US LAWS, STATUTES & CODES ON-LINE

§ 738. International agreements as to ice patrol and derelict destruction; allocation of expenses

The President is authorized to conclude agreements with interested maritime nations (a) to maintain in the north Atlantic Ocean a service of ice patrol, of study and observation of ice and current conditions, and of assistance to vessels and their crews requiring aid within the limits of the patrol; (b) to maintain a service of study and observation of ice and current conditions in such waters as may affect the set and drift of ice in the north Atlantic Ocean; and (c) to undertake all practicable steps to insure the destruction or removal of derelicts in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the line drawn from Cape Sable to a point in latitude thirty-four degrees north, longitude seventy degrees west, if this destruction or removal is necessary. The President is further authorized to include in such agreements a provision for payment to the United States by the countries concerned, of their proportionate share of the expense for maintenance of the services named, or for the United States to contribute its proportionate share should it be agreed that another country was to maintain the patrol.

(June 25, 1936, ch. 807, § 1, 49 Stat. 1922.)

This section is referred to in section 738a of this Appendix.

§ 738a. Patrol services

(a) Maintenance of ice patrol; aid to ships in distress; destruction of derelicts

Unless the agreements made in accordance with section 738 of this Appendix provide otherwise, an ice patrol shall be maintained during the whole of the ice season in guarding the southeastern, southern, and southwestern limits of the region of icebergs in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and the patrol shall inform trans-Atlantic and other passing vessels by radio and such other means as are available of the ice conditions and the extent of the dangerous region. A service of study of ice and current conditions, a service of affording assistance to vessels and crews requiring aid, and a service of removing and destroying derelicts shall be maintained during the ice season and any or all such services may be maintained during the remainder of the year as may be advisable.

(b) Warning to vessels

The ice patrol vessels shall warn vessels known to be approaching a dangerous area and recommend safe routes.

(c) Report on ships in dangerous regions

The ice patrol vessels shall record the name, together with all the facts in the case, of any ship which is observed or known to be on other than a regular recognized or advertised ship route crossing the North Atlantic Ocean, or to have crossed the fishing banks of Newfoundland north of latitude forty-three degrees north during the fishing season, or, when proceeding to and from ports of North America to have passed through regions known or believed to be endangered by ice. The name of any such ship and all pertinent information relating to the incident shall be reported to the government of the country to which the ship belongs, if the government of that country so requests.

(d) Administration by Coast Guard

The Commandant of the Coast Guard, under the direction of the Secretary of Transportation, shall administer the services provided for in this section and shall assign thereto such vessels, material, and personnel of the Coast Guard as may be necessary. Any executive department or agency may upon the request of the Secretary of Transportation detail personnel, loan or contribute material or equipment, or otherwise assist in the carrying out of the services named.

(e) Annual report

The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall publish each year a report of the activities of the services provided for in this section, a copy of which shall be furnished to each interested foreign government and to each agency assisting in the work.

(June 25, 1936, ch. 807, § 2, 49 Stat. 1922; Pub. L. 89-670, § 6(b)(1), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 938.)

"Secretary of Transportation" substituted in subsec. (d) for "Secretary of the Treasury" on authority of Pub. L. 89-670, § 6(b)(1), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 938, which transferred functions, powers, and duties relating to Coast Guard of Secretary of the Treasury and of other officers and offices of Department of the Treasury to Secretary of Transportation. Section 6(b)(2) of Pub. L. 89-670, however, provided that notwithstanding such transfer of functions, Coast Guard shall operate as part of Navy in time of war or when President directs as provided in section 3 of Title 14, Coast Guard. See section 108 of Title 49, Transportation.

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Treasury, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, § 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Functions of Coast Guard, and Commandant of Coast Guard, excepted from transfer when Coast Guard is operating as part of Navy under sections 1 and 3 of Title 14, Coast Guard.

§ 738c. Speed of vessel in ice region; penalty

(a) The master of every vessel of the United States when ice is reported on or near his course, shall proceed at a moderate speed or alter his course so as to go well clear of the danger zone.

(b) If the master of any such ship fails to comply with this section, he shall for each offense be liable to a fine not exceeding $500.

(June 25, 1936, ch. 807, § 4, 49 Stat. 1923.)