Rules of the Road · Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone
The Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act requires vessel operators to maintain a watch on VHF Channel 13. Which vessels must comply?
- APower-driven vessels 20 meters or more, vessels of 100 GT or more carrying passengers for hire, towing vessels 26 feet or more, and dredges and floating plants✓ Correct
- BAll U.S.-flagged vessels on any navigable water
- COnly commercial vessels on the Mississippi River
- DOnly passenger vessels certificated to carry more than 6 passengers
Explanation
The Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act (33 USC 1203, implemented at 33 CFR 26.03) applies to every power-driven vessel of 20 meters or more in length, every vessel of 100 gross tons and upward carrying one or more passengers for hire, every towing vessel of 26 feet or more in length, and every dredge or floating plant engaged in or near a channel or fairway. There is no single gross-tonnage threshold — length and service type govern.
Authority: 33 CFR 26.03; 33 USC 1203
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