Personal flotation device required

  1. Law
  2. US Virgin Islands Code
  3. Navigation
  4. Mandatory Motorboat Education and Safety
  5. Personal flotation device required

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  • All vessels must be equipped with U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device. Each PFD must be in good condition, the proper size for the intended wearer, and must be readily accessible. Readily accessible means an individual must be able to put the PFD on in a reasonable amount of time in an emergency.

    • (a) No person may operate a recreational vessel on the waters of the Virgin Islands unless at least one of the following types of personal flotation devices approved by the United States Coast Guard is on board for each individual aboard the vessel.

      • (1) Type I PFD (Offshore Life Jackets);

      • (2) Type II PFD (Near-Shore Vests); or

      • (3) Type III PFD (Flotation Aids).

    • (b) No person may operate a recreational vessel on the waters of the Virgin Islands unless one Type IV PFD, a throwable device, is on board in addition to the total number of PFDs required in subsection (a) of this section.


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