Steamboat Inspection Service - Steamboat Act of May 30, 1852

Steamboat Act of May 30, 1852

The 1838 law proved inadequate as steamboat disasters increased in volume and severity. The period from 1847 to 1852 was marked by an unusual series of disasters primarily caused by boiler explosions; however, many were also caused by fires and collisions. These disasters resulted in the passage of the Steamboat Act of May 30, 1852 (10 Stat. L., 1852) in which enforcement powers were placed under the United States Department of the Treasury, rather than under the United States Department of Justice as with the Act of 1838. The important features of the Steamboat Act were the requirement for hydrostatic testing of boilers and the requirement for a boiler steam safety valve. The act further required that both pilots and engineers be licensed by the local inspectors.

Under the Steamboat Act, the organization and form of a federal maritime inspection service began to emerge. Nine supervisory inspectors, each responsibl for a specific geographic region, were appointed. There were also provisions for the appointment of local inspectors by a commission consisting of the local district collector of customs, the supervisory inspector, and the district judge.

Time and further insight proved the Steamboat Act inadequate. Probably its most serious shortcoming was the exemption of freightboats, ferries, tugboats, and towboats, which continued to operate under the superficial inspection requirements of the Act of 1838. However, the Steamboat Act was the beginning of legislation tha would lead a federal inspection service.