26 added by Rules 25 and RULE TWENTY-FIVE. A sail vessel which is being overact of Mar. 3, taken by another vessel during the night shall show from her stern to such last-mentioned vessel a torch or a flare-up light. 1897, sec. 13 (29 Stat., 690). R. S. 4412. RULE TWENTY-SIX. Nothing in these rules shall exonerate any ship, or the owner, or master, or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to carry lights or signals, or of any neglect to keep a proper lookout, or of the neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen or by the special circumstances of the case. SEC. 4412. The board of supervising inspectors shall as to steamers establish such regulations to be observed by all steam-vespassing each sels in passing each other, as they shall from time to time deem necessary for safety; two printed copies of such regulations, signed by them, shall be furnished to each of such vessels, and shall at all times be kept posted up in conspicuous places in such vessels. R. S. 4413. violation regulations. R. S. 4487. gation. for SEC. 4413. Every pilot, engineer, mate, or master of of any steam-vessel who neglects or willfully refuses to observe the regulations established in pursuance of the preceding section, shall be liable to a penalty of fifty dollars, and for all damages sustained by any passenger, in his person or baggage, by such neglect or refusal. navi Act of Jan. 18, 1897 (29 pelled by gas, SEC. 4487. On any steamers navigating rivers only, when, from darkness, fog, or other cause, the pilot or [on] watch shall be of opinion that the navigation is unsafe, or, from accident to or derangement of the machinery of the boat, the chief engineer shall be of the opinion that the further navigation of the vessel is unsafe, the vessel shall be brought to anchor, or moored as soon as it can prudently be done: Provided, That if the person in command shall, after being so admonished by either of such officers, elect to pursue such voyage, he may do the same; but in such case both he and the owners of such steamer shall be answerable for all damages which shall arise to the person of any passenger, or his baggage, from such causes in so pursuing the voyage, and no degree of care or diligence shall in such case be held to justify or excuse the person in command, or the owners. 1 That all vessels of above fifteen tons burden, carrying Stat., 489). freight or passengers for hire, propelled by gas, fluid, Vessels pro- naphtha, or electric motors, shall be, and are hereby, electricity, etc. made subject to all the provisions of section forty-four hundred and twenty-six of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to the inspection of hulls and boilers and requiring engineers and pilots; and all vessels so propelled, without regard to tonnage or use, shall be subject to the provisions of section forty-four hundred and 1 The act of January 18, 1897, is amended by the following act of June 9, 1910, in the requirements for inspection and licensed officers of motor boats, and the act of June 9, 1910, provides rules for lights required to be carried by every vessel propelled by machinery and not more than 65 feet in length except tugboats and towboats propelled by steam. twelve of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to the regulation of steam vessels in passing each other; and to so much of sections forty-two hundred and thirty-three and forty-two hundred and thirty-four of the Revised Statutes, relating to lights, fog signals, steering, and sailing rules, as the Board of Supervising Inspectors shall, by their regulations, deem applicable and practicable for their safe navigation. AN ACT TO AMEND LAWS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS OF VESSELS AND TO REGULATE EQUIPMENT OF CERTAIN MOTOR BOATS ON THE NAVIGABLE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the words motor boat" where used in this Act shall include every vessel propelled by machinery and not more than sixty-five feet in length except tug boats and tow boats propelled by steam. The length shall be measured from end to end over the deck, excluding sheer: Provided, That the engine, boiler, or other operating machinery shall be subject to inspection by the local inspectors of steam vessels, and to their approval of the design thereof, on all said motor boats, which are more than forty feet in length, and which are propelled by machinery driven by steam. SEC. 2. That motor boats subject to the provisions of this Act shall be divided into classes as follows: Class one. Less than twenty-six feet in length. Class two. Twenty-six feet or over and less than forty feet in length. Class three. Forty feet or over and not more than sixty-five feet in length. SEC. 3. That every motor boat in all weathers from sunset to sunrise shall carry the following lights, and during such time no other lights which may be mistaken for those prescribed shall be exhibited. (a) Every motor boat of class one shall carry the