As a courtesy to our audience, Maritime Commons will provide a daily compilation of nationally-relevant Federal Register Notices. To provide comments for the public record, follow the Federal Register link for each individual notice. Please note, the Coast Guard cannot respond to comments on these notices outside of the Federal Register.

The Coast Guard posted a notice requesting comments on the following five collections of information:

• Vessel inspection related forms and reporting requirements under Title 46 U.S. Code
• Ports and waterways safety, Title 22 CFR subchapter P
• Outer Continental Shelf activities, Title 33 CFR subchapter N
• Alternate Compliance Program
• Crewmember identification documents

View the Federal Register notice for further information.

In particular, the Coast Guard would appreciate comments addressing:

(1) The practical utility of the Collections;
(2) The accuracy of the estimated burden of the Collections;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of information subject to the Collections;
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of the Collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

All comments and related material must be submitted on or before April 20, 2015.

A brief description of each collection of information:

The Coast Guard seeks comment from owners, operators, agents and masters of vessels on vessel inspection related forms and reporting requirements under Title 46 U.S.C; this collection of information requires owners, operators, agents or masters of certain vessels to obtain and/or post various forms as part of the Coast Guard’s Commercial Vessel Safety Program.

The Coast Guard seeks comment from masters, owners and agents of a vessel on ports and waterways safety, Title 33 CFR subchapter P; this collection of information allows the master, owner or agent of a vessel affected by these rules to request a deviation from the requirements governing navigation safety equipment to the extent that there is no reduction in safety. Provisions in 33 CFR chapter I, subchapter P, allow any person directly affected by the rules in that subchapter to request a deviation from any of the requirements as long as it does not compromise safety. This collection enables the Coast Guard to evaluate the information the respondent supplies, to determine whether it justifies the request for a deviation.

The Coast Guard seeks comment from operators of facilities and vessels engaged in activities on the Outer Continental Shelf; the information is needed to ensure compliance with the safety regulations related to OCS activities. The regulations contain reporting and recordkeeping requirements for annual inspections of fixed OCS facilities, employee citizenship records, station bills and emergency evacuation plans.

The Coast Guard seeks comment from owners and operators of U.S. flagged, inspected, vessels on the Alternate Compliance Program; this information is used by the Coast Guard to assess vessels participating in the voluntary ACP before issuance of a Certificate of Inspection.

The Coast Guard seeks comment from crewmembers and operators of certain vessels on crewmember identification documents; this information collection covers the requirement that crewmembers on vessels calling at U.S. ports must carry, and present on demand, an identification that allows the identity of crewmembers to be authoritatively validated.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.