arrival. Should a vessel desire a pilot to meet her outside of the Atlantic breakwaters, she should remain there and make signal to this effect. 17. Whenever practicable, vessels should send notification of the probable time of their arrival, by radio or otherwise, so that pilots may meet them promptly. 18. All vessels entering port must take the berths or docks assigned them by the Captain of the Port, and they will not be allowed to shift berths or moorings without the proper permission. 19. Except in the prescribed limits in Gatun Lake and adjacent waters, no vessel will be allowed to anchor in any part of the Canal, nor on any of the marked ranges; should an emergency arise wherein it may be necessary to let go an anchor, whenever practicable the pilot should be consulted before doing so. 20. At all times when a vessel is under way in the terminal ports or in transit through the Canal, except while passing through the locks, with a duly accredited pilot on board, the captain or master of a vessel will be held solely responsible for the safety, handling, and proper navigation of the vessel; the pilot is to be considered as being on board solely in an advisory capacity, but masters of vessels must abide by the rules and regulations of the Canal, as interpreted to them by the pilots. 21. The pilot shall be freely consulted at all times to insure safety in navigation, and that no accident or damage result from ignorance on the part of the master or officers of the vessel in transit; and should any such master, officer, or person connected with the ship, give or cause to be given, any order, or direct any change of speed or direction of the ship on his own initiative, without the knowledge of the pilot, which may result in damage to his own or any other vessel, dredger, or property of any kind, or endanger or block the Canal, or any of its equipment, he will be held strictly responsible, and the vessel itself may be held by legal process until settlement in full shall have been made to cover any loss or damage that may have resulted in consequence thereof. 22. Inasmuch as every vessel has its own individual peculiarities in handling, answering her helm, variation in headway due to speed, it shall be the duty of the master of the vessel, or his qualified representative, to be present at all times on the bridge of the ship to keep the pilot informed in regard to these matters, so that the pilot may be best qualified to give advice in regard to navigating the ship safely. 23. The pilot should not only be freely consulted at all times on matters relating to the navigation of the ship, but to the rules and regulations pertaining to the same, to signals, locks, weather, or other matters of importance relating to the movements of the vessel. While on board he is the properly qualified representative of the Canal authorities in these matters, and should any accident or damage result from failure to consult him, or from not following his advice, the vessel shall be held responsible for such accident or damage. 24. The pilot must inform the master or captain that his (the pilot's) experience and knowledge of the Canal is at his (the master's or captain's) disposal and that, inasmuch as he (the pilot) is not in a position to know the defects, difficulties, or eccentricities of the vessel in maneuvering, while getting under way or in transit, the responsibility for navigating the vessel is entirely in the hands of the master or captain, except when passing through the locks. 25. When in the opinion of the pilot, the master or captain, or their representatives, shall fail to follow his advice and thereby endanger his own or any other vessel, or any part of the Canal or its equipment, the pilot shall then direct the master or captain of such vessel to stop, anchor, or moor, until the facts have been laid before the Canal authorities. 26. Pilots shall conform to such other rules as shall be prescribed for their guidance by the Governor of the Panama Canal. Preparation for and Transit through the Canal 27. Vessels shall, at all times, when under way in Canal waters, when passing through the locks, or moored temporarily in transit through the Canal, keep a full watch on deck and in the engine room, in the same manner in which they are kept at sea. 28. While a vessel is under way in Canal waters, no one shall be allowed on the bridge or in the pilot house except the pilot and other representatives of the Canal, the master and such officers and crew of the ship as may be necessary for her management, direction and safety. Under no condition will any passenger or any other unauthorized person be allowed on the bridge or in the pilot house. 29. Before beginning the passage of the Canal, vessels will be required to have hawsers, lines and fenders ready for passing through the locks, for warping, towing or mooring as the case may be; and will have both anchors ready for letting go. During the passage, at all times while the vessel is under way or moored against the lock walls, her deck winches, capstans or other power for handling lines, as well as her mooring bits, deck chocks, cleats, hawse-pipes, etc., shall be ready for handling ship to the exclusion of all other work. 30. At least one boat for handling lines shall be kept ready for lowering. 31. Should any part of a vessel's engines, machinery, condensers, boilers, shafts, propellers, steering gear, valves, hull, equipment, or anything else, be in such condition that it might, through failure, interfere to prevent or retard a vessel's passage through the Canal, such fact must be presented to the Captain of the Port before a vessel will be allowed to enter. 32. All sailing craft, vessels whose machinery may be in bad condition or disabled, and vessels without motive power, must be towed through all parts of the Canal lying between the entrances, for which service an additional charge will be imposed. 