Regulations last checked for updates: Oct 18, 2024

Title 33 - Navigation and Navigable Waters last revised: Oct 16, 2024
§ 143.400 - Applicability.

This subpart applies only to standby vessels meeting the requirements of this subpart and specifically designated in an Emergency Evacuation Plan (EEP) required by § 146.140 or § 146.210 of this chapter to provide rapid evacuation assistance in the event of an emergency.

§ 143.401 - Vessel certification and operation.

Standby vessels must meet the following:

(a) Have a valid certificate of inspection issued in compliance with Subchapters H, I, or T of 46 CFR Chapter I.

(b) Be capable of carrying and providing shelter for 100 per cent of the number of persons on the most populated facility that the standby vessel is designated to assist. Crew spaces may be used to meet the requirements of this section.

(c) Provide bunks or aircraft type reclining seats for 10 per cent of the number of persons on the most populated facility that the standby vessel is designated to assist. Crew spaces may be used to meet the requirements of this section.

(d) Not carry or store goods, supplies, and equipment on the deck of the standby vessel or in other locations that may hinder the vessel's ability to render assistance to the facility that the vessel is designated to assist.

(e) Not carry or store any hazardous material.

§ 143.405 - Equipment.

(a) Standby vessels must have, at least, the following equipment:

(1) Multiple propellers or propulsion devices.

(2) Two searchlights.

(3) For vessels certificated under Subchapter H of 46 CFR Chapter I, a line throwing appliance that meets the requirements in 46 CFR 75.45.

(4) For vessels certificated under subchapters I or T of 46 CFR chapter I, a line throwing appliance that meets the requirements of 46 CFR 94.45.

(5) A Stokes or comparable litter.

(6) One blanket for each person on the most populated facility that the standby vessel is designated to assist.

(7) Means for safely retrieving persons, including injured or helpless persons, from the water. The means of retrieval must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.

(8) A scramble net that can be rigged on either side of the standby vessel.

(9) A minimum of four Coast Guard approved ring life buoys, each equipped with 15 fathoms of line.

(10) An immersion suit approved by the Coast Guard under 46 CFR 160.171, or a buoyant suit meeting Supplement A of ANSI/UL-1123-1987 and approved under 46 CFR 160.053, for each member of the standby vessel's crew when the standby vessel operates north of 32 degrees north latitude in the Atlantic Ocean or north of 35 degrees north latitude in all other waters.

(11) Two boat hooks.

(12) A fire monitor with a minimum flow rate of, at least, 500 gallons per minute.

(13) One two-way radio capable of voice communications with the OCS facility, helicopters or other rescue aircraft, rescue boats, and shore side support personnel.

(14) Floodlights to illuminate the personnel and boat retrieval area, the scramble net when deployed, and the water around the personnel retrieval and scramble net deployment areas.

(15) A copy of “The Ship's Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea”, DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 84-2024, available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

(16) An industrial first aid kit sized for 50 percent of the number of persons on the most populated facility that the standby vessel is designated to assist.

(17) Coast Guard approved life preservers for 50 percent of the number of persons on the most populated facility that the standby vessel is designated to assist.

(b) Equipment required by paragraph (a) of this section must be to the satisfaction of the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.

§ 143.407 - Manning.

Standby vessels must be crewed in accordance with their certificate of inspection for 24 hour operation. The Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, may require the crew to be augmented, as necessary, to provide for maneuvering the standby vessel, for lookouts, for rigging and operating retrieval equipment, and for caring for survivors.

authority: 43 U.S.C. 1333(d)(1), 1348(c), 1356; 49 CFR 1.46; section 143.210 is also issued under 14 U.S.C. 946 and 31 U.S.C. 9701.
source: CGD 78-160, 47 FR 9382, Mar. 4, 1982, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 33 CFR 143.401