CERTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION, 

 REQUIREMENTS 



Depending upon their use, there are and 

 there are not Federal legal requirements 

 covering construction, materials or operat- 

 ing licensing in the U.S. for manned sub- 

 mersibles. Submersibles which carry passen- 

 gers for transportation or recreational pur- 

 poses fall into a category wherein Federal 

 regulations are applicable. Prior to 1971 the 

 Motor Boat Act of 1940 encompassed the 

 only regulations for submersibles. In 1971 

 this act was rewritten and under its provi- 

 sions passenger-carrying and recreational 

 submersibles are covered. However, no sub- 

 mersibles now operating fall into a category 

 wherein the "passengers" are defined under 

 the Motor Boat Act of 1971; therefore vehi- 

 cles carrying scientists and engineers have 



only minimal legal requirements to fulfill. 

 These, and others, are discussed more fully 

 under U.S. Coast Guard Requirements later 

 in this chapter. The U.S. Navy has its own 

 certification procedures, established in 1967, 

 for submersibles operating under their aegis 

 with Navy personnel aboard. 



For the civilian sector, in 1968 the Ameri- 

 can Bureau of Shipping, in response to a 

 request made by the U.S. Navy and private 

 industry, organized a Special Committee on 

 Submersible Vehicles to deal with the prepa- 

 ration of regulations to govern commercial 

 submersibles. Due to the limited commercial 

 use and lack of ABS experience with sub- 

 mersibles, it was decided to publish a guide 

 manual instead of a specific rule book. The 



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