33. When passing through the locks, vessels will habitually be towed by Canal equipment. In exceptional instances, as when such equipment is not available, or in case of very small vessels, special permission to use the vessel's own motive power may be given by the Governor. Without such special permission, the vessel's motive power will not be used while passing the locks. 34. Upon approaching the lock, vessels will moor against the middle approach wall with the bow at least fifty feet from the nearest fender chain. They will then be taken in charge by the lock force and made ready for passage through the locks. 35. When these regulations are complied with in all respects, responsibility for handling vessels through the locks will rest with the Canal operating force, but the crew and officers will be required to render such assistance as may be necessary to supplement the lock force. To assist in insuring safety of passage, the lock force will take complete supervision of the engine room, even to the extent of sealing the engines if the Governor shall so direct. 36. The Governor of the Panama Canal is hereby authorized to issue from time to time orders regulating the procedure in passing vessels through the locks, and the details of the supervision which will be exercised by the lock force. Such orders when issued shall have the force of these regulations. 37. In cases where special permission to use the vessel's own motive power has been given by the Governor, he shall indicate what precautions must be taken to insure safety in passing through the locks. His directions as to such precautions must be observed strictly and in every detail. 38. Vessels will be liable for any damage to Canal structures or equipment while passing through the locks, caused through disregard or noncompliance of these rules and regulations or any orders which may be issued by the Governor to regulate such passage. The Panama Canal will not be held liable for any damage to the vessel occasioned by such disregard or non-compliance. 39. Masters of vessels will not allow anyone to take passage on their ships while passing through the Canal, except the ship's officers, crew and duly accredited passengers, and such officials and other persons as may be designated by the Canal authorities. Radio Communication and Report 40. As soon as radio communication can be established with the Canal, vessels should report their names, nationality, length, draft, tonnage, whether or not they desire to pass through the Canal, require coal, provisions, supplies, repairs, to go alongside of a wharf, the use of tugs, probable time of arrival, length of stay in port, or any other matters of importance or interest. If this information has been previously communicated, through agents or otherwise, to the Captain of the Port, it will not be necessary to report by radio; but the probable time of arrival should always be sent. 41. Control of radio communication is entirely in the hands of the radio shore stations. No vessel will be allowed to interfere in the slightest degree with the Canal radio stations; upon an order being received by a vessel at any time while within the waters under the control of the Canal to discontinue using radio, even if in the midst of transmission of a message, she shall immediately comply. 42. Upon a ship's arriving within the 15-mile limit, and until leaving the 15-mile limit of the Canal Zone, she shall transmit only with low power, not exceeding 2 K. W. 43. Messages to stations will be sent only to Colon station (NAX) when in Gatun locks and to northward thereof, and only to Balboa station (NPJ) when in Miraflores locks and to southward thereof; between these two points ships may work to either station, preferably to the nearer one; the high power station (Darien) at Radio, will not handle commercial work and will not be called for Canal business except in case of emergency. 44. All messages between ships in the Canal Zone and ships at sea must be forwarded through the nearer shore station. 45. Messages from ships in the Caribbean Sea for ships in the Pacific waters, or vice versa, shall be routed through the Canal Zone shore stations. 46. All vessels fitted with radio, after leaving the terminal harbor to pass through the Canal, shall keep an operator on watch until the further terminal harbor has been reached; this applies to the time when they are anchored in Gatun Lake, while passing through the locks, or moored to the lock walls, or to any of the wharves in the Canal proper, as well as when they are under way. Messages relating to the ship's movements and the Canal business shall take precedence over all commercial messages. 47. Pilots on vessels passing through the Canal shall have the right to use a vessel's radio freely for the transaction of the Canal business. 48. Under the direction of the pilots, vessels will from time to time report their progress through the Canal; accidents to machinery, propellers, steering gear, equipment, or anything else that may delay them or require assistance; any sickness or casualties that require medical attendance from Canal officials; or any other matters of importance that may arise. 49. No charges will be imposed against the Canal by vessels receiving or sending messages in relation to Canal business.1 50. No vessel will be allowed to communicate with any lock or signal station while in transit through the Canal, except through the pilot; all messages of any kind must be sent through him. This does not apply to vessels moored at the terminals at Cristobal or Balboa, before entering or after having passed through the Canal, which may wish to communicate through the terminal stations. 51. Vessels in transit through the Canal can communicate with the locks and signal stations, through the pilots, both by the international code and special signals; information on this subject may be obtained from the Governor of the Panama Canal. Accidents or Defects 52. If any defect in any part of a vessel's hull, machinery, steering gear or equipment, be discovered while in transit through the Canal, of 1 See Executive Order amending this paragraph, p. 57 of this Supplement. |