---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 C.F.R. § 131.550"
title: "46"
number: "131.550"
heading: "Maintenance of falls."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/46/131.550"
---

# §131.550. Maintenance of falls.

- (a) Each fall used with a launching appliance must be turned end for end at intervals of not more than 30 months.
- (b) Each fall used with a launching appliance must be renewed either when necessary because of deterioration or after the passage of not more than 5 years, whichever occurs earlier.
- (c) Each fall used with a launching appliance must have a corrosion-resistant tag permanently marked with—
  - (1) The date the new fall was installed; and
  - (2) **The last date, if any, the fall was turned end for end.**

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(j); 46 U.S.C. 3306, 6101, 10104; E.O. 12234, 3 CFR, 1980 Comp., p. 277; E.O. 12777, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; DHS Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.4. Section 131.990 also issued under sec. 617, Pub. L. 111-281, 124 Stat. 2905.

### Source

Source: CGD 82-004 and CGD 86-074, 62 FR 49340, Sept. 19, 1997, unless otherwise noted.