McCreary, Robert G., chairman of the advisory committee and coun- Page sel, Great Lakes Protective Association, Cleveland, Ohio.. Murdock, Ray R., executive director, Andrew Furuseth Foundation for Maritime Research, 1725 K Street NW., Washington, D.C.... Sporl, Jr., C. A., president, C. A. Sporl & Co., Inc., Commerce Building, Suydam, John W., president, National Party Boat Owners Alliance, Înc., Lindenhurst, Long Island, N.Y.- Swift, James V., vice president, Waterways Journal, St Louis, Mo.-- 351 SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1966 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 10:30 a.m., in room 5110, New Senate Office Building, Hon. Warren G. Magnuson (chairman of the committee) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. There will be several Senators along shortly. We have a long list of witnesses this morning and we had better proceed. The chairman has a short opening statement. Today we begin the first of 2 days of hearings on a matter that has has held the public's attention during the past few months: The safety of life at sea. Last November 13, the Nation was shocked to learn that 90 lives had been lost in a fire aboard the Panamanian-flag Yarmouth Castle while en route from Miami to Nassau. Then on Good Friday of this month fire struck the Norwegian Viking Princess and all passengers had to abandon ship. The first of these passenger vessels was built in 1927, the second in 1950. Yet, both have proved to be vulnerable to disastrous fires. Until the Yarmouth Castle tragedy, most people in the United States had assumed that the great fear of seamen, a fire at sea, was a thing of the past. The last time that a number of American lives were lost by fire was in 1934 when the Morro Castle burned off the coast of New Jersey with the loss of 118 lives. Not even the Lakonia fire in 1963 with a death toll of 125 alerted us to the potential dangers, since that was a Greek vessel with a British loss of life. But the Yarmouth Castle holocaust of last November and the more recent Viking Princess fire has finally awakened this Nation to the fact that all is not well with many of today's passenger vessels. The problem of vessel safety before us today cannot be completely solved by legislation. We long ago took that step. In 1936 in response to the Morro Castle disaster, Congress authorized the implementation of safety standards on U.S.-flag vessels which are the best, we think, in the world. But, because other nations have been slow to follow our lead we find it necessary to hold these hearings today, and to determine what can be done about it. While the problem can be stated in simple terms-the majority of foreign-flag passenger vessels are not required to meet adequate safety Staff counsel assigned to this hearing: Donald C. Cole. standards the solution is more complex, for we find that the United States is a signatory to the 1960 Safety of Life at Sea Convention. The Yarmouth Castle and Morro Castle provide overwhelming proof that the 1960 Safety of Life at Sea Convention with its escape clauses, multiple construction methods, and dependence on national control does not presently provide adequate protection for passengers on international voyages. Yet the purposes of an international convention are laudable, for only in this manner can minimum safety standards be achieved throughout the world. This committee intends to consider the enactment of legislation which will protect U.S. citizens. As a starting point, I will introduce this afternoon a bill which will require disclosure to every person who purchases a ticket on a passenger ship the fire safety standards with which the vessel complies or does not comply. In addition, this legislation will eliminate those few U.S. vessels built before 1936 that do not conform to modern standards. Related to vessel safety is the financial responsibility of shipowners, and I also intend to introduce legislation which will require insurance and bonding. These measures have already been endorsed and have the strong support of the administration. The protection of U.S. citizens who sail from our own ports is important, but we must also consider the protection of our citizens who sail from other ports in the world. This is why the United States must vigorously demand international safety standards which are comparable to our own requirements. As a world leader, this is a responsibility the United States cannot and should not shirk. Already an extraordinary session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Intergovernmental Consultative Organization has been called to meet in London on May 2 for the sole purpose of considering amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. This committee intends to insure that the United States demands adequate fire prevention standards at this meeting. It may be necessary to propose some amendments to the bills that I will introduce today. But the purpose of the hearings is to find out what we can do about this very serious concern of Americans and other people who travel in the world today. We must remember also that the United States generates a great bulk of the passengers who go on so-called cruise ships. Therefore, it becomes a much more serious problem for us than for those countries which provide a smaller number of passengers. But even these countries should consider the life and the safety of their citizens much more than they are doing. We hope the May 2 meeting will be productive, and we hope that the legislation will be approved by the Congress in such a way that it will tighten up many of the escape clauses found in the U.S. laws and the International Convention. (The bills and agency comments follow :) [S. 1351, 89th Cong., 1st sess.]. A BILL To amend the coastwise laws, protect the balance of payments, and to further protect the traveling public, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886, as amended by section 2 of the Act of February 17, 1898, be hereby amended so as to read: "SECTION 1. No foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States or its possessions now, or hereafter to be embraced within the coastwise laws, either directly or by way of a foreign port, under penalty of $200 for each passenger so transported and landed. "SEC. 2. No foreign vessel shall engage in cruises as hereinafter defined from a port or place in the United States (or its possessions now, or hereafter to be, embraced within the coastwise laws) without a license duly issued by the Department of Commerce under penalty of $200 for each passenger carried by such foreign vessel on such cruise. "SEC. 3. A vessel shall be considered as being operated on a cruise within the meaning section 2, whether or not it proceeds by way of a foreign port, if the voyage originates and terminates at a port within the United States (or its possessions now, or hereafter to be embraced, within the coastwise laws) and said vessel is primarily engaged in the carriage of passengers on a round trip basis from and to such United States port as opposed to the transportation of passengers in the foreign commerce of the United States between ports in the United States and ports in a foreign country. "SEC. 4. The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed to make rules and regulations affecting foreign vessels engaging in cruises as hereinabove defined so as to permit upon appropriate and timely application and after public hearing and the payment of an appropriate fee charged for the privilege of engaging in such cruise voyage the issuance of a license to such vessels to operate on such cruise voyages, such rules and regulations to include: "A. The filing of application setting forth the registry of the vessels and their age, the name, address and citizenship of the owners, operators and agents. "B. The filing of such information as the Secretary may deem necessary to establish the financial responsibility of the operator, including, if deemed necessary, appropriate bond for the protection of the public. "C. The filing of proof that the foreign vessels not only comply with foreign classification requirements but also are in substantial compliance with standards required of vessels of American registry. "D. The filing of proof that the operator is willing to charge such rates and follow such practices as will not be prejudicial to the operation of vessels of United States regisrty. "E. A finding by the Secretary that the granting of such licenses is not detrimental to the commerce of the United States, its balance of payments, the comfort and safety of passengers, nor to operators of vessels under United States registry, and meets the needs of United States commerce." [S. 2417, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To require operators of ocean cruises by water between the United States, its possessions and territories, and foreign countries to file evidence of financial security and other information Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when used in this Act: The term "ocean cruise", be defined as an ocean voyage for hire of passengers, other than a common carrier service transporting passengers from a port in the United States to ports in the possessions and territories of the United States or a foreign country, by a vessel of over one thousand gross tons and having a capacity in excess of twelve passengers from the United States and return thereto during which time the itinerary of the vessel may include possessions and territories of the United States or a foreign country, and during which time passengers may disembark and reboard the vessel. The term "person" includes corporations, partnerships, and associations exist ing under or authorized by the laws of the United States, or any State, territory or district, or possession thereof, or any foreign country. SEC. 2. No person shall arrange, offer, advertise, or provide an ocean cruise by a chartered vessel, without first having filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (1) the name, address, and citizenship of the offering person; (2) the name, registry, official number, flag, and tonnage of the vessel to be employed in the ocean cruise; (3) the itinerary of the ocean cruise; and (4) a copy of a bond or other security, in such form as the Commission, by rule or regulation, may require and accept, for indemnification of passengers for nonperformance |