[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 46, Volume 4]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 46CFR115.660]



[Page 314]

 

                            TITLE 46_SHIPPING



                  (This book contains parts 90 to 139)

 

   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)

 

PART 115_INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION--Table of Contents

 

                Subpart F_Hull and Tailshaft Examinations

 

Sec.  115.660  Continued participation in the Alternative Hull 

Examination (AHE) Program.



    (a) To continue to participate in the AHE Program, vessel operators 

must conduct an annual hull condition assessment. At a minimum, vessel 

operators must conduct an internal examination and take random hull 

gaugings internally during the hull condition assessment, unless waived 

by the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI). If the annual hull 

assessment reveals significant damage or corrosion, where temporary 

repairs have been made, or where other critical areas of concern have 

been identified, the OCMI may require an expanded examination to include 

an underwater hull examination using divers. If an underwater 

examination is required, the examination must focus on areas at higher 

risk of damage or corrosion and must include a representative sampling 

of hull gaugings.

    (b) If an underwater survey is required for the annual hull 

condition assessment, the OCMI may require the presence of a third party 

examiner and a written hull examination report must be submitted to the 

OCMI. This report must include thickness gauging results, a copy of the 

audio and video recordings and any other information that will help the 

OCMI evaluate your vessel for continued participation in the AHE 

program. The third party examiner must sign the report and confirm the 

validity of its contents.

    (c) You must submit your preventive maintenance reports or 

checklists on an annual basis to the OCMI. These reports or checklists 

must conform to the plans you submitted in your application under Sec.  

115.630 of this part, which the OCMI approved.

    (d) Prior to each scheduled annual hull condition assessment--

    (1) The owner may submit to the OCMI a plan for conducting the 

assessment, or a request for a waiver of this requirement, no fewer than 

30 days before the scheduled assessment; and

    (2) The OCMI may reduce the scope or extend the interval of the 

assessment if the operational, casualty, and deficiency history of the 

vessel, along with a recommendation of the vessel's master, indicates 

that it is warranted.



[USCG-2000-6858, 67 FR 21082, Apr. 29, 2002, as amended by USCG-2000-

6858, 69 FR 47383, Aug. 5, 2004]