I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1159

To revise, clarify, and improve certain marine safety laws of the United

States, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 1, 1993

Mr. TAUZIN (for himself, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana, and Mr.

COBLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To revise, clarify, and improve certain marine safety laws

of the United States, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 TITLE I.—PASSENGER DEFINITIONS

4 SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passenger Vessel

6 Safety Act of 1993’’.

7 SEC. 102. PASSENGER.

8 Section 2101(21) of title 46, United States Code, is

9 amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(21) ‘passenger’—
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1 ‘‘(A) means an individual carried on the

2 vessel except—

3 ‘‘(i) the owner or representative of the

4 owner or, in the case of a charter, the

5 charterer or representative of the

6 charterer;

7 ‘‘(ii) the master; or

8 ‘‘(iii) a member of the crew engaged

9 in the business of the vessel who has not

10 contributed consideration for carriage and

11 who is paid for on board services.

12 ‘‘(B) on an offshore supply vessel, means

13 an individual carried on the vessel except—

14 ‘‘(i) an individual included in clause

15 (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) of this

16 paragraph;

17 ‘‘(ii) an employee of the owner, or of

18 a subcontractor to the owner, engaged in

19 the business of the owner;

20 ‘‘(iii) an employee of the charterer, or

21 of a subcontractor to the charterer, en22 gaged in the business of the charterer; or

23 ‘‘(iv) an individual employed in a

24 phase of exploration, exploitation, or pro-
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1 duction of offshore mineral or energy re2 sources served by the vessel.

3 ‘‘(C) on a fishing vessel, fish processing

4 vessel, or fish tender vessel, means an individ5 ual carried on the vessel except—

6 ‘‘(i) an individual included in clause

7 (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) of this

8 paragraph;

9 ‘‘(ii) a managing operator;

10 ‘‘(iii) an employee of the owner, or of

11 a subcontractor to the owner, engaged in

12 the business of the owner; or

13 ‘‘(iv) an employee of the charterer, or

14 of a subcontractor to the charterer, en15 gaged in the business of the charterer.

16 (D) on a sailing school vessel, means an in17 dividual carried on the vessel except—

18 ‘‘(i) an individual included in clause

19 (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) of this

20 paragraph;

21 ‘‘(ii) an employee of the owner of the

22 vessel engaged in the business of the

23 owner, except when the vessel is operating

24 under a demise charter;
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1 ‘‘(iii) an employee of the demise

2 charterer of the vessel engaged in the busi3 ness of the demise charterer; or

4 ‘‘(iv) a sailing school instructor or

5 sailing school student.’’

6 SEC. 103. PASSENGER VESSEL.

7 Section 2101(22) of title 46, United States Code, is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(22) ‘passenger vessel’ means a vessel of at

10 least 100 gross tons—

11 ‘‘(A) carrying at least one passenger for

12 hire;

13 ‘‘(B) which is a charter with the crew pro14 vided or specified by the owner or the owner’s

15 representative and carrying at least one pas16 senger; or

17 ‘‘(C) which is a charter with no crew pro18 vided or specified by the owner or the owner’s

19 representative and carrying more than twelve

20 passengers.’’

21 SEC. 104. SMALL PASSENGER VESSEL.

22 Section 2101(35) of title 46, United States Code, is

23 amended to read as follows:

24 ‘‘(35) ‘small passenger vessel’ means a vessel of

25 less than 100 gross tons—
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1 ‘‘(A) carrying more than six passengers,

2 including at least one passenger for hire;

3 ‘‘(B) which is a charter with the crew pro4 vided or specified by the owner or the owner’s

5 representative and carrying more than six pas6 sengers;

7 ‘‘(C) which is a charter with no crew pro8 vided or specified by the owner or the owner’s

9 representative and carrying more than twelve

10 passengers; or

11 ‘‘(D) which is a submersible vessel carrying

12 at least one passenger for hire.’’

13 SEC. 105. UNINSPECTED PASSENGER VESSEL.

14 Section 2101(42) of title 46, United States Code, is

15 amended by inserting ‘‘, including at least one passenger

16 for hire, or which is a charter with the crew provided or

17 specified by the owner or the owner’s representative and

18 carrying not more than six passengers’’ immediately after

19 ‘‘passengers’’ and before the period at the end.

20 SEC. 106. PASSENGER FOR HIRE.

21 Section 2101 of title 46, United States Code, is

22 amended by inserting between paragraphs (21) and (22)

23 a new paragraph (21a) to read as follows:

24 ‘‘(21a) ‘passenger for hire’ means a passenger

25 for whom consideration is contributed, whether di-
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1 rectly or indirectly flowing to the owner, charterer,

2 operator, agent, or any other person having an inter3 est in the vessel, as a condition of carriage on the

4 vessel.’’

5 SEC. 107. CONSIDERATION.

6 Section 2101 of title 46, United States Code, is

7 amended by inserting between paragraphs (5) and (6) a

8 new paragraph (5a) to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(5a) ‘consideration’ means an economic bene10 fit, inducement, right, or profit including but not

11 limited to pecuniary payment accruing to an individ12 ual, person, or entity, but not including a voluntary

13 donation of food, beverage, or other item which is of

14 a nominal value considering the circumstances.’’

15 SEC. 108. OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSEL.

16 Section 2101(19) of title 46, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting ‘‘individuals in addition to the

18 crew,’’ immediately after ‘‘supplies,’’ and by striking ev19 erything after ‘‘resources’’ to the period at the end.

20 SEC. 109. SAILING SCHOOL VESSEL.

21 Section 2101(30) of title 46, United States Code, is

22 amended in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘at least 6’’ and

23 substituting ‘‘more than 6’’ in its place.
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1 SEC. 110. SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL.

2 Section 2101 of title 46, United States Code, is

3 amended by inserting between paragraphs (37) and (38)

4 a new paragraph (37a) to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(37a) ‘submersible vessel’ means a vessel

6 which is capable of operating below the surface of

7 the water.’’

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