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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73

§4102 Safety equipment

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle II— - Vessels and Seamen › Part Part B— - Inspection and Regulation of Vessels › Chapter CHAPTER 41— - UNINSPECTED VESSELS GENERALLY › § 4102

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Uninspected vessels must have the fire extinguishers the government requires: the right number, type, and size so they can quickly put out burning liquid fuel. The extinguishers must be ready to use and easy to reach. The federal official in charge will set rules for life preservers and other lifesaving gear, and those items must be installed, kept up, and used as required. Gasoline engines (not outboard motors) must have a flame arrestor, backfire trap, or similar device. Vessels using volatile liquid fuel must have the ventilation systems required to clear flammable gases from engine and fuel tank bilges. U.S.-owned, manned uninspected vessels that operate more than 3 nautical miles from the territorial baselines or more than 3 nautical miles from the Great Lakes coastline must carry the alerting and locating devices the Secretary requires, including emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs). For towing vessels, the Secretary can require fire suppression systems or other measures, and must require them when a towing vessel is pulling a non-self-propelled tank vessel.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §4102

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each uninspected vessel propelled by machinery shall be provided with the number, type, and size of fire extinguishers, capable of promptly and effectively extinguishing burning liquid fuel, that may be prescribed by regulation. The fire extinguishers shall be kept in condition for immediate and effective use and so placed as to be readily accessible.
(b)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring the installation, maintenance, and use of life preservers and other lifesaving devices for individuals on board uninspected vessels.
(c)Each uninspected vessel shall have the carburetors of each engine of the vessel (except an outboard motor) using gasoline as fuel, equipped with an efficient flame arrestor, backfire trap, or other similar device prescribed by regulation.
(d)Each uninspected vessel using a volatile liquid as fuel shall be provided with the means prescribed by regulation for properly and efficiently ventilating the bilges of the engine and fuel tank compartments, so as to remove any explosive or flammable gases.
(e)Each manned uninspected vessel owned in the United States and operating beyond 3 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial sea of the United States is measured or beyond three nautical miles from the coastline of the Great Lakes shall be equipped with the number and type of alerting and locating equipment, including emergency position indicating radio beacons, prescribed by the Secretary.
(f)(1)The Secretary, in consultation with the National Towing Safety Advisory Committee and taking into consideration the characteristics, methods of operation, and nature of service of towing vessels, may require the installation, maintenance, and use of a fire suppression system or other measures to provide adequate assurance that fires on board towing vessels can be suppressed under reasonably foreseeable circumstances.
(2)The Secretary shall require under paragraph (1) the use of a fire suppression system or other measures to provide adequate assurance that a fire on board a towing vessel that is towing a non-self-propelled tank vessel can be suppressed under reasonably foreseeable circumstances.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource section (U.S. Code) 4102(a)46:526g 4102(b)46:526e 4102(c)46:526i 4102(d)46:526j section 4102 requires uninspected vessels to comply with certain provisions that incorporate minimum safety equipment and

Construction

requirements. The Committee intends that the term life preserver include all types of personal equipment, including exposure suits with floatation characteristics.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 115–282 inserted “National” before “Towing Safety”. 2010—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–281 amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: “Each uninspected vessel propelled by machinery shall carry at least one readily accessible life preserver or other lifesaving device, of the type prescribed by regulation, for each individual on board.” 1998—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–383 substituted “owned in the United States and operating beyond 3 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial sea of the United States is measured” for “operating on the high seas”. 1996—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–324 added subsec. (f). 1988—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–540 amended subsec. (e) generally without regard to the prior repeal of subsec. (e) by Pub. L. 100–424. Pub. L. 100–424 struck out subsec. (e) which read as follows: “Each uninspected fishing, fish processing, or fish tender vessel operating on the high seas shall be equipped with the number and type of emergency position indicating radio beacons prescribed by regulation.” See section 4502(a)(7) of this title. 1986—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99–640 added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Regulations

Pub. L. 104–324, title IX, § 902(b), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3947, provided that: “The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue

Regulations

establishing the requirement described in subsection (f)(2) of section 4102 of title 46, United States Code, as added by this section, by not later than October 1, 1997.”

Executive Documents

Territorial Sea of United States For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No. 5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 4102

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73