§ 4502. Safety standards
(a)
The Secretary shall prescribe regulations which require that each vessel to which this chapter applies shall be equipped with—
(1)
readily accessible fire extinguishers capable of promptly and effectively extinguishing a flammable or combustible liquid fuel fire;
(2)
at least one readily accessible life preserver or other lifesaving device for each individual on board;
(3)
an efficient flame arrestor, backfire trap, or other similar device on the carburetors of each inboard engine which uses gasoline as fuel;
(4)
the means to properly and efficiently ventilate enclosed spaces, including engine and fuel tank compartments, so as to remove explosive or flammable gases;
(6)
a buoyant apparatus, if the vessel is of a type required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary to be equipped with that apparatus;
(7)
alerting and locating equipment, including emergency position indicating radio beacons, on vessels that operate beyond 3 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial sea of the United States is measured, and which are owned in the United States or beyond 3 nautical miles from the coastline of the Great Lakes; and
(b)
(1)
In addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring the installation, maintenance, and use of the equipment in paragraph (2) of this subsection for documented vessels to which this chapter applies that—
(2)
The equipment to be required is as follows:
(C)
at least one readily accessible immersion suit for each individual on board that vessel when operating on the waters described in section
3102 of this title;
(c)
(1)
In addition to the requirements described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the Secretary may prescribe regulations establishing the standards in paragraph (2) of this subsection for vessels to which this chapter applies that—
(2)
The standards shall be minimum safety standards, including standards relating to—
(B)
lifesaving equipment, immersion suits, signaling devices, bilge pumps, bilge alarms, life rails, and grab rails;
(d)
(e)
In prescribing regulations under this chapter, the Secretary—
(f)
To ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter, at least once every 2 years the Secretary shall examine—