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§ 1223. —  Vessel operating requirements.



[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC1223]

 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
             CHAPTER 25--PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY PROGRAM
 
Sec. 1223. Vessel operating requirements


(a) In general

    Subject to the requirements of section 1224 of this title, the 
Secretary--
        (1) in any port or place under the jurisdiction of the United 
    States, in the navigable waters of the United States, or in any area 
    covered by an international agreement negotiated pursuant to section 
    1230 of this title, may construct, operate, maintain, improve, or 
    expand vessel traffic services, consisting of measures for 
    controlling or supervising vessel traffic or for protecting 
    navigation and the marine environment and may include, but need not 
    be limited to one or more of the following: reporting and operating 
    requirements, surveillance and communications systems, routing 
    systems, and fairways;
        (2) shall require appropriate vessels which operate in an area 
    of a vessel traffic service to utilize or comply with that service;
        (3) may require vessels to install and use specified navigation 
    equipment, communications equipment, electronic relative motion 
    analyzer equipment, or any electronic or other device necessary to 
    comply with a vessel traffic service or which is necessary in the 
    interests of vessel safety: Provided, That the Secretary shall not 
    require fishing vessels under 300 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 or recreational vessels 65 feet or less 
    to possess or use the equipment or devices required by this 
    subsection solely under the authority of this chapter;
        (4) may control vessel traffic in areas subject to the 
    jurisdiction of the United States which the Secretary determines to 
    be hazardous, or under conditions of reduced visibility, adverse 
    weather, vessel congestion, or other hazardous circumstances by--
            (A) specifying times of entry, movement, or departure;
            (B) establishing vessel traffic routing schemes;
            (C) establishing vessel size, speed, draft limitations and 
        vessel operating conditions; and
            (D) restricting operation, in any hazardous area or under 
        hazardous conditions, to vessels which have particular operating 
        characteristics or capabilities which he considers necessary for 
        safe operation under the circumstances; and

        (5) may require the receipt of prearrival messages from any 
    vessel, destined for a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of 
    the United States, in sufficient time to permit advance vessel 
    traffic planning prior to port entry, which shall include any 
    information which is not already a matter of record and which the 
    Secretary determines necessary for the control of the vessel and the 
    safety of the port or the marine environment.

(b) Special powers

    The Secretary may order any vessel, in a port or place subject to 
the jurisdiction of the United States or in the navigable waters of the 
United States, to operate or anchor in a manner he directs if--
        (1) he has reasonable cause to believe such vessel does not 
    comply with any regulation issued under this chapter or any other 
    applicable law or treaty;
        (2) he determines that such vessel does not satisfy the 
    conditions for port entry set forth in section 1228 of this title; 
    or
        (3) by reason of weather, visibility, sea conditions, port 
    congestion, other hazardous circumstances, or the condition of such 
    vessel, he is satisfied that such directive is justified in the 
    interest of safety.

(c) Port access routes

    (1) In order to provide safe access routes for the movement of 
vessel traffic proceeding to or from ports or places subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States, and subject to the requirements of 
paragraph (3) hereof, the Secretary shall designate necessary fairways 
and traffic separation schemes for vessels operating in the territorial 
sea of the United States and in high seas approaches, outside the 
territorial sea, to such ports or places. Such a designation shall 
recognize, within the designated area, the paramount right of navigation 
over all other uses.
    (2) No designation may be made by the Secretary pursuant to this 
subsection, if such a designation, as implemented, would deprive any 
person of the effective exercise of a right granted by a lease or permit 
executed or issued under other applicable provisions of law: Provided, 
That such right has become vested prior to the time of publication of 
the notice required by clause (A) of paragraph (3) hereof: Provided 
further, That the determination as to whether the designation would so 
deprive any such person shall be made by the Secretary, after 
consultation with the responsible official under whose authority the 
lease was executed or the permit issued.
    (3) Prior to making a designation pursuant to paragraph (1) hereof, 
and in accordance with the requirements of section 1224 of this title, 
the Secretary shall--
        (A) within six months after date of enactment of this Act (and 
    may, from time to time thereafter), undertake a study of the 
    potential traffic density and the need for safe access routes for 
    vessels in any area for which fairways or traffic separation schemes 
    are proposed or which may otherwise be considered and shall publish 
    notice of such undertaking in the Federal Register;
        (B) in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary 
    of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the 
    Army, and the Governors of affected States, as their 
    responsibilities may require, take into account all other uses of 
    the area under consideration (including, as appropriate, the 
    exploration for, or exploitation of, oil, gas, or other mineral 
    resources, the construction or operation of deepwater ports or other 
    structures on or above the seabed or subsoil of the submerged lands 
    or the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States, the 
    establishment or operation of marine or estuarine sanctuaries, and 
    activities involving recreational or commercial fishing); and
        (C) to the extent practicable, reconcile the need for safe 
    access routes with the needs of all other reasonable uses of the 
    area involved.

