Hi. The ‘University’ is looking for the law that requires us to have a licensed captain to take a researcher out on a small boat (skiff, less than 22’). The researcher pays a fee to have access to the boat, and use of the facilities. I’m confident that there is a regulation, but only through ‘hearsay’ and need to find the actual documentation to establish safety protocols. If anyone knows where to find this - thank you!
[B]IMHO[/B]…this might be a good place to start??
Seadawgs post is good, but there is an additional part having to do with ‘research’ vessels. As I recall they must be manned by a licensed operator also, but it is in a different US Code. I have heard of some unscrupulous research managers who try to ‘get away’ with letting an unlicensed guy run the boats. That is specifically illegal. The law as Seadawgs post makes clear, if you (the owner, operator or manager) is receiving payment (it does not have to be money!) then the vessel is subject to being under the regulations mentioned. Payment has been recognized as a passenger bringing lunch for everyone, passengers ‘chipping in’ for fuel, or a passenger doing work in the daily operation of the vessel (or paying directly for the trip).
Several years ago a friend of mine was told to stay home while running a boat for WHOI, since the people who wanted to take a wildlife trip weren’t paying they thought they would have the office guy take them out. The office guy was being paid (by WHOI) that meant the regulations applied. My friend got his days pay to shut him up!
Note on seadawgs post there is mention of vessels less than 100 tons. The length is immaterial. If you’re getting paid you are subject to the regulations.
It sounds to me that if you are having to have this type of discussion with your management then there may be larger issues of compliance to look out for.
[QUOTE=Gooz;43809]Hi. The ‘University’ is looking for the law that requires us to have a licensed captain to take a researcher out on a small boat (skiff, less than 22’). The researcher pays a fee to have access to the boat, and use of the facilities.[/QUOTE]
Is the boat operated on Federal waters? Who pays for the operator? Under what terms is the boat chartered? Does the researcher take his own equipment? What do you mean by “facilities?” What is the fee for? What does the receipt say?
See where this is headed? The boat might be bare boat chartered, it might be operated on state waters and the state might have its own requirements. It is not a simple question by any means.
[B]IMHO[/B]…RE: smaller “research vessels”
“The regulations are mostly silent for undocumented (state numbered) vessels, which include many of the UNOLS research vessels. Because of this it is recommended that operators of these vessels consult directly with the responsible Marine Safety Office for any questions.”
**“silent regulations”??this from a UNOLS generated document??may need to send off for a Capt. Marvelous super secret decoder ring for that??
**also might consider consulting the local USCG auxiliary to further add to the confusion???