An Act to provide for the licensing of personnel on certain vessels
PL 92-339 (H.R.6479), enacted 07/07/1972

86 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 92-339-JULY 7, 1972 
423 
Public Law 92-337 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
. , , , „„, 
July 1, 1972 
Making a supplemental appropriation for disaster relief. 
[H. J. Res. 1238] 
Resolved hy the Senate aiul House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress asserribled, That the following sum is 
Disaster relief. 
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 
ap^^lt^t^^^ 
priated, for disaster relief, namely: 
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF T H E PKESIDEXT 
DISASTER BELIEF 
For an additional amount for "Disaster Relief,*' $200,000,000, to 
remain available until expended: Provided^ That not to exceed 
3 per centum of the foregoing amount shall be available for adminis-
trative expenses. 
Approved July 1, 1972. 
Public Law 92-338 
AN ACT 
July 7. 1972 
To amend section 220(b) of the Interstate Commerce Act to permit motor car- 
[H. R. 1074] 
riers to file annual reports on the basis of a thirteen-period accounting year. 
Be it enacted hy the Septate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 220(b) 
^^^"^ carrier 
of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 320(b)) is amended by'^^5^813*1° 926.' 
inserting "either (1)" after "information", and by striking out "differ-
ent date, and" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "different 
date; or (2) for a thirteen-period accounting year ending at the close 
of one of the last seven days of each calendar year, if the person 
making the report keeps his books on the basis of such an accounting 
year, and elects to make such report on the basis of such accounting 
year, subject to such rules and regulations as the Commission may 
prescribe. Any annual report". 
Approved July 7, 1972. 
Public Law 92-339 
AN ACT 
July 7, 1972 
To provide for the licensing of personnel on certain vessels. 
[H. R . 64 79J 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That section 4427 
xowing vessels. 
of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. 405) is amended by inserting liJen'sTrTg"^^' 
" ( a ) " immediately before the first word thereof and by adding at 
the end thereof the following new subsection: 
"(b)(1) As used in this subsection—=• 
Definitions. 
"(A) the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the depart-
ment in which the Coast Guard is operating; 
"(B) the term 'towing' means pulling, pushing, or hauling 
alongside or any combination thereof; 
82-081 O - 73 - 30 
424 
PUBLIC L
A
W 92-340-JULY 10, 1972 
[86 STAT. 
"(C) the term 'towing vessel' means a commercial vessel engaged 
in or intended to engage in the service of towing which is 
twenty-six feet or more in length, measured from end to end over 
the deck, excluding sheer; 
" (D) the term 'uninspected' means not required by law to have 
a valid certificate of inspection issued by the Secretary. 
" (2) An uninspected towing vessel in order to assure safe navigation 
shall, while underway, be under the actual direction and control of a 
person licensed by the Secretary to operate in the particular geo-
graphic area and by type of vessel under regulations prescribed by 
him. A person so licensed may not work a vessel while underway or 
perform other duties in excess of a total of twelve hours in any con-
secutive twenty-four-hour period except in case of emergency. 
"(3) Paragraph 2 of this subsection shall not apply to towing ves-
sels of less than two hundred gross tons engaged in a service or ipre-
paring or intending to immediately engage m a service to the offshore 
oil and mineral exploitation industry, mcluding construction for such 
industry, where the vessels involved would nave as their ultimate 
destination or last point of departure offshore oil and mineral exploita-
tion sites or equipment." 
to S>n*irenr°'* 
^^^' ^* '^^^ Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study con-
cerning the need for engineers on uninspected towing vessels and 
shall submit to the Congress a report on this study, together with any 
legislative recommendations not later than ten months after the enact-
ment of this legislation. 
Effective 
SEC. 3. The amendments made by the first section of this Act shall 
become effective on January 1, 1972, or on the first day of the sixth 
month which begins after the month in which regulations are first 
issued under section 4427(b) (2) of the Eevised Statutes (as added by 
the first section of this Act), whichever date is later. 
Approved July 7, 1972. 
Public Law 92-340 
July 10, 1972 
-^^ -^^'^ 
[H. R. 8140] 
To promote the safety of ixn-ts, harbors, waterfront areas, and navigable waters 
of the Unitefl States. 
Be it enacted by the /Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Ports and Water- United Sttttes of AmeHca in Congress assemmed, That this Act may be 
7f'97^//"*y ^'* 
f-ited as the "Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972". 
TITLE I—PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY AND 
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 
SEC. 101. In order to prevent damage to, or the destruction or loss 
''• 
of any vessel, bridge, or other structure on or in the navigable waters 
of the United States, or any land structure or shore area immediately 
,,,.;, 
adjacent to those waters; and to protect the navigable waters and the 
resources therein from environmental harm resulting from vessel or 
structure damage, destruction, or loss, the Secretary of the department 
in which the Coast Guard is operating may— ,. 
dates