This district has a suboffice at Panama City, Fla. First New Orleans, La., District (Gulf of Mexico Division): 604 Union Building, New Orleans, La. This district embraces the southern part of Louisiana, from Pearl River on the east to Sabine River on the west, and south of Red River including the Passes of the Mississippi River, that portion of the river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., insofar as the removal of shoals obstructive to navigation is concerned, and that portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, Mobile Bay, Ala., to New Orleans, La., extending from the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal in Lake Ponchartrain to Long Point in Lake Borgne. Galveston, Tex., District (Gulf of Mexico Division): Trust Co. Building, Galveston, Tex. This district includes all work of river and harbor improvements in Texas with the exception of the Red River Basin and Johnsons Bayou, La. Suboffices for this district are maintained at Port Arthur, Houston, and Corpus Christi, Tex. THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF MARINE INSPECTION AND NAVIGATION (FORMERLY NAVIGATION AND STEAMBOAT INSPECTION) The Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation under the Department of Commerce is charged with general supervision of the commercial marine and merchant seamen of the United States, except so far as supervision is lodged with other offices of the Government. In addition to various other duties the Bureau is especially charged with the decision of all questions relating to the issuing of registers, enrollments, and licenses of vessels; investigates the operation of the laws relative to navigation; is charged with the enforcement and investigation of violations of the navigation and steamboat inspection laws; and is charged with the duty of inspecting vessels, the licensing of the officers of vessels, and the administration of the laws relating to such vessels and their officers for the protection of life and property. The Bureau certificates the able seamen who form the crew of merchant vessels, and the inspectors of the Service, together with other Government officers, especially detailed for that purpose, also certificates the lifeboat men. For administrative purpose the Supervising Inspectors of the Service maintain 11 district offices, and Local Inspectors have offices in the more important cities having maritime interests. Offices of the Bureau are maintained at the following ports along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico: New Orleans, La., Rooms 212-214, Customhouse. Galveston, Tex., 506 American National Insurance Building, 310 Twenty-first Street. Mobile, Ala., Rooms 4 and 5, Federal Building. Tampa, Fla., Room 406, Federal Building. At New Orleans, there are offices of both Supervising Inspectors and Local Inspectors; at the other ports there are offices of Local Inspectors. (1) U. S. COAST GUARD 19 The licensed officer in command of any vessel shall report in writing and in person to the board of local inspectors nearest the port of first arrival any accident to said vessel involving loss of life, or damage to property to an approximate amount exceeding $500, and shall also report in like manner any casualty or loss of life from whatever cause of any person on board such vessel and any stranding or grounding, whether or not any damage has been sustained by the vessel. THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD The United States Coast Guard is a military branch of the Government maintained for the purpose of enforcing the navigation and other maritime laws under the jurisdiction of the United States, rendering assistance to vessels in distress, saving life and property, destroying derelicts and removing obstructions and menaces to navigation. These duties include the International Ice Patrol, the Bering Sea Patrol, flood-relief work, patrol of regattas and marine parades, and rendering medical relief to deep-sea fishermen and to the natives of Alaska. The Coast Guard makes no charge for its services to vessels in distress, and will respond promptly to all proper requests for assistance so far as the distribution and condition of its facilities will permit. However, it is not the purpose of the Coast Guard to compete or interfere with commercial enterprise in ordinary towing and salvage operations, but to confine its assistance activities to cases of actual or potential distress. Instructions for obtaining the assistance of Coast Guard units are given on page 20 (without radio) and on page 24 (with radio). Coast Guard stations are maintained at the places named in the following table. The stations are fully manned throughout the year and are supplied with boats, wreck guns, beach apparatus, and other appliances for affording assistance in case of shipwreck. Instructions to enable mariners to avail themselves fully of the assistance thus afforded will be found in the appendix, page 352. The Coast Guard stations are provided with the International Code Signals and are prepared to send or receive signals in that code or by means of the Semaphore Code, the Occulting or Flashing-light Code, or the International Morse Wigwag Code. Telephone facilities are available at the stations for the summoning of Coast Guard cutters, tugs, or other assistance, or for communicating with telegraph lines. Cautions. Masters are particularly cautioned, if they should be driven ashore anywhere in the neighborhood of the stations, to remain on board until assistance arrives, and under no circumstances should they attempt to land through the surf in their own boats until the last hope of assistance from the shore has vanished. Often when comparatively smooth at sea a dangerous surf is running which is not perceptible 400 yards offshore, and the surf when viewed from a vessel never appears as dangerous as it is. Many lives have been lost unnecessarily by the crews of stranded vessels being thus deceived and attempting to land in the ship's boats. All the following Coast Guard Stations are in the Eighth District, the commander of which is stationed at Galveston, Tex. Other Coast Guard Assistance Facilities.