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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4. Conservation And Natural Resources
Agency 15. Department of Wildlife Resources
Chapter 440. Watercraft: Commercial Vessel Safety Equipment Requirements
11/21/2024

4VAC15-440-20. Lifesaving equipment required.

A. It shall be unlawful to operate a vessel to which this chapter applies unless it meets the requirements of this section.

B. Each vessel not carrying passengers for hire less than 40 feet in length must have at least one U.S. Coast Guard approved life preserver (Type I PFD), buoyant vest (Type II PFD), or marine buoyant device intended to be worn (Type III PFD), of a suitable size for each person on board.

C. Each vessel carrying passengers for hire and each vessel 40 feet in length or longer not carrying passengers for hire must have at least one approved (Type I PFD) life preserver of a suitable size for each person on board.

D. In addition to the equipment required by subsection B or C of this section, each vessel 26 feet in length or longer must have at least one approved ring life buoy, constructed in accordance with requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard.

E. Each vessel not carrying passengers for hire may substitute an immersion suit for a life preserver, buoyant vest, or marine buoyant device required under subsection B or C of this section. Each immersion suit carried in accordance with this subsection must be of a type approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.

F. On each vessel, regardless of length and regardless of whether carrying passengers for hire, an approved commercial hybrid PFD may be substituted for a life preserver, buoyant vest, or marine buoyant device required under subsection B or C of this section if it is:

1. Used in accordance with the conditions marked on the PFD and in the owner's manual;

2. Labeled for use on commercial vessels; and

3. In the case of a performance level 150 commercial hybrid PFD, worn when the vessel is underway and the intended wearer is not within an enclosed space.

Statutory Authority

§§ 29.1-701 and 29.1-735 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 5, eff. January 1, 2003; amended, Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 9, eff. January 1, 2023.

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