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DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD. The Coast Guard is charged with the enforcement of the maritime laws of the United States, the saving of life and property and rendering of assistance to vessels in distress, and the performance of miscellaneous duties for other government departments. LAW ENFORCEMENT. Prevention of smuggling. Enforcement of the customs laws. Enforcement of navigation and other laws governing merchant vessels and motor boats. Enforcement of rules and regulations governing anchorage of vessels (Captains of the Port). Enforcement of law to provide for safety of life on navigable waters during regattas or marine parades. Examining merchant seamen for certificates as lifeboatmen. Enforcement of the law relative to oil pollution. Enforcement of laws relating to immigration, quarantine and neutrality. Protection of game and the seal and otter fisheries in Alaska. Enforcement of rules and regulations for protection of the fisheries in Alaska. Enforcement of international conventions relative to fisheries on the high seas. Enforcement of the sponge fishing law. Protection of bird reservations established by Executive Order. Enforcement of law and the administration of oaths generally in Alaska. Enforcement of miscellaneous laws for other branches of the government. Transporting floating court in Alaska when necessary. Suppression of mutinies on merchant vessels. LIFE SAVING AND ASSISTANCE. Saving life and property upon the high seas and along the Coasts of the United States. Assistance to vessels in distress. Flood relief on the western rivers. Destruction and removal of wrecks, derelicts or other dangers to navigation. International service of ice observation and ice patrol in the North Atlantic Ocean. Extending medical and surgical aid to United States vessels engaged in deep sea fishing. Assisting other branches of the government in the performance of duties assigned. Transporting government agents. Caring for and transporting shipwrecked and destitute persons in Alaska and elsewhere. Rendering medical, dental and general welfare service to natives in Alaska. Carrying the United States mails. Collecting statistics regarding loss of life and property on vessels. MILITARY DUTIES. "The Coast Guard---shall operate under the Treasury Department in time of peace and operate as a part of the Navy, subject to the orders of the Secretary of Navy, in time of war or when the President shall so direct---."