The Radio Act of 1912 ("Act to regulate radio communications") was a federal law that required all seafaring vessels to maintain 24-hour radio watch and keep in contact with nearby ships and coastal radio stations. Part of the impetus for the Act's passage was the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Other factors included an ongoing conflict between amateur radio operators and the U.S. Navy and private corporations, that included the amateurs forging naval messages and issuing fake distress calls.