following lights: First. A white light aft to show all around the horizon. Second. A combined lantern in the fore part of the vessel and lower than the white light aft showing green to starboard and red to port, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on their respective sides. (b) Every motor boat of classes two and three shall carry the following lights: First. A bright white light in the fore part of the vessel as near the stem as practicable, so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of twenty points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light ten points on each side of the vessel, namely, from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on either side. The glass or lens shall be of not less than the following dimensions: Class two. Nineteen square inches. Class three. Thirty-one square inches. Second. A white light aft to show all around the horizon. Third. On the starboard side a green light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on the starboard side. On the port side a red light so constructed as to show an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of ten points of the compass, so fixed as to throw the light from right ahead to two points abaft the beam on the port side. The glasses or lenses in the said side lights shall be of not less than the following dimensions on motor boats of Class two. Sixteen square inches. Class three. Twenty-five square inches. On and after July first, nineteen hundred and eleven, all glasses or lenses prescribed by paragraph (b) of section three shall be fresnel or fluted. The said lights shall be fitted with inboard screens of sufficient height and so set as to prevent these lights from being seen across the bow and shall be of not less than the following dimensions on motor boats of Class two. Eighteen inches long. Class three. Twenty-four inches long: Provided, That motor boats as defined in this Act, when propelled by sail and machinery or under sail alone, shall carry the colored lights suitably screened but not the white lights prescribed by this section. SEC. 4. (a) Every motor boat under the provisions of this Act shall be provided with a whistle or other sound-producing mechanical appliance capable of producing a blast of two seconds or more in duration, and in the case of such boats so provided a blast of at least two seconds shall be deemed a prolonged blast within the meaning of the law. (b) Every motor boat of class two or three shall carry an efficient fog horn. (c) Every motor boat of class two or three shall be provided with an efficient bell, which shall be not less than eight inches across the mouth on board of vessels of class three. SEC. 5. That every motor boat subject to any of the provisions of this Act, and also all vessels propelled by machinery other than by steam more than sixty-five feet in length, shall carry either lifepreservers or life belts, or buoyant cushions, or ring buoys or other device, to be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce, sufficient to sustain afloat every person on board and so placed as to be readily accessible. All motor boats carrying passengers for hire shall carry one life-preserver of the sort prescribed by the regulations of the board of supervising inspectors for every passenger carried, and no such boat while so carrying passengers for hire shall be operated or navigated except in charge of a person duly licensed for such service by the local board of inspectors. No examination shall be required as the condition of obtaining such a license, and any such license shall be revoked or suspended by the local board of inspectors for misconduct, gross negligence, recklessness in navigation, intemperance, or violation of law on the part of the holder, and if revoked the person holding such license shall be incapable of obtaining another such license for one year from the date of revocation: Provided, That motor boats shall not be required to carry licensed officers, except as required in this Act. SEC. 6. That every motor boat and also every vessel propelled by machinery other than by steam, more than sixty-five feet in length, shali carry ready for immediate use the means of promptly and effectually extinguishing burning gasoline. SEC. 7. That a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars may be imposed for any violation of this Act. The motor boat shall be liable for the said penalty and may be seized and proceeded against, by way of libel, in the district court of the United States for any district within which such vessel may be found. SEC. 8. That the Secretary of Commerce shall make such regulations as may be necessary to secure the proper execution of this Act by collectors of customs and other officers of the Government. And the Secretary of the Department of Commerce may, upon application therefor, remit or mitigate any fine, penalty, or forfeiture relating to motor boats except for failure to observe the provision of