You are using an unsupported browser. This web site is designed for the current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
The Office of the Federal Register publishes documents on behalf of Federal agencies but does not have any authority over their programs. We recommend you directly contact the agency associated with the content in question.
If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the www.ecfr.gov website or have questions about using www.ecfr.gov, please choose the 'Website Feedback' button below.
If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency
Enhanced content is provided to the user to provide additional context.
This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.
Navigate by entering citations or phrases (eg: 1 CFR 1.1 49 CFR 172.101 Organization and Purpose 1/1.1 Regulation Y FAR).
Choosing an item from citations and headings will bring you directly to the content. Choosing an item from full text search results will bring you to those results. Pressing enter in the search box will also bring you to search results.
Background and more details are available in the Search & Navigation guide.
14 U.S.C. 503; 33 U.S.C. 151; DHS Delegation 00170.1, Revision No. 01.4.
CGD 81-058, 50 FR 25230, June 18, 1985, unless otherwise noted.
This content is from the eCFR and may include recent changes applied to the CFR. The official, published CFR, is updated annually and available below under "Published Edition". You can learn more about the process here.
Subscribe to: 46 CFR Part 7 - General
View the most recent official publication:
These links go to the official, published CFR, which is updated annually. As a result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. Learn more.
Information and documentation can be found in our developer resources.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.
Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.
The lines in this part delineate the application of the following U.S. statutes: 33 U.S.C. 152 relating to the length of towing hawsers; 33 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act; 46 U.S.C. 5102(b)(6), which exempt from load line requirements certain vessels on domestic voyages; 46 U.S.C. 3301(6) requiring the inspection of seagoing barges which are defined in 46 U.S.C. 2101; 46 U.S.C. 3301(7) requiring the inspection of seagoing motor vessels which are defined in 46 U.S.C. 2101; 46 U.S.C. 3302(d) which exempts from inspection requirements certain vessels under 150 gross tons that operate within the waters of southeastern Alaska and the State of Washington; and 46 U.S.C. 8304, “Implementing the Officers' Competency Certificates Convention, 1936.”
[CGD 81-058, 50 FR 25230, June 18, 1985, as amended by CGD 95-028, 62 FR 51195, Sept. 30, 1997; USCG-1998-4442, 63 FR 52188, Sept. 30, 1998; USCG-2024-1103, 90 FR 52879, Nov. 24, 2025]
(a) For application of the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act, 33 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., the line is 12 nautical miles seaward of the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.
(b) Barges of 100 gross tons and over operating on the sheltered waters of British Columbia as defined in the United States-Canada treaty of 1933 (49 Stat. 2685, TS 869) are not required to be inspected as seagoing barges under 46 U.S.C. 3301.
(c) Except as otherwise described in this part, Boundary Lines are lines drawn following the general trend of the seaward, highwater shorelines and lines continuing the general trend of the seaward, highwater shorelines across entrances to small bays, inlets and rivers.
[CGD 81-058, 50 FR 25230, June 18, 1985, as amended by USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42602, July 18, 2003]