What are the legalities?

[Chuck Tribolet]

What are the legalities of operation in a "swept away" situation in
US waters?

Chuck

 

[Doubler]

Don't understand the question. but If you mean a diver lost in current it depends on the circumstance. As a diver you have a responsibility to ensure you get back to the boat, the boat has the responsibility to verify you are in fact on board. In the end, unless the Divemasters are Coast Guard certified crewman the Captain bears all responsibility for verification that you indeed are on board his vessel after a dive. How you got swept away is probably all on the diver. Just had a court case in CA which had all the elements listed above.

 

[ShootinSquid]

I always heard that the captain (master) of the vessel is responsible for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE aboard the boat...but does that extend to someone who is a diver and personally goes into harms way by leaving the safety of the boat?

The diver dives on their own, moves away from the boat on their own and actively moves away from the watchful eye and away from the envelope of protection of the captain.

I guess what I'm saying is that .....can the catain be held responsible in a situation in which they cannot do anything??? and have no control over the diver or their activities?

Hmmmm????

 

[fisheater]

I'm pretty sure that Chuck's question is about the legality, vis-a-vis the FCC &/or foreign equivalents, of using a marine radio when you're not a boat, but a diver floating at the surface. Do you need a license? Requirements?

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Fisheater understood the question.

 

[fisheater]

Hmmm.

STILL no response?

 

[aquaregia]

The FCC gives almost unlimited privileges in life or death situations. An amateur radio operator can operate out of band and above power without recrimination.
- KJ6AQR

 

[aquaregia]

Err, in terms of marine band in the US, the set is licensed for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore only. A special license is needed (but widely ignored) for shore-to-ship, and shore-to-shore is not permitted at all.

I think I'd be pretty comfortable claiming that my BC was more like a ship than the shore. Now, if you got stranded on a desert island...

 

[Nautilus Mike]

I'm pretty sure that Chuck's question is about the legality, vis-a-vis the FCC &/or foreign equivalents, of using a marine radio when you're not a boat, but a diver floating at the surface. Do you need a license? Requirements?

Hi. just found this thread. Excellent question. I've been working on the development of the Lifeline for the last 2 years and we are almost at the finish line now.

Lifelines will be delivered end of March with FCC, CE, IC certification as handheld marine vhf radios. There are no restrictions on using them "in the marine environment" in the U.S. according to the FCC regulations. It's a bit dubious if you can use one standing on the shoreline - still arguably in the marine environment. But no problem regardless of whether you are on a ship, a kayak, a raft, pontoon or in the water. Note that in some other countries, radio base licence is required but even then, if the radio is "linked" to a ship that has a base radio licence, no further licensing is required. That's the situation with our own ship that is registered and licensed in Canada - we can deploy an unlimited number of radios associated with the ship regardless of whether it is by skiff or by diver.

No operator licence is required in the U.S.

You are completely legal and good to go to buy any handheld VHF marine radio and carry it with you - and use it - when you are diving..

hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ping me with any questions or comments
Mike

 

[reefduffer]

Hi. just found this thread. Excellent question.
... There are no restrictions on using them "in the marine environment" in the U.S. according to the FCC regulations. It's a bit dubious if you can use one standing on the shoreline - still arguably in the marine environment. But no problem regardless of whether you are on a ship, a kayak, a raft, pontoon or in the water. Note that in some other countries, radio base licence is required but even then, if the radio is "linked" to a ship that has a base radio licence, no further licensing is required. That's the situation with our own ship that is registered and licensed in Canada - we can deploy an unlimited number of radios associated with the ship regardless of whether it is by skiff or by diver.

No operator licence is required in the U.S.

You are completely legal and good to go to buy any handheld VHF marine radio and carry it with you - and use it - when you are diving..

hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ping me with any questions or comments
Mike

Hi. This may initially sound harsh, so know that I am very interested in this product as a potential customer. I just want some assurances on the legalities ...

I asked essentially the same question through your website back in early December. On December 10 I got a response from Katherine that she had forwarded my query to you. I have no response yet on that, but I'm happier discussing it here for all to see.

I am not a boater or radio operator (I do have a GMRS license for my terrestrial walkie-talkies) and not particularly well-informed about the licensing issues, but I did spend some time on the FCC website trying to resolve this myself before making my query to you. I'm happy to hear your interpretation, and I want that to be the case. But as best as I can see, there isn't blanket allowance for this use unless a diver is considered a "ship" or a "vessel", which might be a bit of a stretch.

I understand the case of "covered by the dive boat license", but what if there isn't a dive boat involved (shore diving)?

What I'd like to see is some reference to FCC documentation on this issue, and I'd like to see that on your website, in a discussion of the licensing legalities for all the likely jurisdictions where this will be used. Before I spend the money and effort to carry one of these while diving, I'd like to be sure that my use of it is legal, and if I have to buy a license for use in some non-USA dive destination, I'd like you to make the requirements clear, and perhaps provide a little guidance on procedures, rather than having every customer trying to figure that out for themselves.

If you know the legalities, it can't be that much more work to spell them out publicly on your website for all potential customers to see. If you don't, or they're ambiguous, I'd think you have an obligation to make that clear, and perhaps work with the appropriate national licensing authorities to get them resolved. Sound reasonable?

I want this to work, I think it's a great idea, and I can't see why those that control Marine VHF use wouldn't think the same. But I'd like the i's dotted.