CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES.

SEC. 413. CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES.(a) In General.—Section 3316 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:“(c)(1) A classification society (including an employee or agent of that society) may not review, examine, survey, or certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the United States unless—“(A) the society has applied for approval under this subsection and the Secretary has reviewed and approved that society with respect to the conduct of that society under paragraph (2); or“(B) the society is a full member of the International Association of Classification Societies.“(2) The Secretary may approve a person for purposes of paragraph (1) only if the Secretary determines that—“(A) the vessels surveyed by the person while acting as a classification society have an adequate safety record; and“(B) the person has an adequate program to—“(i) develop and implement safety standards for vessels surveyed by the person;“(ii) make the safety records of the person available to the Secretary in an electronic format;“(iii) provide the safety records of a vessel surveyed by the person to any other classification society that requests those records for the purpose of conducting a survey of the vessel; and“(iv) request the safety records of a vessel the person will survey from any classification society that previously surveyed the vessel.”.(b) Application.—Section 3316(c)(1) of title 46, United States Code, shall apply with respect to operation as a classification society on or after January 1, 2005.