Robert is correct: the regulations (what you are reading in the CFR books) are written by the Coast Guard (or another executive branch agaency) to (hopefully) implement the intent of the laws (what you read in the USC or United States Code books) written and passed by Congress and signed into law (or not) by the President. The [b]Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars /b issued by the CG are meant to be plain-language explanations of the regulations and how the CG intends to administer them upon the industry. Conflicts between the intent of the law (what Congress was trying to achieve), the regulations, the NVIC’s, and how the CG actually applies the regulations in practice are not uncommon. We, of course, are caught in the middle.