[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 46, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 46CFR176.620]

[Page 214]
 
                           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. 176.620  Description of the Alternative Hull Examination (AHE) 
Program for certain passenger vessels.

    The Alternative Hull Examination (AHE) Program provides you with an 
alternative to a drydock examination by allowing your vessel's hull to 
be examined while it remains afloat. If completed using only divers, 
this program has four steps: the application process, the preliminary 
examination, the pre-survey meeting, and the hull examination. If the 
vessel is already participating in the program, or if a remotely 
operated vehicle (ROV) is used during the program, the preliminary exam 
step may be omitted. Once you complete these steps, the Officer in 
Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI), will evaluate the results and accept 
the examination as a credit hull exam if the vessel is in satisfactory 
condition. If only divers are used for the underwater survey portion of 
the examination process, you may receive credit for a period of time 
such that subsequent AHEs would be conducted at intervals of twice in 
every five years, with no more than three years between any two AHEs. 
The OCMI may waive an underwater survey in accordance with Sec. 
176.655(d) provided that the interval does not exceed five years between 
any two underwater surveys. If an underwater ROV is used as the 
predominate method to examine the vessel's underwater hull plating, you 
may receive credit up to five years. At the end of this period, you may 
apply for further participation under the AHE Program.

    Note to Sec. 176.620:
    The expected hull coverage when using an ROV must be at least 80 
percent.

[USCG-2000-6858, 69 FR 47384, Aug. 5, 2004]