In the matter of age the act provides that in the deck department of all vessels of more than 100 tons gross, except those navigating rivers exclusively and the smaller inland lakes, there shall be a certain proportion of seamen with the rating of able seamen, a classification which is limited to those of nineteen years of age. The lack of supply of able seamen has made it practically impossible to enforce this requirement.
Service and Physical Qualification.—
The act requires the physical examination of able seamen in the deck department. It also divides able seamen into two classes, those engaged in vessels operating on the high seas and those engaged on the Great Lakes, smaller lakes, bays and sounds. For the former three years' service at sea or on the Great Lakes, etc., and an examination as to general physical condition, is required, or one year's experience on deck at sea or on the Great Lakes, etc., together with an oral examination on seamanship and for the latter eighteen months' experience at sea or on the Lakes.
Lifeboat Men.—
The Seamen's Act, in connection with its elaborate provisions for the equipment of vessels with life-saving appliances, lays down the distribution of a specially designated class of certificated seamen known as lifeboat men to the various lifeboats and rafts required to be carried by a vessel, leaving the designation of the individuals to the discretion of the master. To secure a certificate as lifeboat man, a seaman is required to prove to the satisfaction of the inspection officers, or other officers designated for the purpose of issuing certificates, that he has been trained in all the operations in connection with launching lifeboats and the use of oars, is acquainted with the practical handling of the boats themselves, and is capable of understanding and answering the orders relative to lifeboat service.
Language.—
Perhaps the most disputed proviso of the Seamen's Act is that which requires that not less than 75 per cent. of the crew of the vessel must be able to understand any order given by the officer—that is, the necessary orders given to the members of the crew in each department in the performance of their particular duties. This law, however, does not require the use of any particular language on the part of officers and crew of the vessel, nor does it require an English-speaking crew, nor that the members of the crew in one department of the vessel should understand orders given in another department.
IX. Nationality of Officers and Crew
Officers.—
Since 1792 our laws have required that the officers of all vessels of the United States who are in charge of a watch, including pilots, shall be citizens. This of course includes tugs, barges and all other vessels which are documented under our laws. The term "officer" includes the Chief Engineer and each Assistant Engineer in charge of the watch. The only exception to this rule is that which was made by the Ship Registry Act of 1914, and the executive order based upon it, under which foreign-built ships admitted to American registry under that act are permitted to retain their watch officers, without regard to citizenship, for a term of seven years, provided that after two years any vacancy must be filled by a citizen of the United States.