Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 79.djvu/553

 79 STAT.]

PUBLIC LAW 89-121-AUGUST 13, 1965

North America and their connecting and tributary waters as far east as the lower exit of the Saint Lambert lock at Montreal in the Province of Quebec, Canada." (b) Subsection (b) of such section 352 is amended by striking out 4° u'sc 352^" all through paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: " (b) Except for nuclear ships, the Commission may, if it considers that the route or the conditions of the voyage or other circumstances are such as to render a radio station unreasonable or unnecessary for the purposes of this part, exempt from the provisions of this part any ship or class of ships which falls within any of the following descriptions: " (1) Passenger ships which in the course of their voyage do not go more than twenty nautical miles from the nearest land or, alternatively, do not go more than two hundred nautical miles between two consecutive ports;" (c) Such section 352 is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: " (d) Except for nuclear ships, and except for ships of five thousand gross tons and upward which are subject to the Safety Convention, the ^6 UST iss. Commission may exempt from the requirements, for radio direction finding apparatus, of this part and of the Safety Convention, any ship which falls within the descriptions set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (b) of this section, if it considers that the route or conditions of the voyage or other circumstances are such as to render such apparatus unreasonable or unnecessary." SEC. 4. Section 353 of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended 4^ ^^^ ^^^' to read as follows: "RADIO OFFICERS, W^VTCHES, AUTO ALARM-RADIOTELEGRAPH EQUIPPED SHIPS

"SEC. 353. (a) Each cargo ship which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station and which is not equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, and each passenger ship required by this part to be equipped with a radiotelegraph station, shall, for safety purposes, carry at least two radio officers. " (b) A cargo ship which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station, which is equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, shall, for safety purposes, carry at least one radio officer who shall have had at least six months' previous service in the aggregate as a radio officer in a station on board a ship or ships of the United States. "(c) Each ship of the United States which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station shall, while being navigated in the open sea outside of a harbor or port, keep a continuous watch by means of radio officers whenever the station is not being lised for authorized traffic: Provided, That, in lieu thereof, on a cargo ship equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm in proper operating condition, a watch of at least eight hours per day, in the aggregate, shall be maintained by means of a radio officer. " (d) The Commission shall, when it finds it necessary for safety purposes, have authority to prescribe the particular hours of watch on a ship of the United States which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station. "(e) On all ships of tTie United States equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, said apparatus shall be in operation at all times while the ship is being navigated in the open sea outside of a harbor or port when the radio officer is not on watch."

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