[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43103-43104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17572]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2012-0546]
Policy on the 2009 Revision of the International Maritime
Organization Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore
Drilling Units
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of CG-ENG Policy
Letter 02-12, ``Acceptance of the 2009 MODU Code.'' On December 2,
2009, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted IMO
Assembly Resolution A.1023(26), Code for the Construction and Equipment
of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 2009 (2009 MODU Code). CG-ENG Policy
Letter 02-12 establishes that the Coast Guard considers the design and
equipment standards of the 2009 MODU Code to be at least as effective
as the design and equipment standards of the 1979 and 1989 versions of
the MODU Code. Therefore, an Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection
(OCMI) may consider a foreign documented MODU with a valid 2009 MODU
Code Certificate issued by the flag state or its authorized agent to
comply with 33 CFR 143.207(c) after confirming substantial compliance
with the provisions of the 2009 MODU Code.
DATES: CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is effective as of May 7, 2012.
ADDRESSES: This notice and the documents referenced within are
available in the docket and can be viewed by going to
www.regulations.gov, inserting USCG-2012-0546 in the ``Keyword'' box,
and then clicking ``Search.'' CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is also
available at www.uscg.mil and can be viewed by clicking the link to the
Office of Design and Engineering Standards (CG-ENG) under the
``Units,'' ``USCG Headquarters Organization,'' and ``CG-5P'' tabs, and
scrolling down to ``Policy Documents.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice
or CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12, call or email Lieutenant Commander
Heather Mattern, Human Element and Ship Design Division (CG-ENG-1),
telephone (202) 372-1361, or email [email protected]. If you
have questions on viewing material in the docket, call Renee V. Wright,
Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
Foreign documented MODUs engaged in any offshore activity
associated with the exploration for, or development or production of,
the minerals of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) must comply with
one of three options outlined in 33 CFR 143.207, which deal with design
and equipment standards. The majority of foreign MODU operators on the
OCS choose to comply with 33 CFR 143.207(c), often referred to as
``Option C.'' When choosing this option, MODU operators present the
OCMI with a valid MODU Code Certificate issued by the flag state or an
agent authorized to act on its behalf. Existing regulation and policy
permits MODUs to comply with the design and equipment standards in the
1979 MODU Code or 1989 MODU Code.
The Coast Guard has evaluated the 2009 MODU Code, which applies to
MODUs, the keels of which are laid or at a similar stage of
construction on or after January 1, 2012. The Coast Guard considers the
design and equipment standards of the 2009 MODU Code to be at least as
effective as the design and equipment standards of the 1979 and
[[Page 43104]]
1989 MODU Codes. Therefore, OCMIs may consider a foreign MODU with a
valid 2009 MODU Code Certificate issued by the flag state or its
authorized agent to be compliant with 33 CFR 143.207(c) after
confirming that the MODU is in substantial compliance with the
provisions of the 2009 MODU Code.
The guidance in this notice and CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is not a
substitute for applicable legal requirements, nor is it itself a rule.
It is intended to provide operational guidance for Coast Guard
personnel and is not intended to nor does it impose legally binding
requirements on any party outside the Coast Guard. It represents the
Coast Guard's current thinking on this topic and may assist industry,
mariners, the general public, and the Coast Guard, as well as other
Federal and State regulators, in applying statutory and regulatory
requirements.
This notice is issued under authority of 43 U.S.C. 1331, et seq., 5
U.S.C. 552(a), and 33 CFR 1.05-1.
Dated: July 12, 2012.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2012-17572 Filed 7-20-12; 8:45 am]
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