[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56627-56629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28118]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 175
[USCG-2001-10530]
Servicing of Inflatable Liferafts Carried on Recreational Vessels
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC)
recommended that the Coast Guard
[[Page 56628]]
require that any inflatable liferaft carried on a recreational vessel
must be serviced according to the manufacturer's requirements and at a
servicing facility approved by the manufacturer. The Coast Guard is
requesting comments from the boating community about the extent to
which recreational vessels carry inflatable liferafts, how many vessel
owners have their liferafts serviced and how often owners use
manufacturer-approved servicing facilities. Your comments will help us
evaluate the NBSAC recommendation.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before March 11, 2002.
ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material are not
entered more than once in the docket, please submit them by only 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 Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this
notice. Comments and material received from the public, as well as
documents mentioned in this notice as being available in the docket,
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. You may also find this docket
on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
contact Carlton Perry, Project Manager, Office of Boating Safety,
telephone 202-267-0979, e-mail cperry@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Dorothy
Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-
5149.
You may obtain a copy of this notice by calling the U.S. Coast
Guard Infoline at 1-800-368-5647 or read it on the Internet at the Web
Site for the Office of Boating Safety at http://www.uscgboating.org or
at http://dms.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Currently, no federal regulation requires that recreational vessels
carry inflatable liferafts; however, inflatable liferafts are becoming
popular as ``last resort'' safety equipment on board recreational
vessels. Manufacturers advise purchasers to service these devices and
typically list servicing facilities approved by the manufacturers.
At an October 2000 meeting of the National Boating Safety Advisory
Council (NBSAC), the Coast Guard briefed NBSAC on the Coast Guard's
approval of inflatable liferafts primarily used on commercial vessels
that are required to carry liferafts. Commercial vessels are required
to service their liferafts annually at facilities approved by the Coast
Guard (46 CFR 160.151-35 to 57). The Coast Guard initially and
periodically inspects these facilities to ensure that they are clean,
have the proper equipment, and have properly trained technicians.
However, recreational vessels are not required to carry inflatable
liferafts and there are no approval requirements for any inflatable
liferafts they may use.
NBSAC passed a resolution requesting that the Coast Guard develop
regulations to require that any recreational liferaft be serviced
according to its manufacturer's requirements at a servicing facility
approved by the Coast Guard or manufacturer.
By law, the Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety is required to
consult with the NBSAC in prescribing regulations and regarding other
major boating safety matters. NBSAC is made up of 21 members: 7 from
the boating industry, 7 who are State boating officials, and 7 who
represent national boating organizations or the general public.
Questions
To assist us in considering NBSAC's resolution, we ask for your
comments to the following questions:
1. What data or studies are available indicating the appropriate
procedures and frequency of servicing of inflatable liferafts carried
on recreational vessels?
2. What would the economic and other impacts on owners of
inflatable liferafts be if the Coast Guard were to require those
liferafts be serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule at a
manufacturer-approved facility?
3. Would a requirement to follow the manufacturer's servicing
schedule at a manufacturer-approved facility place an inappropriate and
inconsistent burden on owners of inflatable liferafts carried on
recreational vessels? Why or why not?
4. Would the cost of a requirement to periodically service
inflatable liferafts on recreational boats discourage boaters from
voluntarily carrying liferafts? What would the effect on the overall
safety of the recreational boater be?
5. The Coast Guard is mindful of the potential adverse impacts on
small business entities. The term ``small entities'' comprises small
businesses, not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned
and operated and are not dominant in their fields, and governmental
jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000. How many small
entities are engaged in the carriage of inflatable liferafts on
recreational vessels?
6. Which companies are currently manufacturing inflatable liferafts
for use on recreational vessels?
7. Since manufacturers' recommendations vary, at what intervals
should inflatable liferafts be serviced?
8. Which facilities are currently approved by manufacturers for
servicing inflatable liferafts carried on recreational vessels?
9. Are there issues we should consider specific to foreign
manufactured inflatable liferafts, schedules of servicing and servicing
facilities approved for their products?
10. What other information should we consider?
Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate in this request for comments by
submitting comments and related material and answering the above
questions. If you do so, please include your name and address, identify
the docket number for this notice (USCG-2001-10530), indicate by number
each question you are answering, and give the reason for each comment.
You may submit your comments and material by mail, hand-delivery, fax,
or electronic means to the Docket Management Facility at the address
under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only
one means. If you submit them by mail or hand-delivery, submit them in
an unbound format, no larger than 81/2 by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would
like to know they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all
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comments and material received during the comment period. Your comments
will help us to determine whether to initiate a rulemaking in response
to the NBSAC resolution.
Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a
request for one to the Docket Management Facility at the address under
ADDRESSES explaining why one would be beneficial. If we determine that
one would aid the consideration of the NBSAC resolution, we will hold
one at a time and place announced by a later notice in the Federal
Register.
Dated: August 30, 2001.
Kenneth T. Venuto.
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Operations Policy.
[FR Doc. 01-28118 Filed 11-8-01; 8:45 am]
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