Bureau of Navigation

For the United States Navy's Bureau of Navigation, see Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy).

Bureau of Navigation
Agency overview
The seal of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, as the bureau was known from 1936 until its abolition.
Flag of the Bureau of Navigation
Formed	1884 (1884)
Dissolved	1946 (1946)
Superseding agency	United States Coast Guard and United States Customs Service
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent agency	United States Department of the Treasury (1884–1903) United States Department of Commerce and Labor (1903–1913) United States Department of Commerce (1913–1946)
Footnotes
Known as the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection 1932–1936 and as the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation 1936–1946.

Sculptured relief on the facade of the United States Department of Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.

The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navy's Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United States Government established in 1884 to enforce laws relating to the construction, equipment, operation, inspection, safety, and documentation of merchant vessels. The bureau also investigated marine accidents and casualties; collected tonnage taxes and other navigation fees; and examined, certified, and licensed merchant mariners.

When established, the Bureau of Navigation was a part of the United States Department of the Treasury. In 1903, the organization was transferred to the newly formed United States Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1913 that department was split into the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Department of Labor, and the bureau was assigned to the new Department of Commerce. In 1932 the bureau was combined with the Steamboat Inspection Service to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection. The Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection was in turn renamed the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation in 1936.^[1]

In 1942, Executive Order 9083 transferred many functions of the bureau to two other agencies: Merchant vessel documentation was transferred to the United States Customs Service, while functions relating to merchant vessel inspection, safety of life at sea, and merchant mariners were transferred to the United States Coast Guard. The merchant vessel documention functions were also transferred to the Coast Guard in 1946.

With all its functions having been absorbed by the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was abolished as unnecessary and redundant by Reorganization Plan No. III of 1946.

Flags

Ships of the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, and the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation flew a blue flag with a white three-masted sailing ship within a red disc. Ships of the bureau with the director of the bureau embarked also flew the director's flag, which featured the same white three-masted sailing ship on a completely blue field.^[1]

The flag of the Bureau of Navigation.
Flag of the Director of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.

References

1 2 Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (U.S.)

Sources

United States Coast Guard

Portal:United States Coast Guard Category:United States Coast Guard

Leadership	Secretary of Homeland Security Commandant of the Coast Guard Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Organization	Missions Reserve Intelligence Investigative Service Legal Division Police Deployable Operations Group Areas Districts Sectors Stations Air Stations Radio stations Shipbuilding Yard National Ice Center Research & Development Center Coast Guard Auxiliary

Personnel and training	Personnel Officer ranks Enlisted rates Ratings Coast Guard Academy Training Center Cape May Training Center Petaluma Training Center Yorktown Maritime Law Enforcement Academy Joint Maritime Training Center Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl Chaplain of the Coast Guard

Uniforms and equipment	Uniforms Awards Badges Cutters List of cutters Ship commissioning Ship decommissioning Equipment

History and traditions	History Coast Guard Act Coast Guard City Life-Saving Service Revenue Cutter Service Lighthouse Service Steamboat Inspection Service Bureau of Navigation "Semper Paratus" Flag Ensign Racing Stripe Band Fleet Week Coast Guard service numbers Coast Guardsman's Creed

Battles and operations	Quasi-War War of 1812 West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations Capture of the Bravo Ingham Incident Amistad Incident Great Lakes Patrol Mexican–American War American Civil War Battle of Fort Sumter Battle of Pig Point Battle of Galveston Harbor Battle of Portland Harbor Overland Relief Expedition Spanish–American War Battle of Manila Bay Battle of Cárdenas Ice Patrol World War I 1st Battle of the Atlantic Great Mississippi Flood Rum Patrol World War II 2nd Battle of the Atlantic Battle of Guam Operation Overlord Korean War Vietnam War Coast Guard Squadron One Operation Market Time Operation Sealords Action of 1 March 1968 Persian Gulf War War on Terrorism Afghanistan War Iraq War Operation Enduring Freedom HOA

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