8 movement of any boat, and shall move away immediately after the emergency ceases, or upon notification by the Captain of the Port. 6. The Captain of the Port shall assign berths in the anchorages to all vessels applying. He may grant permits for habitually maintaining and using the same mooring place in an anchorage area, and no vessel shall occupy a permanent berth in an anchorage area, except under authority of such permit, which may be revoked at any time. 7. A vessel upon being notified to move into the anchorage limits or to shift its position on anchorage grounds, must get under way at once or signal for a tug, and must change position as directed with reasonable promptness. 8. Except as provided in rule 10, vessels carrying explosives or other dangerous articles, including inflammable liquids, inflammable solids, oxidizing materials, corrosive liquids, compressed gases and poisonous substances, shall be anchored within the Anchorage areas F and F-1 only, described above under the heading "THE ANCHORAGE GROUNDS.” Anchorage F is reserved for this special purpose and is not to be used by vessels carrying other classes of freight except in cases of emergency. Any vessel carrying explosives and desiring to proceed to the anchorage provided therefor must first obtain a written permit from the Captain of the Port; and no vessel shall occupy a berth in such anchorage except by authority of such permit, which may be revoked at any time. All other vessels, especially tugs and stevedores' boats, engaged or used in connection with loading explosives on vessels in anchorage areas must carry written permits from the Captain of the Port and must show these permits whenever required by the Captain of the Port or his properly authorized agents. 9. Whenever any water craft not fitted with mechanical power anchors in Anchorage F while carrying explosives, the Captain of the Port may require the attendance of a tug upon such water craft, when in his judgment such action is deemed necessary. 10. The District Engineer in charge of works of river and harbor improvement is empowered to authorize, in writing, the anchoring in or near the vicinity of such a work of a single scow carrying explosives for use on the work, but only in quantities considered by him safe and necessary. The District Engineer shall prescribe the conditions under which this explosive shall be stored and handled and shall in each case furnish the Captain of the Port with a copy of the written permit to anchor explosives on the work and a copy of the rules and regulations for its storage and handling. The mooring for the purpose of taking on bunker coal at any wharf of a vessel carrying explosives or other dangerous articles may be permitted by the Captain of the Port, in writing, at such times and places and such periods, during daylight only, and under such conditions as to arrangement, loading and handling of cargo, and mobility of vessel as in his judgment will not interrupt the free and proper use of navigable waters and will not endanger life or property; provided the explosives aboard are manufactured, marked, packed, shipped, and stowed in compliance with the Interstate Commerce Regulations governing the transportation of explosives and other dangerous articles, or foreign government regulations providing an equal degree of safety and security. 11. Municipal ash scows may be anchored in such places as the Captain of the Port may designate. 12. Whenever the maritime or commercial interests of the United States so require, the Captain of the Port is hereby empowered to shift the position of any vessel anchored within the anchorage areas, of any vessel anchored outside the anchorage areas, of any vessel which is so moored or anchored as to impede or obstruct vessel movements in any channel or obstruct or interfere with range lights, and of any vessel which, lying at the exterior end of a pier or alongside an open bulkhead, obstructs the passage of vessels to or from adjacent wharf property or impedes the movements of vessels entering or leaving adjacent slips. 13. Permits to anchor in channels within the limits of Hampton Roads and the harbors of Norfolk and Newport News, Va., may be granted by the Captain of the Port to wrecking plants legally engaged in recovering sunken property, when the application for such anchorage is approved by the District Engineer in charge of works of river and harbor improvements. 1 14. Nothing in these rules and regulations shall be construed as relieving the owner or person in charge of any vessel from the penalties of the law for obstructing navigation or for obstructing or interfering with range lights, or for not complying with the navigation laws in regard to lights, fog signals, or for otherwise violating law. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE USE AND NAVIGATION OF THE WATERS OF HAMPTON ROADS AND THE HARBORS OF NORFOLK AND NEWPORT NEWS, VA., AND THE HANDLING OF EXPLOSIVES THEREIN BY VESSELS OTHER THAN COMMON CARRIERS CARRYING EXPLOSIVES THE LAW Section 7 of the river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917, provides as follows: "That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to prescribe such regulations for the use, administration, and navigation of the navigable waters of the United States as in his judgment the public necessity may require for the protection of life and property, or of operations of the United States in channel improvement, covering all matters not specifically delegated by law to some other executive department. Such regulations shall be posted, in conspicuous and appropriate places, for the information of the public; and every person and every corporation which shall violate such regulations shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof in any district court of the United States within whose territorial jurisdiction such offense may have been committed, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment (in case of a natural person) not exceeding 6 months, in the discretion of the court." NOTE. The act of Congress approved March 4, 1921, imposes certain restrictions upon the transportation of explosives by common carriers engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and