An Act to authorize biennial inspection of the hulls and boilers of cargo vessels, and for other purposes.
PL 84-549 (S.743), enacted 06/04/1956

70 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 549-JUNE 4, 1956 
223 
"SEC. 4482. Every steam vessel navigating rivers only shall also be 
provided with an approved life preserver for each and every person 
allowed to be carried on said vessel by the certificate of inspection, 
including each member of the crew, which life preservers shall oe kept 
in convenient and accessible places on such vessel in readiness for 
immediate use in case of accident. 
In lieu of an approved life pre-
server for each such person, the head of the Department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating may permit the use of such proportion of 
approved floats to the total number of persons carried or authorized 
to be carried as he may determine." 
Approved June 4, 1956. 
Public Law 549 
CHAPTER 350 
AN ACT 
June 4, 1956 
To authorize biennial inspection of the hulls and boilers of cargo vessels, and 
'• ' 
•' 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 4417 
of the Revised Statutes, as amended (U. S. C, 1952 edition, title 46, ti^' 
Cargo vessel fh 
Biennial inspec-
33 Stat. 1023. 
sec. 391), is further amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 4417. (a) The head of the department in which the Coast 
steam vessels. 
Guard is operating shall require the Coast Guard to inspect before 
the same shall be put into service, and at least once in every year 
thereafter, the hull of every steam vessel carrying passengers; to 
determine to its satisfaction that every such vessel so submitted to 
inspection is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to 
be employed, has suitable accommodations for passengers and the crew, 
and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in 
navigation, with safety to life, and that the vessel is in full compliance 
with the applicable requirements of this title or Acts amendatory or 
supplementary thereto and regulations thereunder; and if deemed ex-
pedient, to direct the vessel to be put in motion or to adopt any other 
suitable means to test her sufficiency and that of her equipment. 
"(b) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating shall require the Coast Guard to inspect before the same 
shall be put into service, and at least once in every two years thereafter, 
the hull of each steam vessel, not carrying passengers; to determine 
to its satisfaction that every such vessel so submitted to inspection 
is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, 
has suitable accommodations for the crew, and is in a condition to 
warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation, with safety to 
life, and that the vessel is in full compliance with the applicable 
requirements of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto 
and regulations thereunder; and if deemed expedient, to direct the 
vessel to be put in motion or to adopt any other suitable means to 
test her sufficiency and that of her equipment. 
"(c) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
saii vessels, 
operating shall require the Coast Guard to inspect before the same 
shall be put into service, and at least once in every year thereafter, 
the hull of each sail vessel of over seven hundred gross tons carrying 
E
assengers for hire and all other vessels and barges of over one 
undred gross tons carrying passengers for hire; and to determine 
to its satisfaction that every such vessel so submitted to inspection is 
of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, 
has suitable accommodations for the passengers and crew, and is in 
condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation 
with safety to life. 
224 
PUBLIC LAW 649-JUNE 4, 1966 
[70 ST A T . 
Requ Irements 
and enforcement* 
Appeals* 
Exemptions* 
33 Stat. 1029. 
46 use 404, 405. 
48 Stat. 125* 
Boilers, unfired 
pressure vessels, 
etc* 
Hydrosta t i 
tests. 
"(d) Whenever it is found on board any vessel subject to the 
provisions of this title, cr any Acts amendatory or supplementary 
thereto, that any equipment, machinery, apparatus, or appliances do 
not conform to the requirements of law or regulations promulgated 
thereunder, the owner or master of said vessel shall be required to 
E
lace the same in proper condition; and if there shall be found on 
oard any such vessel any life preserver or fire hose so defective as to 
be incapable of repair, the owner or master shall be required to destroy 
the same in the presence of an official designated by the head of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating. In any of the 
foregoing cases the requirements may be enforced by revoking the 
certificate of said vessel, and by refusing to issue a new certificate 
until the requirements have been fully complied with. In any case 
where the head of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating has delegated to a Coast Guard official the authority to 
enforce the said requirements by revocation of certificates of inspec-
tion, the action of said Coast Guard official may be reversed, modified, 
or set aside by the head of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating on proper appeal by the owner or master of said vessel. 
