the Great Lakes on routes exceeding three hundred miles: Provided further, That nothing herein shall affect existing laws relative to vessels running between this country and foreign ports. (Feb. 27, 1877, sec. 1; May 28, 1908, sec. 3.)

(R. S. 4468-46 U. S. C. 461.) Every master of any passenger steamer who fails, through negligence or design, to keep a count or list.of passengers as required by the preceding section shall be liable to a penalty of $100. (May 28, 1908, sec. 4.)

(R. S. 4469—46 U. S. Č. 462.) The penalties imposed by sections 4465 and 4468 [46 U. S. C. 452, 461] shall be a lien upon the vessel in each case; but a bond may, as provided in other cases, be given to secure the satisfaction of the judgment.

Special Permit for Excursions.

(R. S. 4466–46 U. S. C. 453.) If any passenger vessel engages in excursions, the board of local inspectors 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 life-saving 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 board of local inspectors to the supervising inspector of the district, and such special permit shall not be effective until approved by the said supervising inspector. (Feb. 14, 1917, sec. 3.)

Vessels on Great Lakes Carrying Persons Not Passengers.

(July 9, 1886, sec. 1; 24 Stat. 129; 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 supervising inspector of the district in which said steamer shall be employed to carry on board such number of persons, in addition to its crew, as the supervising inspector, in his 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. (Feb. 23, 1901, sec. 1.)

(July 9, 1886, sec. 2; 24 Stat. 129; 46 U. S. C. 459.) Every steam. vessel licensed under the foregoing section 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. (Feb. 23, 1901, sec. 2.)

Vessels Carrying Steerage Passengers.2

(Aug. 2, 1882, sec. 1; 22 Stat. 186; 46 U. S. C. 151.) It shall not be lawful for the master of any vessel whereon steerage passengers have been taken at any port or place in a foreign country or dominion (ports and places in foreign territory contiguous to the United States. excepted) to bring such vessel and passengers to or take from any port or place in the United States unless the compartments, spaces, and accommodations hereinafter mentioned have been provided, allotted, maintained, and used for and by such passengers during the entire voyage, unobstructed by cargo, stores, or goods. The master of a vessel coming to a port or place in the United States in violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and if the number of steerage passengers carried or brought in the vessel, or in any compartment, space, poop, or deck house thereof, is greater than the number allowed to be carried or brought therein, respectively, as hereinafter prescribed, the said master shall be fined $50 for each and every such passenger in excess of the proper number, and may also be imprisoned not exceeding six months. In computing the number of passengers carried or brought in any vessel, children under one year of age shall not be included, and two children between one and eight years of age shall be counted as one passenger; and any person brought in such vessel who shall have been, during the voyage, taken from any other vessel wrecked or in distress on the high seas, or have been picked up at sea from any boat, raft, or otherwise, shall not be included in such computation.

Second. The expression "steerage passenger" means all passengers except cabin passengers, and persons shall not be deemed cabin passengers unless the space allotted to their exclusive use is in the proportion of at least thirty-six clear superficial feet to each passenger.

Third. The expression "lowest passenger deck" means the deck next below the water line; and the expression "passenger deck" includes every deck or portion of a deck which is above the lowest passenger deck, and is appropriated for passengers.

Fourth. A vessel shall not carry passengers, whether cabin or steerage passengers, on more than one deck below the water line.

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

« PreviousContinue »