also provides that "The Interstate Commerce Commission shall formulate regulations for the safe transportation within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United States of explosives and other dangerous articles, including inflammable liquids, inflammable solids, oxidizing materials, corrosive liquids, compressed gases, and poisonous substances, which shall be binding upon all common carriers engaged in interstate or foreign commerce which transport explosives or other dangerous articles by land or water, and upon all shippers making shipments of explosives or other dangerous articles via any common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce by land or water." Other vessels carrying explosives will be governed by the following regulations. THE REGULATIONS Under authority of section 7 of the river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917, the following regulations are prescribed to govern the use and navigation of the waters of Hampton Roads and the harbors of Norfolk and Newport News, Va., by vessels, other than common carriers, carrying explosives: 1. The officer of the Coast Guard designated "Captain of the Port" shall have immediate supervision of the enforcement of these regulations. 2. Vessels carrying explosives shall be at all times in charge of competent persons and must display by day a red flag of at least 16 square feet at the masthead, or at least 10 feet above the upper deck, if the vessel has no mast; at night a red light will be displayed in the same positions specified for the red flag. For use in emergencies each barge must be provided with a suitable anchor, ground tackle, and equipment to be approved by the Captain of the Port; with an adequate supply of fire extinguishers, and fire pails filled with water, and with a suitable foghorn and bell. 3. No smoking will be permitted on or near any vessel, barge, or scow carrying explosives, and no person under the influence of liquor will be allowed on board, nor to approach such vessels. Every person having business on board vessels which are being loaded with explosives, other than members of the crew, must have a pass from the Captain of the Port in such form as the Captain of the Port shall determine. 4. Vessels carrying explosives shall not carry inflammable liquids, inflammable solids, oxidizing materials, mineral acids, as defined in Interstate Commerce Commission regulations for the transportation of explosives, or articles likely to ignite spontaneously, or to give off inflammable gases, unless the explosives are stored in separate rooms or are otherwise so separated as to effectually prevent danger to the explosive from any of these articles, or from the vapor thereof. Where blasting caps, detonating fuses, and fulminate of mercury in bulk are loaded on the same vessel with high explosives, they must be in a different compartment, the distance in a straight line from the compartment containing them to the explosives to be not less than 25 feet. 5. No unnecessary fires shall be permitted on vessels carrying explosives, and those fires which are deemed necessary must be properly safeguarded and must be left in constant charge of some one individual of the crew during the entire period that they are burning. Cabins on barges or lighters carrying explosives of any, or all, descriptions, in which oil lights or stoves are used must be protected by covering the wooden walls, partitions, floors, and ceilings with two thicknesses of one-quarter inch asbestos board placed with joints broken and covered with No. 26 gage metal. This protection must also be applied to doors; and the doors from the cabin into other parts of the boat must be provided with substantial springs, making them self-closing. The stoves must be at least 18 inches from all partitions, and a sheet-metal shield 51⁄2 feet in height, securely fastened to the floor and the wall, must be placed midway between the walls and the stove. The stove must be at least 6 inches from the floor of the cabin, supported either on legs permanently and securely fastened to the stove and the floor, or on 6 inches of hollow tile securely fastened in place. The hole in the roof of the cabin where the stovepipe passes through shall be 18 inches larger in circumference than the stovepipe, and a substantial metal plate shall be placed in the opening surrounding the pipe to hold it in place. The stovepipe shall also be tied into the walls so that it will not shift. The smokestack must be provided with substantial screens of fine mesh or other satisfactory spark arrester. All oil lamps must be held in marine brackets. Safety matches of wooden-stick type rather than the paper type must be used exclusively and kept in proper receptacles. Oils and lamps must be kept on deck in a box lined with metal in such position that it can be readily thrown overboard. No artificial light shall be permitted in the holds or compartments of any vessel that contains explosives except electric flashlights or electric lanterns or an approved electric lighting of the vessel. Crews must not have or carry matches, firearms, or cartridges on their persons. Electric flashlights must be provided for the attendants. 6. No explosives will be allowed to be placed aboard a vessel until the rest of the cargo has been placed aboard and the vessel trimmed. All work of construction of floors, partitions, and other conditioning of the vessel, and the removal of any other combustibles from that part of the hold in which the explosives are to be stored, shall be completed before loading of the explosives is commenced. All rubbish, shovelings, old oil, paint cans, oil rags, rope ends, and other litter must be kept cleared out of the holds. Such lumber as is allowed to remain in the holds for use as firewood must be securely piled. Floors must be kept broom clean. All decks, gangways, and holds over which explosives must be passed in loading must be freed from all loose metal or tools and carefully swept before loading is commenced, and after loading has ceased. 