46 CFR 140.500: Health and safety plan for towing vessels

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026

This section requires a health and safety plan. The owner or managing operator must implement it no later than July 22, 2019. The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure all persons on board comply.

Applies toThe section applies to the owner, managing operator, or master of a towing vessel, and to all persons on board a towing vessel.

What it says

  1. The owner or managing operator must implement a health and safety plan no later than July 22, 2019.

    46 CFR 140.500(a)“No later than July 22, 2019, the owner or managing operator must implement a health and safety plan.”

  2. The health and safety plan must document compliance with this part and include recordkeeping procedures.

    46 CFR 140.500(a)“The health and safety plan must document compliance with this part and include recordkeeping procedures.”

  3. The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure that all persons on board a towing vessel comply with the health and safety plan.

    46 CFR 140.500(b)“The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure that all persons on board a towing vessel comply with the health and safety plan.”

Common questions

Who must implement the health and safety plan on a towing vessel?

The owner or managing operator must implement the health and safety plan. The deadline in the text is no later than July 22, 2019.

“No later than July 22, 2019, the owner or managing operator must implement a health and safety plan.”

What must a towing vessel health and safety plan include?

The plan must document compliance with this part. It must also include recordkeeping procedures.

“The health and safety plan must document compliance with this part and include recordkeeping procedures.”

Who has to follow the health and safety plan on board?

All persons on board a towing vessel must comply with the plan. The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure they do.

“The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure that all persons on board a towing vessel comply with the health and safety plan.”

The text of 46 CFR 140.500

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), current as of April 16, 2026 · Read it on eCFR

General

(a) No later than July 22, 2019, the owner or managing operator must implement a health and safety plan. The health and safety plan must document compliance with this part and include recordkeeping procedures.

(b) The owner, managing operator, or master must ensure that all persons on board a towing vessel comply with the health and safety plan.

The plain-English explanation on this page was written with AI from the regulation text above and checked automatically before publishing: every quote appears in the text, every number comes from it, and a second model confirmed each statement adds nothing the text doesn't say. Regulation text current as of April 16, 2026. The regulation text governs. RegKnot is not affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard.