Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 70.djvu/209

 70 S T A T. ]

PUBLIC LAW 519-MAY 10, 1956

machinery, and boilers; with respect to all materials used in construction, alteration, or repair of such vessels including the fire prevention and fire retardant characteristics of such materials; with respect to equipment and appliances for lifesaving and fire protection; with respect to the operation of such vessels, including the waters in which they may be navigated and the number of passengers which they may carry; with respect to the requirements of the manning of such vessels and the duties and qualifications of the operators and crews thereof; and with respect to the inspection of any or all the foregoing. SEC, 4. (a) No passenger-carrying vessel shall be operated or navigated until a certificate of inspection in such form as may be prescribed by the regulations promulgated by the Secretary under the authority of this Act, has been issued to the vessel indicating that the vessel is in compliance with the provisions of this Act, and the rules and regulations established hereunder; except that when a foreign passengercarrying vessel belongs to a nation which is signatory to the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea, a valid safety certificate issued to the vessel pursuant to the Convention may be accepted in lieu of the required certificate of inspection. (b) Any passenger-carrying vessel to which a valid certificate of inspection has been issued pursuant to this section shall during the tenure of the certificate be in full compliance with the terms of the certificate. (c) A certificate of inspection issued pursuant to this section may at any time be voluntarily surrendered and shall be withdrawn and suspended or revoked for noncompliance with any applicable requirements of this Act or regulations thereunder. SEC. 5. Any owner, master, or person in charge of any vessel subject to this Act who violates the provisions of this Act, or the rules and regulations established hereunder, shall be liable to the United States in a penalty of not more than $1,000 for each such violation, for which sum the passenger-carrying vessel shall be liable and may be seized and proceeded against by way of libel in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the violation. SEC. 6. (a) The Act of January 18, 1897 (29 Stat. 489; 46 U.S.C. 520), is hereby repealed. (b) Section 4426 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (34 Stat. 193; 46 U.S.C. 404), is amended to read as follows: "4426. The hulls and boilers of every ferryboat, canal boat, yacht or other small craft of like character propelled by steam, shall be inspected under the provisions of this title. Such other provisions of law for the better security of life as may be applicable to such vessels shall, by the regulations of the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, also be required to be complied with before a certificate of inspection shall be granted, and no such vessel shall be navigated without a licensed engineer and a licensed pilot: Provided, That in open steam launches of ten gross tons and under, one person, if duly qualified, may serve in the double capacity of pilot and engineer. All vessels of above fifteen gross tons carrying freight for hire and all vessels of above fifteen gross tons and in excess of sixty-five feet in length carrying passengers for hire, but not engaged in fishing as a regular business, propelled by gas, fliuid, naphtha, or electric motors, shall be subject to all the provisions of this section relating to the inspection of hulls and boilers and requiring engineers and pilots, and for any violation of the provisions of title 52 of the Revised Statutes applicable to such vessels, or of rules or regulations lawfully established thereunder, and to the extent to which such provisions of law and regulations are so applicable, the said vessels, their

153

Certificate of in:' spection<

3 UST 3450.

Withdrawal, e t c.

Violations. Penalty.

46 USC 170 note.

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