Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-73
§1203 Radiotelephone requirement
Title 33 › Chapter CHAPTER 24— - VESSEL BRIDGE-TO-BRIDGE COMMUNICATION › § 1203
Summary
Except as allowed by section 1206, certain vessels must carry a radiotelephone while navigating: power-driven vessels 20 meters or longer; vessels of 100 gross tons or more carrying passengers for hire; towing vessels 26 feet or longer; and dredges or floating plants working in or near channels affecting navigation. Applies on U.S. navigable waters, including the territorial sea of Presidential Proclamation 5928 (Dec. 27, 1988).
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §1203
Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Except as provided in section 1206 of this title—
(1)every power-driven vessel of twenty meters or over in length while navigating;
(2)every vessel of one hundred gross tons as measured under section 14502 of title 46, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of that title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of that title, and upward carrying one or more passengers for hire while navigating;
(3)every towing vessel of twenty-six feet or over in length while navigating; and
(4)every dredge and floating plant engaged in or near a channel or fairway in operations likely to restrict or affect navigation of other vessels—
(b)The radiotelephone required by subsection (a) shall be carried on board the described vessels, dredges, and floating plants upon the navigable waters of the United States, which includes all waters of the territorial sea of the United States as described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, referred to in subsec. (b), is set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.
Amendments
2002—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–295 substituted “United States, which includes all waters of the territorial sea of the United States as described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988” for “United States inside the lines established pursuant to section 151 of this title”. 1996—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–324 inserted “as measured under section 14502 of title 46, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of that title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of that title,” after “one hundred gross tons”. 1991—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–241 amended par. (1) generally, substituting “twenty meters or over in length” for “three hundred gross tons and upward”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective May 1, 1971, or six months after the promulgation of
Regulations
which would implement its provisions, whichever is later, see section 10 of Pub. L. 92–63, set out as a note under section 1201 of this title. Vessel Communication Equipment
Regulations
Pub. L. 101–380, title IV, § 4118, Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 523, provided that: “The Secretary shall, not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 18, 1990], issue
Regulations
necessary to ensure that vessels subject to the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act of 1971 (33 U.S.C. 1203) are also equipped as necessary to— “(1) receive radio marine navigation safety warnings; and “(2) engage in radio communications on designated frequencies with the Coast Guard, and such other vessels and stations as may be specified by the Secretary.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 1203
Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73