[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 51 (Monday, March 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14714-14715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05725]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2013-0240]
Draft Revisions to the Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Chapters
20-26
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of availability with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This is a supplemental notice to the August 9, 2013 request
for comments on the draft changes to the Marine Safety Manual (MSM),
Volume III, Marine Industry Personnel. The draft revision will be
available in the docket for this notice. The primary reasons for this
supplemental notice are to announce the incorporation in Volume III of
the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention, and to address the public
comments received from the initial solicitation as well as input from
the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee. Additionally,
chapters 20 through 26 of Volume III have been reformatted, and are now
presented as Volume III Part B, chapters 1 through 7. In the draft
revision, these proposed revisions since the initial request for
comments, including other changes necessary to reorganize and clarify
Volume III, are highlighted in yellow. The Coast Guard will consider
comments on this draft revision before issuing a final version of this
manual.
DATES: Documents discussed in this notice should be available in the
online docket within three business days of today's publication.
Comments and related material must either be submitted to the online
docket via http://www.regulations.gov or be received by the Coast Guard
on or before May 16, 2014.
ADDRESSES: To view the documents mentioned in this notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov and use ``USCG-2013-0240'' as your search term.
Locate this notice in the search results, and use the filters on the
left side of the page to locate specific documents by type. If you do
not have access to the Internet, you may view the docket online 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
call or email Lieutenant Corydon Heard, Office of Commercial Vessel
Compliance, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1208, email
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing material in
the docket, call Docket Operations at 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
Volume III of the Marine Safety Manual (MSM) provides information
and interpretations on international conventions and U.S. statutory and
regulatory issues relating to marine industry personnel. The last
revisions to Volume III of the MSM were released on May 27, 1999. This
supplemental notice announces updates to portions of legacy chapters 20
through 26.
On August 9, 2013, the Coast Guard published a notice in the
Federal Register announcing the availability of a draft update to MSM
Volume III and requested public comments on the draft (See 78 FR
48696). Specifically, the substantive changes announced in that notice
included: (1) updated provisions for vessel manning, including guidance
for the issuing of safe manning documents; (2) clarified roles,
responsibilities, and facilitation of communications with the
appropriate offices at Coast Guard Headquarters in alignment with
current Coast Guard organization; and (3) revised discussion on the
impact of multiple international standards, including the Officer's
Competency Certificates Convention (OCCC) 1936, the International
Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the Global Maritime
Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), and the Principles of Minimum Safe
Manning (IMO Resolution A.1047(27)). Additionally, the draft clarified
the applicability of tonnage measurement systems to U.S. flag vessels,
and included changes resulting from the consolidation of merchant
mariner qualification credentials, including the removal of references
to the operated uninspected towing vessel endorsement.
We received fifteen public comment responses to the August 9, 2013
Federal Register notice. These comment responses contained a total of
approximately 130 specific recommendations, suggestions, and other
comments. We have created a document that provides a summary of each
comment and the corresponding Coast Guard response, as well as internal
Coast Guard comments and changes made to incorporate the STCW Final
Rule. A copy of this public comment matrix is available for viewing in
the public docket for this notice. For more detailed information,
please consult the actual public comment letters in the docket. You may
access the docket going to http://www.regulations.gov, using ``USCG-
2013-0240'' as your search term, and following the instructions in the
ADDRESSES section above.
The basic ideas and principles encompassed in the initial draft
change remain. Some commenters raised concerns and objections over
several proposed revisions to the MSM. In response to these comments,
the Coast Guard has made some additional
[[Page 14715]]
revisions. The Coast Guard notes, however, that the MSM (and any
revisions made to the MSM) reflect current law and regulation and are
intended to provide guidance and information to marine industry
personnel. A brief discussion of the most important changes is included
below. For a more in-depth discussion of the individual comments
submitted, please visit the docket for this notice to view submitted
comments and the public comment matrix.
(1) We received several comments on what was generally perceived to
be an increase in vessel manning, beyond that required by law or
regulation. This was not the intention of this change and these
sections have been clarified.
(2) Several commenters expressed concern over how an owner's
decision to increase manning may be perceived by the Coast Guard and
that the guidance provided did not adequately address when manning
would warrant an additional review and modifications. To address this
concern, these sections have been revised to focus on watchkeeping
provisions, rest requirements, and the performance of maintenance.
(3) Other commenters suggested that certain tables and scales be
deleted or revised in their entirety and that the tables for
uninspected towing vessels be replaced with those recommended by Towing
Vessel Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). We disagree. Although certain
tables have been amended in response to various comments, they reflect
the current laws and regulations pertaining to the manning levels for
various vessel types, including uninspected towing vessels. The Coast
Guard has engaged with TSAC to develop sample manning scales, however
this tasking and recommendation pertains to inspected towing vessels,
in preparation for future regulation. Once finalized, the TSAC
recommendation will be taken under consideration for future inclusion
in MSM Volume III.
(4) A number of commenters urged the Coast Guard to consider, and
include in this revision, the final agency action on pending appeals
regarding when mariner credentials are required for persons in addition
to the crew. We disagree. Decisions on appeal impacting requirements
for certain persons in addition to the crew are being evaluated and
will be addressed in the future.
(5) Multiple commenters noted that although the Coast Guard usually
discusses manning changes with management, specific language should be
added to that end. We agree and revisions have been incorporated to
specifically mention the master as well as to include provisions for
manning modifications to be discussed with the owner/operator.
Additional substantive revisions include: (1) the consolidation of
existing Coast Guard Policy Letters into the Manual; (2) context on the
allowable employment and conditions of a two-watch system for specific
vessel types; and (3) policy updates reflecting the implementation of
the 2010 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of
Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). These
revisions are presented in a new format, where MSM Volume III has been
split into two distinct parts; Part A, Mariner Credentialing (Chapters
1-19) and Part B, Vessel Manning (legacy Chapters 20-26 are now
Chapters 1-7).
It should be noted that the proposed revisions in this draft change
are not intended to preempt or take the place of separate policy
initiatives regarding specific decisions on appeal or future
regulations. Future changes to the MSM may be released if the Coast
Guard promulgates new regulations or appeal decisions, which may affect
the guidance and information contained within the MSM.
This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: March 10, 2014.
Jonathan C. Burton,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Director, Inspections and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-05725 Filed 3-14-14; 8:45 am]
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