U.S. Coast Guard Regulations — 46 CFR (Title 46, Shipping)

U.S. Coast Guard Regulations — 46 CFR (Title 46, Shipping)

Issuing body / enforcer: United States Coast Guard (USCG), Department of Homeland Security. Jurisdiction: United States — US-flag vessels worldwide, foreign vessels in US waters (port state control), and US mariners.

What it is

Title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations is the US maritime safety code: the domestic implementation of vessel inspection, manning, mariner credentialing, and marine safety requirements. It is the regulatory backbone the catalogue's "license-to-practice" marine credentials live inside — the USCG issues Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMCs) under 46 CFR Part 10, and engineers serve aboard inspected vessels under the manning and watchkeeping rules of Parts 15 and others. Where IMO conventions (SOLAS, STCW, MARPOL) set international minimums, 46 CFR is how the United States enforces — and frequently exceeds — them domestically.

Scope: who it applies to

• Inspected vessels: passenger vessels, tank vessels, cargo vessels, offshore supply vessels, towing vessels (Subchapter M), fishing vessels — design, construction, equipment, and operation standards by subchapter.
• Mariners: licensing and credentialing (Part 10), medical fitness (Part 10, Subpart C), and STCW endorsements for service on seagoing vessels.
• Manning: Part 15 sets minimum manning scales, watchkeeping, and work-hour rules; §15.820 (the record's URL) addresses manning for specific vessel types.
• Foreign vessels: USCG port state control enforces applicable international conventions on foreign ships calling at US ports.

Key requirements and compliance obligations

1. Vessel inspection and certification. Inspected vessels require a Certificate of Inspection (COI) specifying routes, manning, and equipment; construction and alteration plans need Coast Guard approval (marine safety center review).
2. Mariner credentialing (Part 10). MMCs with officer and rating endorsements; sea-service, training, examination, and medical requirements per endorsement. STCW endorsements (for vessels on international voyages) implement the STCW Convention domestically — see the STCW brief.
3. Manning and watchkeeping (Part 15). Minimum crew complements on the COI; hours-of-rest rules; credentialed officers required for each watch.
4. Safety management. ISM Code implementation for applicable vessels (Part 96 / 33 CFR 96); towing vessels under Subchapter M require a Towing Safety Management System.
5. Pollution prevention. OPA 90 requirements (33 CFR 155/156 alongside 46 CFR), ballast water management (33 CFR 151 implements the BWM Convention domestically, with USCG type-approval of BWMS — historically stricter than IMO type-approval), and oil-spill response plans.
6. Casualty reporting and investigation. Marine casualties must be reported; the Coast Guard investigates and can suspend/revoke mariner credentials for misconduct, negligence, or incompetence (46 CFR Part 5 proceedings).

Penalties and consequences of non-compliance

• Civil penalties: 46 U.S.C. Chapter 77 and related statutes authorise civil penalties (per-violation amounts inflation-adjusted; verify current figures) for operating without required certificates, manning violations, and safety-equipment deficiencies. Each day of a continuing violation can be separate.
• Credential action: suspension and revocation proceedings against mariners (Part 5) — the direct license-to-practice consequence.
• Operational control: Captain of the Port orders, detention of vessels, and termination of voyages for unseaworthy or non-compliant vessels.
• Criminal: knowing violations (e.g., oil-record-book falsification under APPS/MARPOL implementation) are routinely prosecuted — the DOJ's vessel-pollution program has produced hundreds of criminal cases.

Version / edition status and live changes

• 46 CFR is continuously updated; mariners and operators work from the current eCFR. Flag (unverified detail): no single headline 2025–2026 46 CFR amendment was verified for this brief — check the eCFR and USCG rulemaking dockets (regulations.gov) for live changes affecting your subchapter.
• Live context: Subchapter M (towing vessel) inspection regime continues maturing; USCG ballast-water type-approval remains the de facto global gold standard for BWMS manufacturers; and the STCW 2024 amendments (anti-harassment training, effective 1 January 2026) flow into USCG credentialing requirements.

Related certifications (from the engineering catalogue)

Directly and strongly related — this is the licensing regime itself:

• USCG MMC — Third / Second / First Assistant Engineer; Chief Engineer (Unlimited); Chief Engineer (Limited) / Assistant Engineer (Limited): issued under 46 CFR Part 10; examinations test 46 CFR content (engineering knowledge, safety, pollution prevention). The credential is compliance with this regulation.
• STCW Basic Safety Training (A-VI/1): required by 46 CFR for STCW endorsements; implements the STCW Convention domestically.
• CEng / MRINA: professional registration; not tested on 46 CFR.

Honest flags

• Penalty-dollar figures are inflation-adjusted and statute-specific — verify before citation.
• The brief covers the framework; subchapter-level obligations (passenger, tank, towing, OSV) each deserve their own compliance review.

Original ETS reference writing, verified against public sources on 2026-09-30. Thin sourcing is flagged inline. Not legal advice — confirm current editions with the issuing body.