47 U.S.C. § 353: Radio equipment and operators

Summary

Ships that have a radiotelegraph station must carry radio officers for safety. Passenger ships and cargo ships without a radiotelegraph auto alarm must have at least two radio officers. A cargo ship with a working radiotelegraph auto alarm must have at least one radio officer who has at least six months of prior service as a radio officer on U.S. ships. While a ship is sailing in the open sea outside a harbor or port, it must keep a radio watch whenever the station is not handling authorized traffic. A cargo ship with a working auto alarm may instead keep at least eight hours of radio watch per day in total. The Commission can set exact watch hours when needed for safety. On ships with an auto alarm, the alarm must be running at all times while at sea whenever no radio officer is on watch.

Title 47, §353

Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Two radio officers required

Each cargo ship which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station and which is not equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, and each passenger ship required by this part to be equipped with a radiotelegraph station, shall, for safety purposes, carry at least two radio officers.

(b)One radio officer required

A cargo ship which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station, which is equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, shall, for safety purposes, carry at least one radio officer who shall have had at least six months’ previous service in the aggregate as a radio officer in a station on board a ship or ships of the United States.

(c)Required watches

Each ship of the United States which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station shall, while being navigated in the open sea outside of a harbor or port, keep a continuous watch by means of radio officers whenever the station is not being used for authorized traffic: Provided, That, in lieu thereof, on a cargo ship equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm in proper operating condition, a watch of at least eight hours per day, in the aggregate, shall be maintained by means of a radio officer.

(d)Hours of watch

The Commission shall, when it finds it necessary for safety purposes, have authority to prescribe the particular hours of watch on a ship of the United States which in accordance with this part is equipped with a radiotelegraph station.

(e)Operational status of auto alarms in open sea

On all ships of the United States equipped with a radiotelegraph auto alarm, said apparatus shall be in operation at all times while the ship is being navigated in the open sea outside of a harbor or port when the radio officer is not on watch.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1965—Pub. L. 89–121, among other changes, substituted wherever appearing “radiotelegraph station” for “radiotelegraph installation”, “radiotelegraph auto alarm” for “auto-alarm”, and “radio officer” and “radio officers” for “qualified operator” and “qualified operators”, required a continuous watch to be kept when the radiotelegraph station is not being used for authorized traffic, and inserted “while being navigated in the open sea” in two places. 1954—Act Aug. 13, 1954, amended section to make clear that it applies only to ships equipped with a radiotelegraph installation, not those fitted with a radiotelephone installation. 1943—Subsec. (b). Act

June 22, 1943, substituted “the termination of such emergency or such earlier date as Congress by concurrent resolution may designate” for “

June 30, 1943”. 1941—Subsec. (b). Act

July 8, 1941, inserted exception respecting national emergency.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Partial Repeal Effective

July 1, 1948Acts

July 8, 1941, and

June 22, 1943, which amended subsec. (b) of this section by adding the clause authorizing suspension or modification of the service requirement during the emergency, were repealed, effective

July 1, 1948, by act

July 25, 1947, which provided that such acts should remain in full force and effect until such date.

Effective Date

Section effective

May 20, 1937, unless deferred by the Commission, see section 16 of act

May 20, 1937, set out as a note under section 351 of this title. Approval of Operators by Secretary of Navy During WarAct Dec. 17, 1941, ch. 588, 55 Stat. 808, as amended

June 28, 1943, ch. 174, 57 Stat. 244;

June 13, 1945, ch. 190, 59 Stat. 259; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 101, eff.

July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097, prohibiting employment of radio operators who were disapproved by the Secretary of the Navy during World War II, was repealed by act

July 25, 1947, ch. 327, § 1, 61 Stat. 449.

§353 Radio Equipment and Operators