Sec. 312. Fishing vessel and fish tender vessel certification

316 words·~1 min read·/bill/114/s/1611/is/section-312

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Section 4503(c) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— by designating the existing matter as paragraph (1); and by adding at the end the following: This section does not apply to a fishing or fish tender vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies, if— the vessel is at least 50 feet overall in length, and not more than 190 feet overall in length; the vessel is built after January 1, 2016; the vessel is designed by a registered professional engineer, and the design incorporates standards equivalent to those prescribed by a classification society designated under section 3316 of this title or another qualified organization approved by the Secretary; construction of such vessel is overseen and certified as being in accordance with its design by a marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary; and the vessel— completes a stability test performed by a qualified individual; has written stability and loading instructions from a qualified individual that are provided to the owner or operator; and has an assigned loading mark.

The person who owns a vessel meeting the requirements of paragraph

(2)shall— not modify or substantially change such vessel unless such modification or change is reviewed and approved by a registered professional engineer prior to beginning any modification or change; complete a condition survey at least biennially to the satisfaction of a marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary; complete an out-of-water survey at least once every five years to the satisfaction of a certified marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary; update the requirements specified in paragraph (2)(E) once every five years or at the time of a modification or substantial change to such vessel; and for the life of the vessel, maintain records to demonstrate compliance with this subsection, and make such records readily available for inspection by an official authorized to enforce this chapter. .