SMALL PASSENGER VESSEL REPORT.

SEC. 624. SMALL PASSENGER VESSEL REPORT.(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall study and report to the Congress regarding measures that should be taken to increase the likelihood of survival of passengers on small passenger vessels who may be in the water resulting from the capsizing of, sinking of, or other marine casualty involving the small passenger vessel. The study shall include a review of the adequacy of existing measures—(1) to keep the passengers out of the water, including inflatable life rafts and other out-of-the-water survival crafts;(2) to protect individuals from hypothermia and cold shock in water having a temperature of less than 68 degrees Fahrenheit;(3) for safe egress of passengers wearing personal flotation devices; and(4) for the enforcement efforts and degree of compliance regarding the 1996 amendments to the Small Passenger Vessel Regulations (part 185 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations) requiring the master of a small passenger vessel to require passengers to wear personal flotation devices when possible hazardous conditions exist including—(A) when transiting hazardous bars or inlets;(B) during severe weather;(C) in the event of flooding, fire, or other events that may call for evacuation; and(D) when the vessel is being towed, except during the towing of a non-self-propelled vessel under normal operating conditions.(b) Contents.—The report under this section shall include—(1) a section regarding the efforts the Coast Guard has undertaken to enforce the regulations described in subsection (a)(4); (2) a section detailing compliance with these regulations, to include the number of vessels and masters cited for violations of those regulations for fiscal years 1998 through 2003; 118 STAT. 1065(3) a section detailing the number and types of marine casualties that occurred in fiscal years 1998 through 2003 that included violations of those regulations; and (4) a section providing recommendation on improving compliance with, and possible modifications to, those regulations.