[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77027-77029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30259]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Parts 117, 161, and 164
46 CFR Part 4
[Docket No. USCG-2013-0466]
Overhead Clearance (Air-Draft) Accidents
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Request for comments on petition for rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks public comment on a petition that
requests the Coast Guard to initiate a rulemaking to address the
problem of overhead clearance (air-draft) accidents. In its petition,
which calls for vessel masters to be provided with accurate vertical
air draft information, a maritime organization has described 16
overhead clearance accidents that it says were avoidable and that
resulted in damage to or destruction of waterway infrastructure and
inconvenienced the public. The Coast Guard will consider all comments
received in response to this notification in determining whether or not
to initiate the requested rulemaking.
DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before March 20,
2014, or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2013-0466 using any one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
[[Page 77028]]
contact LCDR William Nabach, Office of Vessel and Facility Operating
Standards (CG-OES-2), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, at telephone 202-
372-1386, or by email at [email protected]. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Renee
V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the
rulemaking petition described below regarding Overhead Clearance (Air-
Draft) Accidents. All comments received will be posted, without change,
to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information
you have provided.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the
docket number for this notice (USCG-2013-0466) and provide a reason for
each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and
material online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. We recommend that you include your name and a
mailing address, an email address, or a telephone number in the body of
your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding
your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov,
and follow the instructions on that Web site. The following link will
take you directly to the docket where you may submit your comment:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=USCG-2013-0466. If you
submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped,
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment period.
Viewing the rulemaking petition and comments: To view the petition
and comments that have been submitted to the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the instructions on that Web site. The
following link will take you directly to the docket: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=USCG-2013-0466. If you do not have
access to the internet, you may view the docket in person by visiting
the Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of
the Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement with the
Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Description of Petition for Rulemaking
In its Petition for Rulemaking dated May 22, 2013, the National
Mariners Association (NMA) describes 16 separate marine casualties
involving allisions with overhead structures which it identifies as
resulting from inaccurate or non-existent air draft data available to
the master of the vessel. NMA views these allisions as avoidable and
noted that they resulted in unnecessary damage to or destruction of
waterway infrastructure and inconvenienced the public.
Air Draft Determination
NMA requests that the Coast Guard establish regulations to require
(1) the permanent marking of maximum design air draft for masts and
booms on stationary vessel apparatus, and (2) the owner or operator to
mark all crane or derrick barges with the maximum air draft or
otherwise provide this maximum air draft information in writing to any
vessel contracted to tow the barge. (See p. 4 of the Petition.) The
petitioner identifies the vessel owner or operator as the responsible
party for providing accurate vertical air draft information, for both
the vessel and its tow, to the master of a vessel prior to conducting
underway operations. (See pp. 3, 4 & 16 of the Petition.)
The petitioner notes that masters of towing vessels are greatly
affected by this air-draft issue particularly because the barges they
tow have cargo with significant and dynamic air draft requirements.
(See pp. 5 & 7 of the Petition.) Moreover, the petitioner states that
the master often lacks the necessary equipment to accurately assess the
true vertical clearances. (See pp. 5 & 11 of the Petition.) Lacking
such capacities, the mariner then estimates the height of their vessel
or towed barges as best he or she can. (See p. 3 of the Petition.) The
petitioner recommends a regulation to require that the Master of a
towing vessel be provided with the air draft of the vessel, and that
before a tow begins, the Master is provided with the air draft of the
tow. The Petition states that ensuring that those persons directing and
controlling the movement of towing vessels know the maximum overhead
clearance (air draft) for their vessel and the barges in their tow will
enable them to avoid trying to pass under bridges when there is
insufficient clearance. (See p. 4 of Petition.)
Voyage Planning
NMA further notes that a professional pre-sailing survey may be
required to protect waterway infrastructure. The petitioner recommends
that the Coast Guard amend what NMA views as ``severely qualified''
language in 33 CFR 164.80 so that it covers all towing vessels.
Paragraph (c) of Sec. 164.80 requires the master to check the planned
route for proximity to hazards before the voyage begins and that the
voyage plan must consider ``vertical clearances (air-gaps) for all
bridges, ports, and berthing areas.'' (See pp. 4 & 6 of Petition.)
Towing Safety Advisory Committee
The petitioner requested this issue be submitted to the Towing
Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). (See NMA submission to TSAC Meeting
Notice docket USCG-2013-0605.) TSAC is a Federal advisory committee
under 5 U.S.C. App. (Pub. L. 92-463). It was established under
authority of 33 U.S.C. 1231a and advises the Secretary of Homeland
Security on matters relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal
waterway navigation and towing safety. The Coast Guard agreed with the
petitioner and has tasked TSAC with reviewing the issue and providing
recommendations with respect to towing vessels. See September 2013 TSAC
meeting notice (78 FR 49543, 49544, August 14, 2013) and copy of Task
13-10, Recommendation to Establish Criteria for Identification
of Air Draft for Towing Vessels and Tows, which is available in the
docket for this notice.
Request for Comments
We invite you to review the petition in the docket and submit
relevant comments, including comments on whether a rulemaking would be
beneficial, or not. The Coast Guard will consider the petition, any
comments received from the public, and other information to determine
whether or not to initiate the requested rulemaking.
This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a) & 553(e),
and 33 CFR 1.05-20.
[[Page 77029]]
Dated: November 27, 2013.
F.J. Sturm,
Acting Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast
Guard.
[FR Doc. 2013-30259 Filed 12-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P