Appeals shall be made to the head of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating within thirty days after the final action of 
the aforesaid Coast Guard official. 
"(e) Vessels subject to inspection under this title or Acts amenda-
tory or supplementary thereto while laid up and dismantled and out 
of commission may, by regulations established by the head of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating, be exempted from 
any or all inspection under sections 4417, 4418, 4426, and 4427 of the 
Revised Statutes." 
SEC. 2. Section 4418 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (U. S. C , 
1952 edition, title 46, sec. 392), is further amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 4418. (a) The head of the department in which the Coast 
Guard is operating shall require the Coast Guard to inspect, before 
the same shall be put into service and once at least in every year there-
after, the boilers, unfired pressure vessels, and appurtenances thereof, 
also the propelling and auxiliary machinery, electrical apparatus and 
equipment, of all passenger vessels subject to inspection. 
"(b) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper-
ating also shall require the Coast Guard to inspect, before the same 
shall be put into service and at least once in every two years thereafter, 
the boilers, unfired pressure vessels, and appurtenances thereof, also 
the propelling and auxiliary machinery, electrical apparatus and 
equipment, of all vessels subject to inspection other than passenger 
vessels. 
"(c) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating shall require the Coast Guard to determine to its satis-
faction by thorough examination that the boilers, unfired pressure 
vessels, and appurtenances thereof, also the propelling and auxiliary 
machinery, electrical apparatus and equipment of all vessels which 
are subject to inspection under subsections (a) and (b) herein are in 
conformity with law and the rules and regulations of the head of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating, and may be 
safely employed in the service proposed. 
No boiler, unfired pressure 
Tessel, or appurtenances thereof shall be allowed to be used if con-
structed in whole or in part of defective material or which because of 
its form, design, workmanship, age, use, or for any other reason is 
unsafe. 
"(d) At each original inspection and at each annual or biennial 
inspection thereafter, whichever is applicable, all boilers, unfired 
Y
O S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 649-JUNE 4, 1966 
225 
pressure vessels, and main steam piping shall be subjected to hydro-
static tests or such other tests as may oe prescribed by the head of 
the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. 
The ratio of 
the hydrostatic test to the maximum working pressure shall be de-
termined by action of the head of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating." 
SEC. 3. Section 10 of the Act of May 28, 1908 (ch. 212, 35 Stat. 
428, as amended (U. S. C , 1952 edition, title 46, sec. 395)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
"SEC. 10. (a) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating shall require the Coast Guard to inspect, before the same 
shall be put into service and at least once in every year thereafter, the 
hull and equipment of every seagoing barge of one hundred gross tons 
or over carrying passengers; and to determine to its satisfaction that 
such barge is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be 
employed, has suitable accommodations for the crew and passengers, 
and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in 
navigation with safety to life. 
" (b) The head of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper-
ating also shall require the Coast Guard to inspect, before the same 
shall be put into service and at least once in every two years thereafter, 
the hull and equipment of every seagoing barge of one hundred gross 
tons or over, not carrying passengers; and to determine to its satisfac-
tion that such barge is of a structure suitable for the service in which 
she is to be employed, has suitable accommodations for the crew, if 
manned, and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be 
used in navigation with safety to life. 
"(c) Upon the satisfactory completion of the inspection authorized 
herein, a certificate of inspection shall be issued in the manner and for 
the purposes prescribed in sections 4421 and 4423 of the Eevised 
Statutes." 
SEC. 4. Section 4453 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (U. S. C , 
1952 edition, title 46, sec. 435) is amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 4453. In addition to the annual or biennial inspection, the 
head of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 
require the Coast Guard to examine, at proper times, inspected vessels 
arriving and departing to and from their respective ports, so often as 
to enable them to detect any neglect to comply with the requirements 
of law, and also any defects or imperfections becoming apparent after 
the inspection aforesaid, and tending to render the navigation of such 
vessels unsafe; and if there shall be discovered any omission to comply 
with the law, or that repairs have become necessary to make such 
vessel safe, the master shall at once be notified in writing as to what 
is required. 
All inspections and orders for repair shall be made 
promptly. 
