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§ 1203. —  Radiotelephone requirement.



[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC1203]

 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
            CHAPTER 24--VESSEL BRIDGE-TO-BRIDGE COMMUNICATION
 
Sec. 1203. Radiotelephone requirement


(a) Vessel coverage; exchange of navigational information

    Except as provided in section 1206 of this title--
        (1) every power-driven vessel of twenty meters or over in length 
    while navigating;
        (2) every vessel of one hundred gross tons as measured under 
    section 14502 of title 46, or an alternate tonnage measured under 
    section 14302 of that title as prescribed by the Secretary under 
    section 14104 of that title, and upward carrying one or more 
    passengers for hire while navigating;
        (3) every towing vessel of twenty-six feet or over in length 
    while navigating; and
        (4) every dredge and floating plant engaged in or near a channel 
    or fairway in operations likely to restrict or affect navigation of 
    other vessels--

shall have a radiotelephone capable of operation from its navigational 
bridge or, in the case of a dredge, from its main control station and 
capable of transmitting and receiving on the frequency or frequencies 
within the 156-162 Mega-Hertz band using the classes of emissions 
designated by the Federal Communications Commission, after consultation 
with other cognizant agencies, for the exchange of navigational 
information.

(b) Vessels upon navigable waters of United States inside high seas 
        lines

    The radiotelephone required by subsection (a) of this section shall 
be carried on board the described vessels, dredges, and floating plants 
upon the navigable waters of the United States, which includes all 
waters of the territorial sea of the United States as described in 
Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988.

(Pub. L. 92-63, Sec. 4, Aug. 4, 1971, 85 Stat. 164; Pub. L. 102-241, 
Sec. 16, Dec. 19, 1991, 105 Stat. 2213; Pub. L. 104-324, title VII, 
Sec. 704, Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3933; Pub. L. 107-295, title III, 
Sec. 321, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2103.)

                       References in Text

    Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, referred to in 
subsec. (b), is set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public 
Lands.


                               Amendments

    2002--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107-295 substituted ``United States, 
which includes all waters of the territorial sea of the United States as 
described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988'' for 
``United States inside the lines established pursuant to section 151 of 
this title''.
    1996--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104-324 inserted ``as measured under 
section 14502 of title 46, or an alternate tonnage measured under 
section 14302 of that title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 
14104 of that title,'' after ``one hundred gross tons''.
    1991--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102-241 amended par. (1) generally, 
substituting ``twenty meters or over in length'' for ``three hundred 
gross tons and upward''.


               Vessel Communication Equipment Regulations

    Pub. L. 101-380, title IV, Sec. 4118, Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 523, 
provided that: ``The Secretary shall, not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 18, 1990], issue regulations 
necessary to ensure that vessels subject to the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge 
Radiotelephone Act of 1971 (33 U.S.C. 1203) are also equipped as 
necessary to--
        ``(1) receive radio marine navigation safety warnings; and
        ``(2) engage in radio communications on designated frequencies 
    with the Coast Guard, and such other vessels and stations as may be 
    specified by the Secretary.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 46 section 14305.



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