[H. R. 8598]

AN ACT

To provide for the inspection and regulation of vessels engaged in the transportation of inflammable, explosive, and like dangerous cargoes in navigable waters of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no vessel, regardless of size or rig, excepting public vessels of the United States, shall transport on the navigable waters of the United States, from point to point in the continental United States, any inflammable, explosive, or like dangerous cargo or anchor in such waters or go into drydock for repairs while having on board such dangerous cargo, until such vessel has been inspected by the board of local inspectors to determine that such cargo may be carried on such vessel with safety, and a permit issued to her for the presence on board of such cargo, which permit shall be framed under glass and posted in a conspicuous part of the vessel.

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations concerning construction, the appliances, and apparatus for stowage, of vessels used in the transportation of inflammable, explosive, or like dangerous cargo on said vessels in order to preserve life and property while in operation or at anchor. The local board of inspectors shall not issue a permit to any vessel until it finds that said vessel is in substantial compliance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Commerce:. Provided, That this Act shall not apply to a vessel covered by an unexpired certificate of inspection duly issued in accordance with law by the local inspectors of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation or, if a foreign vessel, by an unexpired certificate of inspection issued under the authority of its own government and recognized under law or treaty by the Government of the United States.

SEC. 2. A penalty of not to exceed $500 may be imposed for each violation of any of the provisions of this Act or of any of the rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of this Act. The vessel shall be liable for the said penalty and may be seized and proceeded against, by way of libel, in the District Court of the United States for any district within which such vessel may be found.

SEC. 3. This Act shall become effective sixty days after its enact

ment.

Approved, August 26, 1935.

(147)

[8. 2002]

AN ACT

To provide for the establishment of load lines for American vessels in the coastwise trade, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That load lines are hereby established for merchant vessels of one hundred and fifty gross tons or over, loading at or proceeding to sea from any port or place within the United States or its possessions for a coastwise voyage by sea. By "coastwise voyage by sea" is meant a voyage on which a vessel in the usual course of her employment proceeds from one port or place in the United States or her possessions to another port or place in the United States or her possessions and passes outside the line dividing inland waters from the high seas, as defined in section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized and directed in respect of the vessels defined above to establish by regulations from time to time the load water lines and marks thereof indicating the maximum depth to which such vessels may safely be loaded and in establishing such load lines due consideration shall be given to, and differentials made for, the various types and character of vessels and the trades in which they are engaged: Provided, That the load-line provisions of this Act shall apply to the Great Lakes and that no load line shall be established or marked on any vessel which load line gives a lesser freeboard and less buoyancy than the load line established by the International Treaty on Load Lines of 1930, and that the regulations established under this proviso shall have the force of law: Provided further, That in applying the load lines to vessels on the Great Lakes the Secretary of Commerce is vested with discretion to vary the load-line marks from those established by said Treaty when in his opinion the changes made by him will not be above the actual line of safety.

SEC. 3 It shall be the duty of the owner and of the master of every vessel subject to this Act and to the regulations established thereunder to cause the load line or lines so established to be permanently and conspicuously marked upon the vessel in such manner as the Secretary of Commerce shall direct, and to keep the same so marked. The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint the American Bureau of Shipping, or such other American corporation or association for the survey or registry of shipping as may be selected by him, to determine whether the position and manner of marking on such vessels the load line or lines so established are in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the regulations established thereunder: Provided, however, That, at the request of the shipowner, the Secretary of Commerce may appoint, for the purpose aforesaid, any other corporation or association for the survey or registry of shipping which the Secretary of Commerce may approve; or the

Secretary of Commerce may appoint for said purpose any officer of the Government, who shall perform such services as may be directed by the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary of Commerce may, in his discretion, revoke any appointment made pursuant to this section. Such corporation, association or officer shall, upon approving the position and manner of marking of such load line or lines, issue a certificate, in a form to be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce, that the same are in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the regulations established thereunder, and shall deliver a copy thereof to the master of the vessel. It shall be unlawful for any vessel subject to this Act and to said regulations to depart from any port or place designated in section 1 without bearing such mark or marks, approved and certified by such corporation, association, or officer, and without having on board a copy of said certificate.

SEC. 4. It shall be unlawful for any vessel subject to this Act and to the regulations established thereunder to be so loaded as to submerge the load line or lines marked pursuant to this Act and to the regulations established thereunder applicable to her voyage; or to be so loaded as to submerge under like conditions the point where such load line or lines ought to be marked pursuant to the provisions of this Act and of the regulations established thereunder; or to be so loaded as in any manner to violate the said regulations.

SEC. 5. Whenever the Secretary of Commerce shall certify that the laws and regulations in force in any foreign country relating to load lines are equally effective with the regulations established under this Act, the Secretary of Commerce may direct, on proof that a vessel of that country has complied with such foreign laws and regulations, that such vessel and her master and owner shall be exempted from compliance with the provisions of this Act, except as hereinafter provided: Provided, That this section shall not apply to the vessels of any foreign country which does not similarly recognize the load lines established under this Act and the regulations made thereunder. SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the master of every vessel subject to this Act and to the regulations established thereunder and of every foreign vessel exempted pursuant to section 5, before departing from her loading port or place to provide a ship's record or log book and enter therein a statement of the position of the load line marked applicable to the voyage in question and the actual drafts forward and aft at the time of departing as nearly as the said drafts can be ascertained.

