[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13112-13113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5115]
[[Page 13112]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
[USCG 2001-8920]
Guidelines for Assessing Merchant Mariners' Proficiency Through
Demonstrations of Skills for Ratings Forming Part of an Engineering
Watch
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of, and seeks
public comments on, the national performance measures proposed here for
use as guidelines when mariners demonstrate their proficiency in skills
for ratings forming part of an engineering watch. A working group of
the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) developed and
recommended measures for this proficiency. The Coast Guard has adapted
the measures recommended by MERPAC.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before May 1, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Please identify your comments and related material by the
docket number of this rulemaking [USCG 2001-8920]. Then, to make sure
they enter the docket just once, submit them by just one of the
following means:
(1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC
20590-0001.
(2) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
(3) By fax to the Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
The Facility maintains the public docket for this Notice. Comments
and related material received from the public, as well as documents
mentioned in this Notice, will become part of this docket and will be
available for inspection or copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level
of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
The measures proposed here are available on the Internet at http://
dms.dot.gov. They are also available from Mr. Mark Gould, Maritime
Personnel Qualifications Division, Office of Operating and
Environmental Standards, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters, telephone 202-267-0229.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this Notice or on the
national performance measures proposed here, write or call Mr. Gould
where indicated under ADDRESSES. For questions on viewing or submitting
material to the docket, call Ms. Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets,
Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
What Action Is the Coast Guard Taking?
Table A-III/4 of the Code accompanying the treaty on Standards of
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as
amended in 1995, articulates qualifications for merchant mariners'
attaining the minimum standard of competence for ratings forming part
of an engineering watch. The Coast Guard tasked MERPAC with referring
to the Table, modifying and specifying it as it deemed necessary, and
recommending national performance measures. The Coast Guard has adapted
the measures recommended by MERPAC and is proposing them now for use as
guidelines when assessing mariners' proficiency in skills (manifesting
knowledge, understanding, and proficiency) for ratings forming part of
an engineering watch.
Here follow the eight skills that a mariner must demonstrate
respecting ratings forming part of an engineering watch, with an
example of a Performance Condition, a Performance Behavior, and three
Performance Standards for one of the eight:
Eight Skills: Engine-room watchkeeping procedures; Safe working
practices as related to engine-room operations; Basic environmental-
protection procedures; Use of appropriate internal-communication
systems; Engine-room alarms and ability to distinguish among the
various alarms, with special reference to alarms for fire-extinguishing
gas; Safe operations of boilers; Escape routes from machinery spaces;
and Familiarity with the location and use of fire-fighting equipment in
machinery spaces.
The Performance Condition for the skill entitled, ``Engine-room
watchkeeping procedures'' is: ``Aboard a ship, in port or underway, or
in an approved simulator or laboratory, given proper equipment . . .''
This calls for, in the case of this skill, various Performance
Behaviors.
One Performance Behavior for the same skill is: ``The candidate
will properly relieve the watch.'' This behavior calls for three
Performance Standards.
The Performance Standards for the same behavior are: ``(1) Reports
for duty 15 minutes before the hour; (2) Determines from the off-going
watch: plant operational status, unusual alarms or conditions during
previous watch, standing orders, maintenance performed during previous
watch, on-going repairs affecting plant operations, [and] outstanding
safety conditions; [and] (3) Seeks clarification from the off-going
watch or engineer if information was not clearly understood.''
If the mariner properly meets all of the Performance Standards, he
or she passes the practical demonstration. If he or she fails to
properly carry out any of the Standards, he or she fails the
demonstration.
Why Is the Coast Guard Taking This Action?
The Coast Guard is taking this action to comply with STCW, as
amended in 1995 and 1997 and incorporated into domestic law at 46 CFR
Parts 10, 12, and 15 in 1997 and since. Guidance from the International
Maritime Organization on shipboard assessments of proficiency suggests
that Parties develop standards and measures of performance for
practical tests as part of their programs for training and assessing
seafarers.
How May I Participate in This Action?
You may participate in this action by submitting comments and
related material on the national performance measures proposed here.
(Although the Coast Guard does not seek public comment on the measures
recommended by MERPAC, as distinct from the measures proposed here,
those measures are available on the Internet at the Homepage of MERPAC,
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/merpac/merpac.htm.) The measures
proposed here, again, are available on the Internet at http://
dms.dot.gov. They are also available from Mr. Gould where indicated
under ADDRESSES. If you submit written comments please include--
Your name and address;
The docket number for this Notice [USCG 2001-8920];
The specific section of the performance measures to which
each comment applies; and
The reason for each comment.
[[Page 13113]]
You may mail, deliver, fax, or electronically submit your comments
and related material to the Docket Management Facility, using an
address or fax number listed in ADDRESSES. Please do not submit the
same comment or material more than once. If you mail or deliver your
comments and material, they must be on 8\1/2\-by-11-inch paper, and the
quality of the copy should be clear enough for copying and scanning. If
you mail your comments and material and would like to know whether the
Facility received them, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed
postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard will consider all comments and
material received during the 60-day comment period.
Once we have considered all comments and related material, we will
publish a final version of the national performance measures for use as
guidelines by the general public. Individuals and institutions
assessing the competence of mariners may refine the final version of
these measures and develop innovative alternatives. If you vary from
the final version of these measures, however, you must submit your
alternative to the National Maritime Center for approval by the Coast
Guard under 46 CFR 10.303(e) before you use it as part of an approved
course or training program.
Dated: February 20, 2001.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 01-5115 Filed 3-2-01; 8:45 am]
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