7. All explosives must be handled carefully. No metal tools shall be used in loading, unloading, or handling explosives. Men engaged in loading, unloading, or handling explosives must not have or carry on their persons metal tools or bale hooks, matches, firearms, or cartridges and they must not wear boots or shoes shod or strengthened with iron nails or any metal unless such boots or shoes are covered with leather, felt, or some other such material. Packages of explosives must not be thrown, dropped, rolled, dragged, or slid over each other or over the decks. Dynamite boxes must be stowed topside up. Powder kegs should be loaded with seams up. 8. The term "high explosives in bulk" shall be construed to mean high explosives packed in boxes, barrels, or kegs and not loaded in ammunition or shells. The standard definition of the term "high explosives" will be that contained in paragraph 1503 of the regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission for the transportation of explosives by rail, viz: "High explosives are all explosives more powerful than ordinary black powder, except smokeless powders and fulminates. Their distinguishing characteristic is their susceptibility to detonation by a blasting cap. Examples of high explosives are dynamite, picric acid, picrates, chlorate powders, nitrate of ammonia powders, dry trinitrotoluol, dry nitrocellulose (gun cotton), dry tetra-nitroaniline, dry tetra-nitromethylaniline, and fireworks that can be exploded en masse." Unless they are loaded in the same vessel with articles enumerated in the rule quoted above, picric acid 10 percent wet, and trinitrotoluol 10 percent wet, and nitrocellulose (gun cotton) 20 percent wet, will not be classified as high explosives. The term "high explosives in bulk" does not include such articles as benzol, tuluol, smokeless powder, black powder, small-arms ammunition, ammunition for cannon with explosive projectiles, explosive projectiles or torpedoes, percussion fuses, time fuses, combination fuses, tracer fuses, cordeau detonant, primers for cannon and small arms, blasting caps, detonating fuses, and fulminate of mercury in bulk. Blasting caps, detonating fuses, and fulminate of mercury in bulk will be considered as constituting a distinct class by themselves, and must be stowed and handled with special care. 9. In transferring high explosives in bulk, blasting caps, detonating fuses, and fulminate of mercury from one vessel to another they must be handled by hand or regulation chute and mattress. If difference in elevation between vessels or condition of weather renders it impossible to transfer or load by hand or chute, mechanical hoists and a special crate or basket may be used. Explosives transferred in this manner must not be handled roughly. They must be hoisted and lowered carefully and be deposited or lowered on a mattress. 10. When an inclined chute is employed, such chute shall be constructed of 1-inch planed boards with side guards 4 inches high, extending 3 inches above top face of bottom of chute and throughout its length fastened with brass screws. D-shaped strips or runners not more than 6 inches apart and running lengthwise of the chute must be fastened to the upper surface of the bottom part by means of glue and wooden pegs extending through the bottom part and runners. Chutes must be occasionally wiped down with waste moistened with machine oil when dynamite packages are being handled. A stuffed mattress 4 feet wide by 6 feet long and not less than 4 inches thick, or a heavy jute or hemp mat of like dimensions, must be placed under the discharging end of the chute. The incline of the chute should be such that the velocity of the packages sliding will not be great enough to cause violent shock when coming in contact with other packages or when reaching the bottom of slide, or men must be stationed alongside the chutes to retard the velocity of the packages and prevent violent shocks when packages come in contact with each other or reach bottom of chute. 11. Broken or seriously damaged packages of explosives may be recoopered when it is practicable and not dangerous. A broken box of dynamite that cannot be recoopered should be reinforced by stout wrapping paper and twine, placed in another strong box, and surrounded by dry, fine sawdust, or dry and clean cotton waste, or elastic wads made from dry newspaper. A ruptured can or keg should be enclosed in a grain bag of good quality and boxed or crated. Injured packages thus protected and properly marked may be forwarded. Packages too seriously damaged to be recoopered should not be forwarded, but set aside and the shipper notified to make disposition of them. In removing broken cases or kegs of explosives from vessels, care must be taken to remove any particles of loose explosives. 12. The transportation of high explosives by water and the transfer of explosives to and from water craft in Hampton Roads and the harbors of Norfolk and Newport News shall be made under the direct supervision of such special inspectors as may be assigned for the purpose by the Captain of the Port, but this is not to be construed as charging the Captain of the Port with any responsibility in connection with the navigation of such water craft. Owners or agents of water craft, transferring or carrying such cargoes, will be required to provide subsistence, when crews are subsisted on board, and, when necessary, suitable sleeping accommodation for special inspectors and for guards placed on board by the Captain of the Port, and for such period as he may specify. When crews are not subsisted on board, subsistence for inspectors and guards will not be required, but every opportunity will be afforded to them to use such cooking facilities as are provided for the crews. 12 13. In any case of violation of the regulations in regard to the handling of explosives, the captain of the port is empowered to remove any vessel, or any man or men from the waters to which these regulations pertain or to stop the loading or unloading of explosives in said waters. 14. Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as relieving the master of any vessel carrying explosives from the responsibility of making frequent inspections, both by day and night, to see that these rules are complied with. Recommended: Approved: E. M. MARKHAM, Major General, Corps of Engineers, Chief of Engineers. GEO. H. DERN, |