the Department of Commerce. In 1942, 

 for reasons closely related to the war effort, 

 most of the Bureau's function and person- 

 nel were transferred temporarily to the 

 Coast Guard. The transfer was made per- 

 manent in 1946. 



Merchant Marine safety 

 program 



From the Service standpoint, "Marine 

 Inspection," as it soon became known, was 

 a natural. It was entirely logical that the 

 Government agency which already had re- 

 sponsibility for rescue work and safety 

 afloat should also perform the job of acci- 

 dent prevention by inspection and regula- 

 tion. There was already a large body of 

 Marine Safety laws on the statute books 

 and a complete set of Government regula- 

 tions in use by the Bureau when the Coast 

 Guard took over in 1942. But to keep 

 abreast of the times and to insure the ma- 

 rine industry a full voice in its own regu- 

 lation the Coast Guard quickly established 

 a Merchant Marine Council. This is a body 

 of senior officers and advisors whose prin- 

 cipal job is to evaluate all proposals for 

 change in regulations affecting the marine 

 industry. 



In administering today's Merchant Ma- 

 rine Safety program, the Coast Guard is 

 closely associated with nearly every phase 

 of the life of an American ship from the 

 first plans on the drafting board to the final 

 trip to the scrap yard. Even on smaller ves- 

 sels which are not subject to inspection, cer- 

 tain laws and regulations requiring safety 

 equipment, numbering, safety procedures, 

 and manning by qualified crews are ad- 

 ministered and enforced by the Coast 

 Guard. 



Among the duties which the Coast 

 Guard must carry out are thorough peri- 



odic inspections of the hulls, machinery 

 and equipment of merchant vessels to in- 

 sure seaworthiness and compliance with 

 safety regulations, the approval of plans 

 prior to construction or conversion of mer- 

 chant vessels, and an extensive first inspec- 

 tion of all new vessels during construction 

 to make sure they are built in compliance 

 with the approved plans. 



Other duties 



The jurisdiction of the Coast Guard 

 extends to ships' personnel. This includes 

 the licensing and certification of officers 

 and crews, investigation of casualties or 

 personnel troubles, and the institution of 

 disciplinary action where needed. The 

 Coast Guard also investigates violations 

 of navigation laws of the United States, 

 numbers motorboats, supervises the proper 

 shipment and discharge of merchant ves- 

 sel crews, and develops and promulgates 

 new or revised standards and rules for 

 improved marine safety for the entire 

 country. 



In addition to the foregoing navigation 

 laws, the Coast Guard is responsible for 

 preventing oil pollution and obstruction of 

 waterways, for supervising anchorages, 

 and for patrolling regattas. In wartime, it 

 has broad port security powers under the 

 Espionage and Dangerous Cargoes Acts. 



All of the Coast Guard's duties are im- 

 portant to this Nation's welfare and to the 

 maintenance of a strong and healthy mer- 

 chant marine. They are administered by 

 Coast Guard officers and men in most of 

 the principal ports of the United States. 

 Some of these duties are performed by 

 Coast Guard personnel stationed in such 

 large foreign .seaports as London, Yoko- 

 hama, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Naples, 

 and Athens. 



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