§  80.59   Compulsory ship inspections.

   (a) Inspection of ships subject to the Communications Act or the Safety
   Convention.

   (1) The FCC will not normally conduct the required inspections of ships
   subject to the inspection requirements of the Communications Act or the
   Safety Convention.

   Note to paragraph (a)(1): Nothing in this section prohibits Commission
   inspectors from inspecting ships. The mandatory inspection of U.S.
   vessels must be conducted by an FCC-licensed technician holding an FCC
   General Radiotelephone Operator License, GMDSS Radio Maintainer's
   License, Second Class Radiotelegraph Operator's Certificate, First
   Class Radiotelegraph Operator's Certificate, or Radiotelegraph Operator
   License in accordance with the following table:
   Category of vessel Minimum class of FCC license required by private
   sector technician to conduct
   inspection--only one license required
   General radiotele-phone operator
   license GMDSS radio
   maintainer's
   license Radiotelegraph operator license (formerly second class
   radiotelegraph operator's certificate) First class radiotelegraph
   operator's certificate.
   Radiotelephone equipped vessels subject to 47 CFR part 80, subpart R or
   S SQRT SQRT SQRT SQRT
   GMDSS equipped vessels subject to 47 CFR part 80, subpart W SQRT

   (2) A certification that the ship has passed an inspection must be
   entered into the ship's log by the inspecting technician. The
   technician conducting the inspection and providing the certification
   must not be the vessel's owner, operator, master, or employee or their
   affiliates. Additionally, the vessel owner, operator, or ship's master
   must certify in the station log that the inspection was satisfactory.
   There are no FCC prior notice requirements for any inspection pursuant
   to paragraph (a)(1) of this section. An inspection of the
   bridge-to-bridge radio stations on board vessels subject to the Vessel
   Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act must be conducted by the same
   FCC-licensed technician.

   (3) Additionally, for passenger vessels operated on an international
   voyage the inspecting technician must send a completed FCC Form 806 to
   the Officer in Charge, Marine Safety Office, United States Coast Guard
   in the Marine Inspection Zone in which the ship is inspected.

   (4) In the event that a ship fails to pass an inspection the inspecting
   technician must make a log entry detailing the reason that the ship did
   not pass the inspection. Additionally, the technician must notify the
   vessel owner, operator, or ship's master that the vessel has failed the
   inspection.

   (5) Because such inspections are intended to ensure the availability of
   communications capability during a distress the Commission will
   vigorously investigate reports of fraudulent inspections, or violations
   of the Communications Act or the Commission's Rules related to ship
   inspections. FCC-licensed technicians, ship owners or operators should
   report such violations to the Commission through its National Call
   Center at 1-888-CALL FCC (1-888-225-5322).

   (b) Inspection and certification of a ship subject to the Great Lakes
   Agreement. The FCC will not inspect Great Lakes Agreement vessels. An
   inspection and certification of a ship subject to the Great Lakes
   Agreement must be made by a technician holding one of the following: an
   FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License, a GMDSS Radio Maintainer's
   License, a Second Class Radiotelegraph Operator's Certificate, a First
   Class Radiotelegraph Operator's Certificate, or a Radiotelegraph
   Operator License. The certification required by § 80.953 must be entered
   into the ship's log. The technician conducting the inspection and
   providing the certification must not be the vessel's owner, operator,
   master, or an employee of any of them. Additionally, the vessel owner,
   operator, or ship's master must certify that the inspection was
   satisfactory. There are no FCC prior notice requirements for any
   inspection pursuant to § 80.59(b).