TMien it can be done safely, repairs may be permitted 
to be made where those interested can most conveniently do them. 
And whenever it is ascertained that any vessel subject to the provisions 
of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, has been 
or is being navigated or operated without complying with the terms 
of the vessel's certificate of inspection regarding the number and class 
of licensed officers and crew, or without complying with the provisions 
of law and her said certificate as to the number or kind of life-saving 
or fire-fighting apparatus, or without maintaining in good and efficient 
condition her lifeboats, fire pumps, fire hose, and life preservers, or 
that for any other reason said vessel cannot be operated with safety 
to life, the owner or master of said vessel shall be ordered to correct 
such unlawful conditions, and the vessel may be required to cease 
navigating at once and to submit to reinspection; and in case the said 
orders shall not at once be complied with, the vessel's certificate of 
Seagoingbargea« 
Certificate of irir 
spectlon. 
69 Stat^ 86; 38 
Stat. 1217. 
46USC399,400. 
33 Stat. 1023. 
R e i n s pectionn; 
notice for repairs. 
R e v o c atiOn of 
certificate. 
69225 O - 5 7 - 1 9 (Vol. 70) 
226 
PUBLIC LAW 560-JUNE 4, 1966 
[70 8T A T . 
Judicial process. 
Appeal, 
Penalty. 
inspection shall be revoked, and the owner, master, or agent of said 
vessel shall immediately be given notice, in writing, of such revoca-
tion ; and no new certificate of inspection shall be again issued to her 
until the provisions of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary 
thereto have been complied with. Any vessel subject to the provisions 
of this title or Acts amendatory or supplementary thereto operating or 
navigating or attempting to operate or navigate after the revocation 
of her certificate of inspection and before the issuance of a new cer-
tificate, shall, upon application by a department or agency charged 
with the enforcement of such title or Acts, to any district court of 
the United States having jurisdiction, and by proper order or action 
of said court in the premises, be seized summarily by way of libel and 
held without privilege of rele^ase by bail or bond until a proper 
certificate of inspection shall have been issued to said vessel: 
Provided, That the owner, master, or person in charge of any vessel 
whose certificate shall have been so revoked may within thirty days 
after receiving notice of such revocation appeal to the head of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating for a reexamina-
tion of the case, and upon such appeal the said head of the depart-
ment shall have power to revise, modify, or set aside such action of 
revocation, and direct the issuance to such vessel of her original 
certificate or of a new certificate of inspection; and in case the said 
head of the department shall so direct the issuance of a certificate,, 
all judicial process against said vessel based on this section shall there-
upon be of no further force or effect, and the vessel shall thereupon 
be released." 
SEC. 5. Section 4454 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (U. S. C , 
1952 edition, title 46, sec. 436), is amended by deleting the word 
"steamer" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "inspected vessel"; 
and by deleting the words "Coast Guard" and inserting in lieu thereof 
the word "examining". 
Approved June 4, 1956. 
June 4, 1956 
[S. 1378] 
Public Law 550 
CHAPTER 351 
AN ACT 
To clarify and consolidate the authority to require the establishment, mainte-
nance, and operation of aids to maritime navigation on fixed structures in or 
over navigable waters of the United States. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Revresentatives 
of the 
na^^tion?^*^""* United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 85 of 
63 Stat. *
5
o 1. 
title 14, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
"§ 85. Aids to maritime navigation on fixed structures; penalty 
"The Secretary shall prescribe and enforce necessary and reason-
able rules and regulations, for the protection of maritime navigation, 
relative to the establishment, maintenance, and operation of lights and 
other signals on fixed structures in or over navigable waters of the 
United States. Any owner or operator of such a structure, excluding 
an agency of the United States, who violates any of the rules or regu-
lations prescribed hereunder, commits a misdemeanor and shall be 
punished, upon conviction thereof, by a fine of not exceeding $100 for 
each day during which such violation continues." 
SEC. 2. Section 18 of the Federal Water Power Act, as amended 
(U. S. C, 1946 edition, title 16, sec. 811), is further amended by strik-
ing out the words "Secretary of War" in the first sentence and inserting 
in lieu thereof the words "Secretary of the Department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating". 
41 Stat. 1073.