Public Law 92–339

That section 4427

Towing vessels.

Personnel, licensing.

of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. 405) is amended by inserting “(a)” immediately before, the first word thereof and by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

“(b)“(b)

(1)(1)

As used in this subsection—

Definitions.

“(A)“(A)

the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating;

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“(B)“(B)

the term ‘towing’ means pulling, pushing, or hauling alongside or any combination thereof;

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“(C)“(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;

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“(D)“(D)

the term ‘uninspected’ means not required by law to have a valid certificate of inspection issued by the Secretary.

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“(2)“(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 geographic 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 consecutive twenty-four-hour period except in case of emergency.

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“(3)“(3)

Paragraph 2 of this subsection shall not apply to towing vessels of less than two hundred gross tons engaged in a service or preparing or intending to immediately engage in a service to the offshore oil and mineral exploitation industry, including construction for such industry, where the vessels involved would have as their ultimate destination or last point of departure offshore oil and mineral exploitation sites or equipment.”

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Sec. 2.

The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study concerning 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 enactment of this legislation.

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 hi which regulations are first issued under section 4427 (b)(2) of the Revised Statutes (as added by the first section of this Act), whichever date is later.