[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 46, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 46CFR176.660]

[Page 217]
 
                           TITLE 46--SHIPPING
 
   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 176--INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart F--Hull and Tailshaft Examinations
 
Sec. 176.660  Continued participation in the Alternative Hull Examination (AHE) Program.

    (a) To continue to participate in the AHE Program, you must conduct 
an annual hull condition assessment. At a minimum, the hull condition 
assessment must include an internal examination and random hull gaugings 
taken internally. If the annual hull condition assessment reveals 
significant damage or corrosion, where temporary repairs have been made, 
or where other critical areas of concern have been identified, the 
Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (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. 176.630 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 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 21086, Apr. 29, 2002]