SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA THROUGH THE USE OF RADIO

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1936

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m., in the committee room, Capitol, Senator Wallace H. White presiding.

Senator WHITE. The committee will please come to order. This meeting is for the purpose of hearing those who may be for and those who may be against S. 3954, a bill introduced by Senator Copeland, of New York, chairman of the committee, for the purpose of amending the Communications Act of 1934 for the purpose of promoting safety of life through the use of radio, and for other purposes.

(The bill under consideration of the committee is as follows:)

[S. 3954, 74th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934, approved June 19, 1934, for the purpose of promoting safety of life through the use of radio, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended by inserting after the words "for the purpose of the national defense" a comma and the words "for the purpose of promoting safety of life and property through the use of radio".

SEC. 2. Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof four new subsections to read as follows:

"(w) (1) 'Ship' or 'vessel' includes every description of water craft or other artificial contrivance, except aircraft, used or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water.

"(2) A ship shall be considered a passenger ship if it carries more than twelve passengers.

"(3) A cargo ship means any ship not a passenger ship.

"(x) 'Auto-alarm' means an automatic alarm receiver in operating condition which complies with the requirements of the General Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention in force, and which, on a ship of the United States, has been approved by the Commission, and on a foreign ship, has been approved by the country to which the ship belongs, provided such country is a party to the International Telecommunication Convention and General Radio Regulations annexed thereto in force.

"(y) (1) For the purpose of part II of title III, a 'qualified operator' or 'operator' on a foreign ship means a person holding a certificate as such complying with the provisions of the General Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention in force.

"(2) For the purpose of part II of title III, a 'qualified operator' or 'operator' on a ship of the United States means a person holding a radio operator's license of the proper class, as prescribed and issued by the Commission.

"(z) 'Harbor' or 'port' means and includes harbors and places properly so called, whether proclaimed public or not and whether natural or artificial, to which ships may resort to load or unload goods or passengers."

1

SEC. 3. Paragraph (m) of section 303 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(m) (1) Have authority to suspend the license of any operator for a period not exceeding two years or revoke such license upon proof sufficient to satisfy the Commission that the licensee

"(A) has violated any provision of any Act or treaty binding on the United States, which Commission is authorized to administer, or any regulation made by the Commission under any such Act or treaty; or

"(B) has failed to carry out the lawful order of the master or person in charge of the ship or aircraft on which he is employed; or

"(C) has willfully damaged or permitted radio apparatus to be damaged; or "(D) has transmitted false, deceptive, or superfluous radio communications or signals or radio communications containing profane or obscene words or language or transmitted a call signal or call letter which has not been assigned by proper authority to the station he is then operating; or

"(E) has willfully or maliciously interfered with any other radio communications or signals; or

"(F) has been guilty of negligence, misconduct, intemperate habits, or inattention to duties; or

"(G) has shown incapacity, incompetence, or inaptitude; or

"(H) has, to the hindrance of commerce after having signed articles of agreement or while employed on any ship or aircraft as authorized by the terms of his operator's license, wrongfully or unreasonably refused to perform his official duties on board ship or aircraft, or deserts or leaves the vessel without the authority of the master.

"(2) No order of suspension or revocation of any operator's license shall take effect until fifteen days' notice in writing thereof, stating the cause for the proposed suspension or revocation, has given to the operator licensee who may make written application to the Commission at any time within said fifteen days for a hearing upon such order. Upon the filing of such written application, said order of suspension or revocation shall be held in abeyance until the conclusion of the hearing which shall be conducted under such rules as the Commission may prescribe. Upon the conclusion of said hearing, the Commission may affirm, modify, or revoke said order of revocation. Any operator whose license has been revoked shall not be eligible for examination or to apply for a new license of any class within the period of at least two years or such longer period as may in the discretion of the Commission be stated in said order of revocation."

SEC. 4. Subsection (n) of section 303 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(n) Have authority to inspect all radio installations associated with stations required to be licensed by any Act or which are subject to the provisions of any Act, or treaty binding on the United States, to ascertain whether in construction, installation, and operation they conform to the requirements of the rules and regulations of the Commission, the provisions of any Act, the terms of any treaty binding on the United States, and the conditions of the license or other document under which they are constructed, installed, or operated." SEC. 5. Section 321 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence of subsection (a).

SEC. 6. Section 329 of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 329. The Commission is authorized to designate any officer or employee of any other department of the Government on duty in any territory or possession of the United States other than the Philippine Islands and the Canal Zone, to render therein such service in connection with the administration of this Act as the Commission may prescribe and also to designate any officer or employee of any other department of the Government to render such services at any place within the United States in connection with the administration of title III of this Act as may be necessary or desirable: Provided, That such designation shall be approved by the head of the department in which such person is employed."