    (4) In carrying out his responsibilities under paragraph (3), the 
Secretary shall proceed expeditiously to complete any study undertaken. 
Thereafter, he shall promptly issue a notice of proposed rule-making for 
the designation contemplated or shall have published in the Federal 
Register a notice that no designation is contemplated as a result of the 
study and the reason for such determination.
    (5) In connection with a designation made pursuant to this 
subsection, the Secretary--
        (A) shall issue reasonable rules and regulations governing the 
    use of such designated areas, including the applicability of rules 9 
    and 10 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at 
    Sea, 1972, relating to narrow channels and traffic separation 
    schemes, respectively, in waters where such regulations apply;
        (B) to the extent that he finds reasonable and necessary to 
    effectuate the purposes of the designation, make the use of 
    designated fairways and traffic separation schemes mandatory for 
    specific types and sizes of vessels, foreign and domestic, operating 
    in the territorial sea of the United States and for specific types 
    and sizes of vessels of the United States operating on the high seas 
    beyond the territorial sea of the United States;
        (C) may, from time to time, as necessary, adjust the location or 
    limits of designated fairways or traffic separation schemes, in 
    order to accommodate the needs of other uses which cannot be 
    reasonably accommodated otherwise: Provided, That such an adjustment 
    will not, in the judgement of the Secretary, unacceptably adversely 
    affect the purpose for which the existing designation was made and 
    the need for which continues; and
        (D) shall, through appropriate channels, (i) notify cognizant 
    international organizations of any designation, or adjustment 
    thereof, and (ii) take action to seek the cooperation of foreign 
    States in making it mandatory for vessels under their control to use 
    any fairway or traffic separation scheme designated pursuant to this 
    subsection in any area of the high seas, to the same extent as 
    required by the Secretary for vessels of the United States.

(d) Exception

    Except pursuant to international treaty, convention, or agreement, 
to which the United States is a party, this chapter shall not apply to 
any foreign vessel that is not destined for, or departing from, a port 
or place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and that is 
in--
        (1) innocent passage through the territorial sea of the United 
    States, or
        (2) transit through the navigable waters of the United States 
    which form a part of an international strait.

(Pub. L. 92-340, Sec. 4, formerly title I, Sec. 103, July 10, 1972, 86 
Stat. 426; renumbered and amended Pub. L. 95-474, Sec. 2, Oct. 17, 1978, 
92 Stat. 1472; Pub. L. 101-380, title IV, Sec. 4107(a), Aug. 18, 1990, 
104 Stat. 514; Pub. L. 104-324, title VII, Sec. 705, Oct. 19, 1996, 110 
Stat. 3934.)

                       References in Text

    The date of enactment of this Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(A), 
probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 95-474, which was 
approved Oct. 17, 1978.
    For the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 
1972, referred to in subsec. (c)(5)(A), see International Regulations 
for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, set out as a note under section 
1602 of this title.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a)(3). 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 ``300 gross tons''.
    1990--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(1), substituted 
``Secretary--'' for ``Secretary may--''.
    Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(2), substituted ``may 
construct, operate, maintain, improve, or expand'' for ``establish, 
operate, and maintain''.
    Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(3), substituted 
``shall require appropriate'' for ``require''.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(4), inserted ``may'' 
before ``require'', which was executed by making the insertion before 
``require'' the first place it appeared to reflect the probable intent 
of Congress.
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(5), inserted ``may'' 
before ``control''.
    Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 101-380, Sec. 4107(a)(6), inserted ``may'' 
before ``require''.
    1978--Pub. L. 95-474 substituted provision relating to vessel 
operating requirements for provision relating to the investigatory 
powers of the Secretary, production of witnesses and documents, and fees 
and allowances for witnesses.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 101-380 applicable to incidents occurring after 
Aug. 18, 1990, see section 1020 of Pub. L. 101-380, set out as an 
Effective Date note under section 2701 of this title.


   Direction of Vessel Movement Study; Submittal of Report to Congress

    Section 4107(b) of Pub. L. 101-380 provided that:
    ``(1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a study--
        ``(A) of whether the Secretary should be given additional 
    authority to direct the movement of vessels on navigable waters and 
    should exercise such authority; and
        ``(B) to determine and prioritize the United States ports and 
    channels that are in need of new, expanded, or improved vessel 
    traffic service systems, by evaluating--
            ``(i) the nature, volume, and frequency of vessel traffic;
            ``(ii) the risks of collisions, spills, and damages 
        associated with that traffic;
            ``(iii) the impact of installation, expansion, or 
        improvement of a vessel traffic service system; and
            ``(iv) all other relevant costs and data.
    ``(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act [Aug. 18, 1990], the Secretary shall submit to the Congress 
a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1) and 
recommendations for implementing the results of that study.''

                    Territorial Sea of United States

    For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No. 
5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1224, 1229 of this title; 
title 46 section 14305.



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