The Coast Guard issued marine safety alert 13-14 to raise awareness of the importance of checking boat bilge pump discharge piping.

During a recent Coast Guard inspection of an amphibious passenger vessel / DUKW (“duck”) boat, a marine inspector discovered water back-flowing into the vessel’s bilge while testing the vessel’s bilge pump system. An expanded inspection of the system revealed a severely wasted and holed section of the steel bilge piping leading vertically to the overboard bilge discharge port. After inspecting the remaining fleet of six vessels, the same problem was discovered, in various degrees of severity, on four other vessels.

The U.S. Coast Guard strongly encourages owners, operators and other persons involved with the inspection of these types of vessels to:

• Immediately trace out and inspect the entire bilge piping system for wastage or deterioration of metal bilge piping, check the condition of all hoses, hose clamps, supports and make repairs as needed
• Make the inspections of these concealed components part of the vessel’s overall routine inspection process
• Consider installing an access plate on the inner panel at the area of the discharge piping so that the piping is easily accessible for inspection and maintenance
• Inform the appropriate Coast Guard personnel if the system piping has changed significantly or in any way that may require regulatory notification, oversight or guidance for permanent repair solutions

View the full marine safety alert for full details.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.