SEC. 7. (a) The heading of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"TITLE III-PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIO

"PART I-SPECIAL PROVISIONS"

(b) Such title III is further amended by adding at the end thereof a new part as follows:

"PART II-RADIO EQUIPMENT AND RADIO OPERATORS ON BOARD SHIP

"PURPOSE AND APPLICATION

"SEC. 351. It is the purpose of this part to promote safety of life and property at sea through the use of radio.

"SHIP RADIO INSTALLATIONS AND OPERATIONS

"SEC. 352. Except as provided in section 353 hereof, it shall be unlawful— "(a) For any ship of the United States, other than a cargo ship of less than sixteen hundred gross tons, to be navigated in the open sea or on the Great Lakes outside of a harbor or port, or for any ship of the United States or any foreign country, other than a cargo ship of less than sixteen hundred gross tons, to leave or attempt to leave any harbor or port of the United States for a voyage in the open sea or on the Great Lakes, unless such ship is equipped with an efficient radio installation in operating condition, in charge of and operated by qualified operators, adequately installed and protected so as to insure proper operation, and so as not to endanger the ship and radio installation, as hereinafter provided;

"(b) For any passenger ship of the United States of five thousand gross tons or over, to be navigated outside of a harbor or port, or for any such ship of the United States or any foreign country to leave or attempt to leave any harbor or port of the United States for a voyage in the open sea or on the Great Lakes, unless such ship is equipped with an efficient radio direction finder apparatus (radio compass) properly adjusted in operating condition as hereinafter provided, which apparatus, in the case of a ship of the United States, has been approved by the Commission;

"(c) In special cases, where the Commission considers that the route and conditions of the voyage make it necessary, the above requirements may be applied to a vessel engaged on inland voyages.

"EXCEPTIONS

"SEC. 353. (a) The provisions of this part shall not apply to

"(1) A ship of war;

"(2) A ship of the United States belonging to and operated by the Government, except a ship of the United States Shipping Board Bureau, the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation, or the Inland and Coastwise Waterways Service.

"(b) The Commission may, if it considers that the route or the conditions of the voyage are such as to render a radio installation unreasonable or unnecessary for the purposes of this part, exempt from the provisions of this part any ship, or any class of ships, which falls within any of the following descriptions:

"(1) Passenger ships which in the course of their voyage do not go more than twenty nautical miles from the nearest land or more than two hundred nautical miles between two consecutive ports;

"(2) Cargo ships which in the course of their voyage do not go more than one hundred and fifty nautical miles from the nearest land;

"(3) Barges in tow;

"(4) Sailing ships.

"(c) The Commission may exempt any foreign ship from the technical requirements prescribed in section 355 if such ship has on board a certificate, issued by the country to which it belongs, certifying that the radio installation complies with the radio safety rules or laws of that country: Provided, however, That the radio installation is in such operating condition that, in the opinion of the Commission, the ship can proceed to sea without danger to the passengers and crew and will be able to respond to radio calls of distress from another ship or coast station.

"OPERATORS, WATCHES, AUTO-ALARM

"SEC. 354. (a) Each cargo ship required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation and which is not fitted with an auto-alarm, and each passenger ship required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation, shall, for safety purposes, carry at least two qualified operators.

"(b) Each cargo ship required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation and which is fitted with an auto-alarm shall, for safety purposes, carry at least one qualified operator.

"(c) Each ship of the United States required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation shall, while being navigated outside a harbor or port, keep a continuous watch by means of qualified operators: Provided, however, That in lieu thereof on a cargo ship fitted with an auto-alarm, a watch of at least eight hours per day, in the aggregate, shall be maintained by means of a qualified operator.

"(d) It shall be unlawful for the master, owner, agent, or other person having authority, to permit a radio operator of any ship of the United States required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation, to stand a radio watch on the vessel upon leaving or immediately after leaving port, unless such operator shall have had at least six hours off duty within the twelve hours immediately preceding the time of sailing; and no such radio operator shall be required to do duty in excess of nine hours of any twenty-four while in port, including the date of arrival; or, when not in port, more than twelve hours of any twentyfour when the hours not in port do not exceed forty-eight, or when not in port, more than eight hours of any twenty-four when the hours not in port exceed forty-eight; except in a case of emergency or when life or property is endangered.

"(e) The Commission shall, for safety purposes, have authority to prescribe the particular hours of watch on a ship of the United States required by this part to be fitted with a radio installation.

"(f) On all ships of the United States fitted with an auto-alarm, said apparatus shall be in operation at all times while the ship is being navigated outside of a harbor or port when the operator is not on watch.

"TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

"SEC. 355. The radio installation and the radio direction-finding apparatus required by section 352 of this part shall comply with the following require ments:

"(a) The radio installation shall comprise a main and an emergency or reserve installation: Provided, however, That on a cargo ship, if the main installation complies also with all the requirements of an emergency or reserve installation, the emergency or reserve installation may be omitted.

"(b) The ship's radio operating room and the emergency or reserve installation shall be placed in the upper part of the ship in a position of the greatest possible safety and as high as practicable above the deepest load water line. "(c) The main and emergency or reserve installations shall be capable of transmitting and receiving on the frequencies and types of waves designated by the Commission for the purpose of distress and safety of navigation.

"(d) The main installation shall have a normal transmitting and receiving range of at least two hundred nautical miles, that is to say, it must be capable of transmitting and receiving clearly perceptible signals from ship to ship over a range of at least two hundred nautical miles by day under normal conditions and circumstances.

"(e) Sufficient power shall be available at all times to operate the main radio installation efficiently under normal conditions over the range specified in subsection (d) of this section.

"(f) The emergency or reserve installation shall include a source of energy independent of the propelling power of the ship and of the main electrical system and shall be capable of being put into operation rapidly and of working for at least six continuous hours. For the emergency or reserve installation, the normal range as defined in subsection (d) of this section shall be at least one hundred nautical miles.

"(g) There shall be provided between the bridge of the ship and the radio room, and between the bridge and the location of the direction finding apparatus, when the direction finding apparatus is not located on the bridge, an efficient means of communication.

"(h) The direction finding apparatus shall be efficient and capable of receiving clearly perceptible radio signals and of taking bearings from which the true bearing and direction may be determined. It shall be capable of receiving signals on the frequencies prescribed for distress, direction finding, and radio beacons by the General Radio Regulations annexed to the International Telecommunication Convention in force and in new installations after the effective date of this part, such other frequencies as the Commission may for safety purposes designate.

"LIFEBOATS

"SEC. 356. Every motor lifeboat, required by treaty to which the United States is a party, by statute, or by regulation made in conformity with a treaty or statute, to be carried on a ship subject to the provisions of this part, shall be fitted with an efficient radio installation under such rules and regulations as the Commission may find necessary to promote the safety of life.

"APPROVAL OF INSTALLATIONS

"SEC. 357. (a) Insofar as is necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of this part, the Commission shall have authority, for any ship subject to this part―

"(1) To approve the details as to the location and manner of installations of the equipment required by this part or of equipment necessitated by reason of the purposes and requirements of this part.

"(2) To approve installations, frequencies, and types of waves to be employed, apparatus, and spare parts necessary to comply with the purposes and requirements of this part.

"(3) To prescribe such additional equipment as may be determined to be necessary to supplement that specified herein, for the proper functioning of the radio installation installed in accordance with this part or for the proper conduct of radio communication in time of emergency or distress.

"(b) The Commission shall have authority to issue, or provide for the issuance of, radio certificates to ships of the United States in such form as may be necessary or desirable to facilitate the entry and departure of such ships into and from foreign ports.

"TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION

"SEC. 358. (a) The master of every ship of the United States equipped with radio transmitting apparatus, on meeting with dangerous ice, a dangerous derelict, a tropical storm, or any other direct danger to navigation, shall cause to be transmitted all pertinent information relating thereto, to ships in the vicinity and to the authorities having cognizance thereof, in accordance with rules and regulations issued by the Commission, which authorities of the United States shall, when they consider it necessary, promptly bring the information received by them to the knowledge of those concerned and foreign authorities interested. "(b) No charge shall be made by any ship or station in the mobile service of the United States, for the transmission, receipt, or relay of the information designated in subsection (a) originating on a ship of the United States or of a foreign country.

"(c) The transmission by any ship of the United States, made in compliance with subsection (a), to any station which imposes a charge for the reception, relay, or forwarding of the required information, shall be free of cost to the ship concerned and any expense incurred by the ship for transmission, relay, or forwarding of the information may be certified to the Commission for reimbursement out of moneys appropriated to the Commission for that purpose. "(d) No charge shall be made by any ship or station in the mobile service of the United tSates for the transmission of distress messages and replies thereto in connection with situations involving the safety of life and property at sea. "(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any station or carrier may render free service in connection with situations involving the safety of life and property at sea, including hydrographic reports, weather reports, reports regarding aids to navigation and medical assistance to injured or sick persons on ships at sea. All free service permitted by this subsection shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe, which rules may limit such free service to the extent which the Commission finds desirable in the public interest.