CHAPTER 1-ADMINISTRATION OF SHIPPING LAWS

        

Waiver of Compliance With Navigation and Inspection Laws; Termination Date

Act Dec. 27, 1950, ch. 1155, §§1, 2, 64 Stat. 1120 , provided that: "The head of each department or agency responsible for the administration of the navigation and vessel-inspection laws is directed to waive compliance with such laws upon the request of the Secretary of Defense to the extent deemed necessary in the interest of national defense by the Secretary of Defense. The head of such department or agency is authorized to waive compliance with such laws to such extent and in such manner and upon such terms as he may prescribe, either upon his own initiative or upon the written recommendation of the head of any other Government agency, whenever he deems that such action is necessary in the interest of national defense.

"Sec. 2. The authority granted by this Act shall terminate at such time as the Congress by concurrent resolution or the President may designate."

Similar provisions were contained in acts Mar. 31, 1947, ch. 27, 61 Stat. 33 ; July 31, 1947, ch. 408, 61 Stat. 685 ; Feb. 27, 1948, ch. 78, §2, 62 Stat. 38 ; Feb. 28, 1949, ch. 12, 63 Stat. 9 ; June 29, 1949, ch. 281, §1, 63 Stat. 349 ; June 30, 1950, ch. 427, §4, 64 Stat. 309 .

Transfer of Functions Relating to Shipping and Navigation

Bureau of Navigation created by act July 5, 1884. Act June 30, 1932, consolidated Bureau of Navigation with Steamboat Inspection Service to form a new bureau to be known as Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, which name was changed to Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation by act May 27, 1936. Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was designation given to chief of bureau by Secretary of Commerce under act June 30, 1932, §502(b). Bureau and office of its Director abolished by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, §104, set out below.

Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, §§101 to 104, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097, provided:

"Section 101. Functions Transferred to the United States Coast Guard.-(a) There are hereby transferred to the Commandant of the Coast Guard those functions of the bureau, offices, and boards specified in the first sentence of section 104 of this plan, and of the Secretary of Commerce, which pertain to approval of plans for the construction, repair, and alteration of vessels; approval of materials, equipment, and appliances; classification of vessels; inspection of vessels and their equipment and appliances; issuance of certificates of inspection, and of permits indicating the approval of vessels for operations which may be hazardous to life or property; administration of load line requirements; enforcement of other provisions for the safety of life and property on vessels; licensing and certificating of officers, pilots, and seamen; suspension and revocation of licenses and certificates; investigation of marine casualties; enforcement of manning requirements, citizenship requirements, and requirements for the mustering and drilling of crews, control of logbooks; shipment, discharge, protection, and welfare of merchant seamen; enforcement of duties of shipowners and officers after accidents; promulgation and enforcement of rules for lights, signals, speed, steering, sailing, passing, anchorage, movement, and towlines of vessels and lights and signals on bridges; numbering of undocumented vessels; prescription and enforcement of regulations for outfitting and operation of motorboats; licensing of motorboat operators; regulation of regattas and marine parades; all other functions of such bureau, offices, and boards which are not specified in section 102 of this plan; and all other functions of the Secretary of Commerce pertaining to those functions of the agencies abolished under section 104 of this plan which are not specified in section 102 of this plan, including the remission and mitigation of fines, penalties, and forfeitures incurred under the laws governing these functions and those incurred under the act of December 17, 1941 (55 Stat. 808), as amended.

"(b) The functions relating to the award of numbers to undocumented vessels vested by law in the collectors of customs are hereby transferred to the Commandant of the Coast Guard.

"Sec. 102. Functions Transferred to Bureau of Customs.-There are hereby transferred to the Commissioner of Customs those functions of the bureau, offices, and boards specified in the first sentence of section 104 of this plan, and of the Secretary of Commerce, which pertain to registry, enrollment, and licensing of vessels, including the issuance of commissions to yachts, the assignment of signal letters, and the preparation of all reports and publications in connection therewith; measurement of vessels, administration of tonnage duties, and collection of tolls; entry and clearance of vessels and aircraft, regulation of vessels in the coasting and fishing trades, and limitation of the use of foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States; recording of sales, conveyances, and mortgages of vessels; protection of steerage passengers; all other functions of such bureau, offices, and boards which were performed by the Bureau of Customs on behalf thereof immediately prior to the effective date of Executive Order No. 9083 of February 28, 1942 (7 F.R. 1609); and the power to remit and mitigate fines, penalties, and forfeitures incurred under the laws governing these functions.

"Sec. 103. Powers of the Secretary of the Treasury.-The functions transferred by sections 101 and 102 of this plan may be performed through such officers and employees of the United States Coast Guard and the Bureau of Customs, respectively, as may be designated by the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Commissioner of Customs, respectively, and shall be performed subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of the Treasury except as otherwise required by law with respect to the United States Coast Guard whenever it operates as a part of the Navy.

"Sec. 104. Abolition of Agencies.-The Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, the office of the director thereof, the offices of supervising inspectors, principal traveling inspectors, local inspectors, assistant inspectors, shipping commissioners, deputy shipping commissioners, and the board of supervising inspectors, the boards of local inspectors, the marine casualty investigation board, and the marine boards are hereby abolished. The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for winding up those affairs of the said abolished agencies which are not otherwise disposed of herein."

This Reorganization Plan continued on a permanent basis the temporary transfer of functions made during World War II by Ex. Ord. No. 9083, §§1 to 4, eff. Feb. 28, 1942, 7 F.R. 1609, formerly set out under section 601 of Title 50, Appendix, War and National Defense.