section six of this Act. SEC. 9. That all laws and parts of laws only in so far as they are in conflict herewith are hereby repealed: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be deemed to alter or amend Acts of Congress embodying or revising international rules for preventing collisions at sea. SEC. 10. That this Act shall take effect on and after thirty days after its approval. Approved, June 9, 1910. BOUNDARY LINES OF INLAND WATERS. Pursuant to section 2 of the act approved February 19, 1895, boundary lines of the high seas and lines of demarcation of inland waters of the United States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico where the pilot rules for rivers emptying into the Gulf of Mexico apply are hereby designated and defined. (All bearings are in degrees true and points magnetic; distances in nautical miles, and are given approximately.) CHARLOTTE HARBOR AND PUNTA GORDA, FLA.-Eastward of Charlotte Harbor Entrance Gas and Bell Buoy (PS), off Boca Grande, and in Charlotte Harbor, in Pine Island Sound and Matlacha Pass. Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in Peace and Miakka Rivers north of a 250° and 70° (WSW. and ENE.) line through Mangrove Point Light; and in Caloosahatchee River northward of the steamboat wharf at Punta Rasa. TAMPA BAY AND TRIBUTARIES, FLA.-From the southerly end of Long Key 245° (SW. by W. § W.), 9 miles, to Tampa Bay Gas and Whistling Buoy (PS); thence 129° (SE. & E.), 63 miles, to Bar Bell Buoy (PS), at the entrance to Southwest Channel; thence 103° (E. by S.), 23 miles, to the house on the north end of Anna Maria Key. Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in Manatee River inside Manatee River Entrance Bucy, 2; in Hillsboro Bay and River inside Hillsboro Bay Light, 2. ST. GEORGE SOUND, APALACHICOLA BAY, CARRABELLE AND APALACHICOLA RIVERS, AND ST. VINCENT SOUND, FLA.-North of a line from Lighthouse Point 246° (SW. by W. § W.), 134 miles, to southeasterly side of Dog Island; to northward of East Pass Bell Buoy, 1, at the entrance to East Pass, and inside West Pass Bell Buoy (PS) at the seaward entrance to West Pass. Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in Carrabelle River inside the entrance to the dredged channel; in Apalachicola River northward of Apalachicola Dredged Channel Entrance Buoy, 2. PENSACOLA HARBOR.-From Caucus Cut Entrance Gas and Whistling Buoy, 1A, 3° (N. W.), tangent to easterly side of Fort Pickens, to the shore of Santa Rosa Island, and from the buoy northward in the buoyed channel through Caucus Shoal. MOBILE HARBOR AND BAY.-From Mobile Entrance Gas and Whistling Buoy (PS) 40° (NE. & N.) to shore of Mobile Point, and from the buoy 320° (NW.) to the shore of Dauphin Island. Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in Mobile River above Choctaw Point. SOUNDS, LAKES, AND HARBORS ON THE COASTS OF ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND LOUISIANA, BETWEEN MOBILE BAY ENTRANCE AND THE DELTA OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.-From Sand Island Lighthouse 259° (WSW. § W.), 43 miles, to Chandeleur Lighthouse; westward of Chandeleur and Errol Islands, and west of a line drawn from the southwesterly point of Errol Island 182° (S. E.), 23 miles, to Pass a Loutre Lighthouse. Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in Pascagoula River, and in the dredged cut at the entrance to the river, above Pascagoula River Entrance Light, A, marking the entrance to the dredged cut. NEW ORLEANS HARBOR AND THE DELTA OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Inshore of a line drawn from the outermost mud lump showing above low water at the entrance to Pass a Loutre to a similar lump off the entrance to Northeast Pass; thence to a similar lump off the entrance to Southeast Pass; thence to the outermost aid to navigation off the entrance to South Pass; thence to the outermost aid to navigation off the entrance to Southwest Pass; thence northerly, about 19 miles, to the westerly point of the entrance to Bay Jaque. SABINE PASS, TEX.-Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply to Sabine Pass northward of Sabine Pass Gas and Whistling Buoy (PS), and in Sabine Lake and its tributaries. Outside of this buoy the International Rules apply. GALVESTON HARBOR.-A line drawn from Galveston North Jetty Light 129° (SE. by E. E.), 2 miles, to Galveston Bar Gas and Whistling Buoy (PS); thence 276° (W. 1 S.), 24 miles, to Galveston (S.) Jetty Lighthouse. BRAZOS RIVER, TEX.-Pilot Rules for Western Rivers apply in the entrance and river inside of Brazos River Entrance Gas and Whistling Buoys (PS). International Rules apply outside the buoy. GENERAL RULE.-At all buoyed entrances from seaward to bays, sounds, rivers, or other estuaries for which specific lines have not been described, Inland Rules shall apply inshore of a line approximately parallel with the general trend of the shore, drawn through the outermost buoy or other aid to navigation of any system of aids. |