216 



The number of civil submer.nbles, 

 like the Star II and Star III seen 

 at their simultaneous launching in 

 1S66, is growing, and the Coast 

 Chiard's certification program, 

 aceordingly, should be extended to 

 include commercial underseas 

 vehicles. 



Agency (CG) undertake to reexamine and 

 update existing laws relating to vessel 

 safety standards and extend its certifica- 

 tion program to include civil submer- 

 sibles. Safety standards should also be 

 framed for commercial fishing vessels in 

 cooperation with the fishing industry. 



Search and Rescue 



Although the Navy and other Federal 

 agencies may assist in major disasters, the 

 Coast Guard is responsible for providing 

 rescue services to merchant ships, fishing ves- 

 sels, offsliore structures, pleasure boats, non- 

 military submersibles, and transoceanic 

 aircraft. In 1967, the Coast Guard responded 

 to more than 42,000 requests for assistance, 

 rescued more than 3,000 persons, gave medi- 

 cal aid to more than 2,500 persons, provided 

 some form of help or information to almost 



124,000, and assisted in matters involving 

 property valued at almost $3 billion. 



Because no one can predict when or where 

 disaster will strike, the Coast Guard must 

 maintain a large organization in a constant 

 state of alert. Its own resources are impor- 

 tantly supplemented by the private sector. 

 The Automated Merchant Vessel Eeporting 

 System (AMVER) provides an example of 

 effective public-private collaboration. Coop- 

 erating ships report their courses, speed, cur- 

 rent positions, and other operational details 

 to AMVER, which stores the information in 

 a computer for rapid recall when an emer- 

 gency situation requires coordination of 

 assistance efforts. The AMVER system is 

 voluntary, not all ships participate, and it is 

 not global. But on a given day, the AMVER 

 computer may have the positions of several 

 himdred ships of 60 nations in the North 

 Atlantic alone. Eventually, the Commission 

 believes that an international system should 

 be developed in which reporting of ship 

 position data will be compulsory. 



Recreational Boating 



The safety of recreational boating is a joint 

 Federal-State responsibility. In most States, 

 anyone can buy a boat and operate it. A li- 

 cense for the boat usually is required, but the 

 operator does not need to demonstrate com- 

 petence or even familiarity with the rules of 

 the road. 



The Coast Guard has sought to assist the 

 States in advancing recreational Iwating 

 safety, principally through educational pro- 

 grams and inspection services by the Coast 

 Guard's highly effective Auxiliary. In some 

 areas, the Auxiliary assists local authorities 

 in offshore patrols. Members also are qualified 

 to inspect pleasure boats and equipment. 

 Many boaters take advantage of the service, 

 but many do not. In addition, the U.S. Power 

 Squadron, a private organization of dedi- 



