§ 165.810 Mississippi River, LA-regulated navigation area.

(a) Purpose and applicability. This section prescribes rules for all vessels operating in the Lower Mississippi River below mile 233.9 above Head of Passes including South Pass and Southwest Pass, to assist in the prevention of allisions; collisions and groundings so as to ensure port safety and protect the navigable waters of the Mississippi River from environmental harm resulting from those incidents, and to enhance the safety of passenger vessels moored or anchored in the Mississippi River.

(b) Lower Mississippi River below mile 233.9 above Head of Passes including South and Southwest Passes:

(1) Supervision. The use, administration, and navigation of the waterways to which this paragraph applies shall be under the supervision of the District Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District.

(2) Speed; high-water precautions. When passing another vessel (in motion, anchored, or tied up), a wharf or other structure, work under construction, plant engaged in river and harbor improvement, levees withstanding flood waters, building partially or wholly submerged by high water, or any other structure liable to damage by collision, suction or wave action, vessels shall give as much leeway as circumstances permit and reduce their speed sufficiently to preclude causing damages to the vessel or structure being passed. Since this subparagraph pertains directly to the manner in which vessels are operated, masters of vessels shall be held responsible for strict observance and full compliance therewith. During high river stages, floods, or other emergencies, the District Commander may prescribe by navigation bulletins or other means the limiting speed in land miles per hour deemed necessary for the public safety for the entire section or any part of the waterways covered by this paragraph, and such limiting speed shall be strictly observed.

(3) Towing. Towing in any formation by a vessel with insufficient power to permit ready maneuverability and safe handling is prohibited.

(c) [Reserved]

(d) Navigation of South and Southwest Passes.

(1) No vessel, except small craft and towboats and tugs without tows, shall enter either South Pass or Southwest Pass from the Gulf until after any descending vessel which has approached within two and one-half (21⁄2) miles of the outer end of the jetties and visible to the ascending vessel shall have passed to sea.

(2) No vessel having a speed of less than ten mph shall enter South Pass from the Gulf when the stage of the Mississippi River exceeds 15 feet on the Carrollton Gage at New Orleans. This paragraph does not apply when Southwest Pass is closed to navigation.

(3) No vessel, except small craft and towboats and tugs without tows, ascending South Pass shall pass Franks Crossing Light until after a descending vessel shall have passed Depot Point Light.

(4) No vessel, except small craft and towboats and tugs without tows, shall enter the channel at the head of South Pass until after an ascending vessel which has reached Franks Crossing Light shall have passed through into the river.

(5) When navigating South Pass during periods of darkness no tow shall consist of more than one towed vessel other than small craft, and during daylight hours no tow shall consist of more than two towed vessels other than small craft. Tows may be in any formation. When towing on a hawser, the hawser shall be as short as practicable to provide full control at all times.

(6) When towing in Southwest Pass during periods of darkness no tow shall consist of more than two towed vessels other than small craft, and during daylight hours no tow shall consist of more than three towed vessels other than small craft.

(e) Watch requirements for anchored and moored passenger vessels.

(1) Passenger vessels. Except as provided in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, each passenger vessel with one or more passengers on board, must—

(i) Keep a continuously manned pilothouse; and

(ii) Monitor river activities and marine VHF, emergency and working frequencies of the port, so as to be immediately available to take necessary action to protect the vessel, crew, and passengers if an emergency radio broadcast, danger signal, or visual or other indication of a problem is received or detected.

(2) Each ferryboat, and each small passenger vessel to which 46 CFR 175.110 applies, may monitor river activities using a portable radio from a vantage point other than the pilothouse.

(f) Each self-propelled vessel of 1,600 or more gross tons subject to 33 CFR part 164 shall also comply with the following:

(1) While under way in the RNA, each vessel must have an engineering watch capable of monitoring the propulsion system, communicating with the bridge, and implementing manual-control measures immediately when necessary. The watch must be physically present in the machinery spaces or in the machinery-control spaces and must consist of at least an appropriately licensed or credentialed engineer officer.

(2) Before embarking a pilot when entering or getting under way in the RNA, the master of each vessel shall ensure that the vessel is in compliance with 33 CFR part 164.

(3) The master shall ensure that the chief engineer has certified that the following additional operating conditions will be satisfied so long as the vessel is under way within the RNA:

(i) The main propulsion plant is in all respects ready for operations including the main-propulsion air-start systems, fuel systems, lubricating systems, cooling systems, and automation systems;

(ii) Cooling, lubricating, and fuel-oil systems are at proper operating temperatures;

(iii) Main propulsion machinery is available to immediately respond to the full range of maneuvering commands any load-limiting programs or automatic acceleration-limiting programs that would limit the speed of response to engine orders beyond that needed to prevent immediate damage to the propulsion machinery are capable of being overridden immediately.

(iv) Main-propulsion standby systems are ready to be immediately placed in service.

(g) [Reserved]

[CGD 75–082, 42 FR 51759, Sept. 29, 1977]