Guide for the Classification of Manned Sub- 

 mersibles covers various governmental regu- 

 lations which owners, builders and designers 

 must keep in mind for safe operation and 

 licensing. 



A number of attempts have been, and are 

 being made, to establish legal requirements 

 for the construction and operation of all sub- 

 mersibles. Table 13.1 lists these attempts, 

 and a copy of the latest (HR 8837) is shown in 

 Appendix II. In essence, these bills propose 

 to regulate the design, construction and op- 

 eration of the vehicle and the qualifications 

 of the operator, as well as to rate the ade- 

 quacy of schools offering instructions in ve- 

 hicle operations. In all cases but one (S2145), 

 the U.S. Coast Guard is designated as the 

 regulatory body. The one exception would 

 give that authority to the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration. Signifi- 

 cantly, no bill has yet been enacted into law. 



Before dealing with requirements of Navy 

 certification or ABS classification, it would 

 seem appropriate to outline the case for legal 

 requirements. Private owners of submers- 

 ibles in the United States look with some 

 apprehension on proposed submersible 

 safety legislation because they feel the "Bu- 

 reaucrats" would subject their vehicles to 

 expensive and restrictive requirements 

 which would not only put them at a competi- 

 tive disadvantage internationally, but would 

 also stifle innovation. The proponents of leg- 

 islation (Table 13.1) feel that some sort of 

 safeguards, in addition to the builders' good 

 intentions, should be a legal requirement to 

 protect the passengers. 



It would appear that both groups are cor- 

 rect. The cost of certification as carried out 



under U.S. Navy regulations can be expen- 

 sive if the procedures are initiated after the 

 submersible is constructed and in service. On 

 the other hand, costs would be least if the 

 certifying procedures ran concurrently with 

 design and construction. Mr. John Purcell of 

 the U.S. Naval Ships System Command 

 stated that anywhere between $5,000 and 

 $25,000 can be required to fund the efforts of 

 Navy's certifying of personnel on one vehi- 

 cle, depending upon when the certifying pro- 

 cedure was started. This estimate does not 

 include the cost of any physical efforts on the 

 part of the owner, and, in all likelihood, the 

 total cost of Navy's material certification 

 will be on the high side of this range. On the 

 other hand, without some safety governing 

 organization, the scientific and engineering 

 passengers in submersibles, who are largely 

 ignorant of submersible construction or oper- 

 ation, must place complete faith in the capa- 

 bilities of the designer, the builder and the 

 operator. 



If we look at the present situation, how- 

 ever, it further appears that the submersible 

 industry is doing a good job of policing itself 

 despite the lack of any legal requirement to 

 do so. 



A list of ABS-classified submersibles is 

 presented in Table 13.2. Accompanying these 

 are submersibles which have applied for clas- 

 sification, but, for reasons unconnected with 

 their design, have not yet received such. All 

 presently operating Navy submersibles {AL- 

 VIN, DSRV-1 & 2, SEA CUFF, TURTLE, 

 TRIESTE II) and inactive Navy submers- 

 ibles (NEMO, MAKAKAI, DEEP VIEW) have 

 undergone Navy certification. The vehicles 

 which are not included in either categoiy are 



TABLE 13.1 PROPOSED SUBMERSIBLE LEGISLATION 



Sponsor 



Bill 



Title 



Congr. Rogers 

 Congr. Lennon 



Congr. Downing 

 Sen. Hollings 

 U.S. Coast Guard 



Manned Submersible Safety Act 

 Submersible Vessel Safety Act 



Submersible Vessel Safety Act 



Civilian Oceanographic Research 

 Facilities Act of 1973 



Not yet introduced (Nov. 1973) 



624 



