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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 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.
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