A DISPATCHER'S RPT ON THE FAILURE OF A B757 PIC TO COORD A CHANGE IN ROUTING AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF AN OVERWATER ROUTING THAT THE ACFT WAS NOT LEGAL TO FLY; NEAR CYY; FL.

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ACR XX FLT XX PLANNED LAX TO MIA ON A ROUTING OVER ELP; THEN NE TOWARD LIT TO VUZ; THEN SE ALONG THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA DUE TO TSTMS OVER SE TEXAS AND SRN LA/MS. ON FLT MONITOR XC; I NOTICED THE FLT NEAR MSY AND CHKED FLT PLAN VERSUS ACTUAL ROUTING. THE FLT HAD ACCEPTED CLRNC FROM NEAR MAS DIRECT TO CYY; WHICH WOULD TAKE HIM OVER THE GULF. THIS WAS NOWHERE NEAR HIS PLANNED RTE OF FLT; AND HE NEVER ADVISED ME OF THE RERTE. I ALSO CHKED THE ACFT STATUS AND DETERMINED IT WAS NOT EQUIPPED FOR OVERWATER FLTS. I SENT AN ACARS TO THE FLT ADVISING THEM OF THE LACK OF LIFE RAFTS OR LIFE VESTS. THE FLT THEN DEVIATED BACK TOWARD SHORE AFTER BEING APPROX 75-100 MI OFF THE COAST. THE CREW DID NOT ADVISE OF THE RERTE; THEY ACCEPTED AN OVERWATER RTE FOR ACFT NOT SO EQUIPPED; AND IF I HAD NOT BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE LIMITATIONS OF THE ACARS SYS; I WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET THEM A MESSAGE. ALSO; IF THIS HAD BEEN THE PREVIOUS DAY WHEN FLT MONITOR WAS INOP; I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ADVISE THEM OF THE SIT. AS IT WAS; THE ONLY REASON I LOOKED AT THIS FLT A LITTLE CLOSER WAS DUE TO THE FACT I HAD ROUTED ALL MY FLTS AWAY FROM THE IAM-MSY AREA DUE TO THE SEVERE TSTMS IN THAT AREA.