   (c) Application for exemption. (1) Applications for exemption from the
   radio provisions of part II or III of title III of the Communications
   Act, the Safety Convention, or the Great Lakes Radio Agreement, or for
   modification or renewal of an exemption previously granted must be
   filed as a waiver request using FCC Form 605. Waiver requests must
   include the following information:

   (i) Name of ship;

   (ii) Call sign of ship;

   (iii) Official number of ship;

   (iv) Gross tonnage of ship;

   (v) The radio station requirements from which the exemption is
   requested:

   (A) Radiotelephone (VHF/MF);

   (B) Radiotelegraph; and/or

   (C) Radio direction finding apparatus;

   (vi) File number of any previously granted exemption;

   (vii) Detailed description of the voyages for which the exemption is
   requested, including:

   (A) Maximum distance from nearest land in nautical miles;

   (B) Maximum distance between two consecutive ports in nautical miles;
   and

   (C) Names of all ports of call and an indication of whether travel will
   include a foreign port;

   (viii) Reasons for the exemption:

   (A) Size of vessel;

   (B) Variety of radio equipment on board;

   (C) Limited routes; and/or

   (D) Conditions of voyages;

   (ix) A copy of the U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection an
   indication of whether the vessel is certified as a Passenger or Cargo
   ship (for passenger ships, list the number of passengers the ship is
   licensed to carry); and

   (x) Type and quantity of radio equipment on board, including:

   (A) VHF Radio Installation (indicate if GMDSS approved);

   (B) Single Side-Band (SSB) (indicate the band of operation, MF or HF
   and indicate if GMDSS approved);

   (C) Category 1, 406 MHz EPIRB (GMDSS approved);

   (D) NAVTEX Receiver (GMDSS approved);

   (E) Survival Craft VHF (GMDSS approved);

   (F) 9 GHz Radar Transponder (GMDSS approved);

   (G) Ship Earth Station;

   (H) 2182 Radiotelephone Auto Alarm

   (I) Reserve Power Supply (capability); and

   (J) Any other equipment.

   (2) Feeable applications for exemption must be filed with U.S. Bank,
   P.O. Box 979097, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000 at the address set forth in
   § 1.1102. Emergency requests must be filed with the Federal
   Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 Twelfth Street,
   SW., TW-B204, Washington, DC 20554.

   Note: With emergency requests, do not send the fee, you will be billed.

   (d) Waiver of annual inspection. (1) The Commission may, upon a finding
   that the public interest would be served, grant a waiver of the annual
   inspection required by Section 362(b) of the Communications Act, 47
   U.S.C. 360(b), for a period of not more than 90 days for the sole
   purpose of enabling a United States vessel to complete its voyage and
   proceed to a port in the United States where an inspection can be held.
   An informal application must be submitted by the ship's owner, operator
   or authorized agent. The application must be submitted to the
   Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at least three days
   before the ship's arrival. The application must include:

   (i) The ship's name and radio call sign;

   (ii) The name of the first United States port of arrival directly from
   a foreign port;

   (iii) The date of arrival;

   (iv) The date and port at which annual inspection will be formally
   requested to be conducted;

   (v) The reason why an FCC-licensed technician could not perform the
   inspection; and

   (vi) A statement that the ship's compulsory radio equipment is
   operable.

   (2) Vessels that are navigated on voyages outside of the United States
   for more than 12 months in succession are exempted from annual
   inspection required by section 362(b) of the Communications Act,
   provided that the vessels comply with all applicable requirements of
   the Safety Convention, including the annual inspection required by
   Regulation 9, Chapter I, and the vessel is inspected by an FCC-licensed
   technician in accordance with this section within 30 days of arriving
   in the United States.

   [ 51 FR 31213 , Sept. 2, 1986, as amended at  56 FR 64715 , Dec. 12, 1991;
    60 FR 50122 , Sept. 28, 1995;  61 FR 8478 , Mar. 5, 1996;  61 FR 25805 , May
   23, 1996;  63 FR 29658 , June 1, 1998;  63 FR 68956 , Dec. 14, 1998;  64 FR 53241 , Oct. 1, 1999;  68 FR 46960 , Aug. 7, 2003;  69 FR 64671 , Nov. 8,
   2004;  73 FR 9031 , Feb. 19, 2008;  78 FR 23154 , Apr. 18, 2013;  80 FR 53751 , Sept. 8, 2015;  81 FR 90746 , Dec. 15, 2016]