-Floating units are stationed at the following ports with larger vessels at the points marked with an asterisk (*). Key West, Fla. *St. Petersburg, Fla. *Panama City, Fla. Pensacola, Fla. *Mobile, Ala. *Pascagoula, Miss. Air stations, with facilities for rendering assistance by airplane are maintained at Miami, Fla.; St. Petersburg, Fla., and at Biloxi, Miss. The Coast Guard amphibian planes are especially adapted to ambulance work. Assistance or Distress Procedure.-Small craft or planes off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas may obtain the assistance of the Coast Guard by the following means: Make the international or inland distress signal, if in sight of a vessel, lighthouse, or Coast Guard station. Passing vessels will inform the Coast Guard by radio. Persons on shore telephone to "Coast Guard, Customhouse, Mobile, Ala., Dexter 1625" or to any nearby Coast Guard vessel or station. For Florida, telephone to "Coast Guard, Federal Building, Jacksonville, Fla., Jacksonville 32780, Extension 231 to 238." If equipped with radio, call NCU "Any Coast Guard Unit" by key or in case of extreme emergency call SOS by key (or Mayday by voice) transmitting on 500 kilocycles (600 meters). Coast Guard administrative offices are located as follows: Boston, Mass., Customhouse. Norfolk, Va., Post Office Building. RADIO SERVICES The supervision of radio communication in the United States, including the Hawaiian Islands, is controlled by the Federal Com (1) BERNE PUBLICATIONS 21 munications Commission. Twice a month, the Commission issues a Radio Service bulletin, giving those current corrections to the international Berne publications that affect radio services of the United States. These publications are listed below. Interested parties can secure copies of this bulletin by addressing the Commission at Washington, D. C. At the present time this is the only publication of the Commission. The Rules and Regulations of the former Federal Radio Commission are remaining in effect until such time as superseding regulations are promulgated by the present Commission. Changes in these Rules and Regulations are included in the above Radio Service Bulletin. With the exception of the above Radio Service Bulletin, all radio information available from the Commission is incorporated into the publications of the International Bureau of the Telecommunication Union of Berne, Switzerland. They are published every 6 months; editions in English can be secured by sending remittance direct to the Bureau. The list of these publications is given below. These Berne publications show, name of station and owner or operator, geographical locations, call, frequencies, type of emission, power, hours of service, and rates. LIST OF BERNE PUBLICATIONS 1. List of Frequencies and Supplements, 40 Swiss gold francs, including postage. 2. List of Coast Stations and Ship Station, 3.60 Swiss gold francs, including postage. 3. List of Aircraft and Aeronautical Stations, 2.60 Swiss gold francs, including postage. 4. List of Broadcasting Stations and Supplements, 3.70 Swiss gold francs, including postage. 5. List of Stations Performing Special Services and Supplements, 5.50 Swiss gold francs, including postage. 6. List of Call Letters of Fixed, Land and Mobile Stations and Supplements, 9.30 Swiss gold francs, including postage. NOTE.-Remittances should be made by international money order to the International Bureau of the Telecommunication Union, Berne, Switzerland. Comprehensive information regarding navigational radio services can also be obtained from the Hydrographic Office Publication No. 205, Radio Aids to Navigation, which can be obtained from the Hydrographic Office, Navy Department, Washington, D. C., price $1.50. This publication lists radio stations throughout the world which perform services of value to navigation. It includes details of radio time signals, radio direction-finder stations, radiobeacon stations, radio weather bulletins, storm and navigational warnings, medical advice by radio, distress and emergency traffic, etc. Additions and changes to this publication are issued weekly in the Hydrographic Office Notice to Mariners and extracts affecting the publication will be mailed monthly to those not in receipt of the Notice to Mariners. Radio References.-There is listed herewith publications giving information regarding the various radio services available to mariners. The Berne List of Publications. Hydrographic Office Publication No. 205, Radio Aids to Navigation. United States Naval Radio Stations, Broadcast Schedules for Time, Weather, Hydrographic and Ice; issued from time to time by the Hydrographic Office. Light Lists, United States Lighthouse Service. United States Weather Bureau, Circular No. 1, Radio. Further information regarding the radio services noted below can be secured from the above publications. COMMERCIAL RADIO STATIONS The following commercial radio stations are located on or near the Gulf of Mexico. Radio time signals are sent daily from the United States radio stations at Arlington, Va. (call letters NAA), and the Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. (call letters NAL). For the latest information as to the time, frequency in kilocycles, and type of emission see Hydrographic Office Publication No. 205, Radio Aids to Navigation, issued by the Hydrographic Office, United States Navy. As indicated in the table below, the time signal consists of the transmission of dots (.) and the omission of the dots (0) for various seconds preceding the hour signal. The hour signal is the beginning of the transmission of a dash (-) which is much longer than the others (i. e., 1.3 seconds). In all cases the beginnings of the dots and the dash indicate the beginning of the seconds and the ends of the dots and the dash are without significance. Repetitions. In the case of the failure of a signal, it is repeated 1 hour later. Hydrographic information, weather reports (see p. 26), and other information of benefit to shipping are also sent out from these stations. |