(a) Plans. Triplicate copies of contract plans and specifications shall be forwarded to the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, in whose district the construction will take place, for submission to the Commanding Officer (MSC), Attn: Marine Safety Center, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7430, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7430, for approval, but if the tank vessel is to be classed, such plans and specifications shall first be approved by a recognized classification society. If the plans and specifications are found to be in substantial agreement with the regulations in this chapter, they shall be approved, properly stamped and dated and distributed as follows: One set to owner or builder; one set to Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, of the district in which the vessel is to be built; and one set shall be retained at the Marine Safety Center. If such plans and specifications are not approved, the Marine Safety Center shall notify the owner or builder promptly wherein they fail to comply with the regulations in this chapter. For list of electrical plans see subchapter J (Electrical Engineering) of this chapter.

(1) The plans and specifications shall include the arrangement of the cargo gear. Prior to submission to the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, plans and specifications for cargo gear shall be approved by either a recognized classification society or the International Cargo Gear Bureau, Inc., whose home office is located at 321 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036, on the Internet at http://www.icgb.com.

(2) For vessels of 100 meters (328 feet) or more in length contracted for on or after September 7, 1990, a plan must be included which shows how visibility from the navigation bridge will meet the standards contained in §32.16-1 of this subchapter.

(b) Inspection. During construction, and upon completion of each tank vessel, it shall be inspected by the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, to determine whether it has been built in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, and, if so, a certificate of inspection endorsed as a permit for the carriage of flammable or combustible liquids in bulk for the proper grade or grades of cargo shall be issued to the vessel or its owner.

(c) Certificate of class may be accepted. In the event such tank vessel is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping or other recognized classification society, the approved plans and certificates of such society may be accepted by the Coast Guard as evidence of the structural efficiency of the hull and reliability of machinery, except as otherwise provided for by law and the rules and regulations in this subchapter.

[CGFR 65-50, 30 FR 16662, Dec. 30, 1965, as amended by CGD 74-125A, 47 FR 15230, Apr. 8, 1982; CGD 85-099, 55 FR 32247, Aug. 8, 1990; CGD 95-028, 62 FR 51197, Sept. 30, 1997; USCG-2000-7790, 65 FR 58459, Sept. 29, 2000; USCG-2007-29018, 72 FR 53964, Sept. 21, 2007; USCG-2008-0906, 73 FR 56509, Sept. 29, 2008; USCG-2009-0702, 74 FR 49226, Sept. 25, 2009; USCG-2013-0671, 78 FR 60146, Sept. 30, 2013; USCG-2016-0498, 82 FR 35089, July 28, 2017]