SEC. 7. If any collector of customs has reason to believe on complaint or otherwise that a vessel subject to the provisions of this Act is about to proceed on a voyage from a port in the United States or its possessions within his district without conforming to the provisions of section 8 hereof, or when loaded in violation of section 4 hereof, or that any vessel exempted pursuant to section 5 hereof is about to proceed on a voyage from such port when loaded in violation of the laws and regulations of her country with respect to load line, he may serve on the master or officer in charge of such vessel a written order detaining the vessel for the purpose of being surveyed to determine whether or not the provisions

that the vessel does not conform to the provisions of section 8 hereof, the collector shall cause an examination of the vessel to be made, and if from such examination it appears that the vessel is not marked with the load line established in conformity with the provisions of this Act, the collector shall so notify the master or officer in charge of such vessel and shall detain her until a load line shall have been duly established in accordance with section 3 hereof, provided that in cases of exceptional hardship, subject to regulations issued by the Secretary of Commerce, the collector may cause a proper load line to be provisionally established by one of the agencies or persons designated under section 3 hereof, which provisional load line shall constitute a compliance with the provisions of this Act only until completion of the particular voyage in which the vessel is at the time engaged. After such establishment or provisional establishment of a load line the collector shall appoint three disinterested surveyors to examine the loading of the vessel and to report to him whether such vessel is so loaded as to submerge said provisional load line and if from such report it appears that the vessel is so loaded, the collector may by written order served on the master or officer in charge of said vessel detain the vessel until she has been reloaded in whole or in part so as not to submerge said provisional load line or lines. Where the detention is on the ground of a supposed violation of section 4 or section 5 hereof, the collector shall appoint three disinterested surveyors to examine the vessel and her loading and to report to him and if from such report it appears that the vessel is loaded in violation of the provisions of sections 4 or 5 hereof, the collector shall so notify in writing the master or other officer in charge of such vessel and detain the vessel until she has been reloaded in whole or in part so as to conform to the provisions of sections 4 or 5 hereof. If a vessel is ordered detained by a collector acting under the provisions of this section, the master may within five days appeal to the Secretary of Commerce, who, if he so desires, may order a further survey and may affirm, set aside, or modify the order of the collector. Clearance shall be refused to any vessel which shall have been ordered detained.

SEO. 8. (a) If the owner or master of any vessel subject to this Act and to the regulations established thereunder shall permit her to depart from any port or place designated in section 1 without having complied with the provisions of section 3, he shall for each offense be liable to the United States in a penalty of $500. If the owner or master of any vessel exempted pursuant to section 5 shall permit her to depart from any port or place designated in section 1 without having the loadline or lines required by the laws and regulations of the country to which she belongs marked upon her as required by said law and regulations, he shall for each offense be liable to the United States in a penalty of $500. The Secretary of Commerce may, in his discretion, remit or mitigate any penalty imposed under this paragraph, or díscontinue prosecution therefor on such terms as he may deem proper.

(b) If the master of any vessel subject to this Act, or of any foreign vessel exempted pursuant to section 5, shall fail, before departing from any port or place designated in section 1, to enter

in and make a part of the ship's record or log book the statement required by section 6, he shall for each offense be liable to the United States in a penalty of $100. The Secretary of Commerce may, in his discretion, remit or mitigate any penalty imposed under this paragraph.

(c) If any person shall knowingly permit or cause or attempt to cause any vessel subject to this Act to depart or arrive, or if, being the owner, manager, agent, or master of such vessel, he shall fail to take reasonable care to prevent her from departing from or arriving at any port or place designated in section 1 when loaded in violation of section 4, or if any person shall knowingly permit or cause or attempt to cause a foreign vessel exempted pursuant to section 5 to depart or arrive, or if, being the owner, manager, agent, or master of such vessel he shall fail to take reasonable care to prevent her from departing from or arriving at any port or place designated in section 1 when loaded more deeply than permitted by the laws and regulations of the country to which she belongs, he shall, in respect of each offense, be liable to the United States, in a penalty of $500 unless the vessel's departure or arrival was, under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable. The Secretary of Commerce may, in his discretion, remit or mitigate any penalty imposed under this paragraph.

(d) If the master of 'any vessel or any other person shall knowingly permit or cause or attempt to cause any vessel to depart from any port or place in the United States or its possessions in violation of any order of detention made pursuant to section 7, he shall, in respect of each offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500 or by imprisonment not to exceed three months, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the

discretion of the court.

(e) If any person shall conceal, remove, alter, deface, or obliterate or shall suffer any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface, or obliterate any mark or marks placed on a vessel pursuant to this Act or to the regulations established thereunder, except in the event of lawful change of said marks, or to prevent capture by an enemy, he shall in respect of each offense be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.

(f) Whenever the owner, manager, agent, or master of a vessel shall become subject to a fine or penalty by way of money payment pursuant to the provisions of this Act, the vessel shall also be liable therefor 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.

SEC. 9. The provisions of this Act shall become effective as to vessels of four thousand gross tons and upwards, not later than three months, and as to all other vessels subject hereto, not later than twelve months from and after the date of approval thereof. This Act may be cited as the "Coastwise Load Line Act, 1935".