By Coast Guard General Order 2–46, July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7775, and Treas. Dept. Reg. 51491, July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7766, the Commandant of the Coast Guard and The Commissioner of Customs each provided that all orders, rules, regulations, permits or other privileges made, issued or granted in respect of all functions transferred to him by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, §§101–104, and in effect at the time of such transfer should continue in effect to the same extent as if such transfer had not occurred.

On the basis of 33 C.F.R. ch. I, and 46 C.F.R. ch. I, the Commandant of the Coast Guard appears to have assigned the functions transferred to him as follows:

Functions formerly performed by:	Now assigned to:
Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation and its Director	Commandant of the Coast Guard
Board of Supervising Inspectors	Commandant of the Coast Guard
Supervising Inspector	Coast Guard District Commander
Board of Local Inspectors	Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection
Inspectors and Assistant Inspectors	Marine Inspectors (or "inspectors")

For investigation of Marine casualties and suspension and revocation of licenses and certificates, formerly performed by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board and Marine Boards, see note set out under section 239 of this title.

Memoranda of the Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard, July 7, 1947, Chief Counsel of the Bureau of Customs, July 14, 1947, and Chief Counsel of the Treasury, July 21, 1947, concurred in the view that the duties of collectors of customs were not affected by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, with the exception of those duties specified in section 101(b) of the Plan.

Certain Functions Formerly Performed by Bureau of Customs

The following is a statement relating to the transfer of certain functions from the Commissioner of Customs to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, appearing in 32 F.R. 7408, 7409, May 18, 1967:

On April 28, 1967, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Commissioner of Customs which provided that-

1. Treasury Department Order No. 167–81 transferred from the Commissioner of Customs to the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, the functions pertaining to the admeasurement of vessels, the documentation of vessels, the publication of merchant vessel registers, the registration of stack insignia, and shoreside port security. Because of the transfer of the Coast Guard from the Treasury Department to the Department of Transportation and because of continuing efforts to reorganize and modernize the shipping laws of the United States now assembled in title 46, U.S. Code, with a view toward eventual codification, it is recognized that the laws and provisions of law that relate to the transferred functions should be identified.

2. It is therefore agreed that-

a. The following sections of the U.S. Code, 1964 edition, relate entirely to the transferred functions:

Title	Chapter	Sections
46	1	2 (nothing in this section is considered vital or necessary to the authority to perform the functions pertaining to entry and clearance of vessels, collection of tonnage tax, or enforcement of the coastwise laws generally).
	2	12, 14–41, 43–56, 58, 61–63, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 81–83k.
	3	103, 105, 109.
	6	151–157, 159, 160.
	11	227, 236–238.
	12	252–255, 258–260, 263–265, 267–272, 275, 276, 279, 334.
	13	351–353.
	15	496.
	25	921–927, 941, 981–984.
	26	1011–1014.

b. Parts of the following sections of the U.S. Code, 1964 edition, relate to the transferred functions as indicated:

Title	Chapter	Sections
46	1	3 (except as it relates to tonnage tax).
		4 (first two sentences).
	6	158 (second sentence).
	12	262 (second sentence).
	12	320 (as it relates to sections 45 and 77).
		321 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		322 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		323 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		324 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		326 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		328 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		331 (as it relates to measurement of tonnage, issuance or granting of certificates of registry, records or enrollments, recording of bills of sale, mortgages, hypothecations or conveyances, and the furnishing of certificates of title).
		333 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		335 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
		336 (as it relates to sections 252–255, 258, 259, 262–273, 275–277, 279 and 280).
	24	881 (the second proviso).
	25	911(1), (2), (3), and (5).

c. The following sections and parts of sections of the U.S. Code 1964 edition, relate to functions transferred and to functions retained by Customs:

Title	Chapter	Sections
19	3	261, 267.
	4	1451, 1524.
46	1	7, 4 (last sentence) 8.
	2	11, 13, 59, 60.
	6	158 (the second paragraph), 161, 162.
	11	221.
	12	251(a) (the first sentence), 266, 277, 278, 280, 292, 319, 325, 327, 332.
	14	404a.
	24	883 (the first and second provisos) 883a, 883b, 883–1.

d. The following sections of the U.S. Code, 1964 edition, relate to functions transferred and to functions administered under the Secretary of Commerce:

Title	Chapter	Sections
46	23	838, 840.
		911(4) (pending transfer to the Department of Transportation under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 1–67).
50	12	198(a).

e. The following sections of the U.S. Code, 1964 edition, relate to functions transferred, to functions retained by Customs, and to functions administered under the Secretary of Commerce.

Title	Chapter	Sections
46	23	801, 802, 803, 808.

3. The identification of statutes set forth above is for the information and guidance of the public. Nothing therein shall be deemed to have the effect of amending in any respect the provisions of Treasury Department Order No. 167–81 or the functions of any agency thereunder.

Transfer of Functions to Secretary of the Treasury

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Treasury, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Functions of Coast Guard and Commandant of Coast Guard excepted from transfer when Coast Guard is operating as part of Navy under sections 1 and 3 of Title 14, Coast Guard.

Administrative Delegation of Functions by Secretary of the Treasury

On July 31, 1950, Secretary of the Treasury issued Treasury Department Order No. 120 directing that officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Treasury continue to perform functions they were authorized to perform prior to effective date of Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, and stipulating that authorized regulations and procedures in effect immediately prior to effective date of Plan continue in effect until changed by appropriate authority.