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 seeks comment on the approval of a revision to the following collections of information:

Plan approval and records for load lines – Title 46 CFR Subchapter E
The Coast Guard needs comments from owners and operators of vessels. This collection is required to ensure that certain vessels are not loaded deeper than appropriate for safety. Vessels over 150 gross tons or 79 feet in length engaged in commerce on international or coastwise voyages by sea are required to obtain a Load Line Certificate.

Ships carrying bulk hazardous liquids
The Coast Guard needs comments from owners and operators of chemical tank vessels. This information is needed to ensure the safe transport of bulk hazardous liquids on chemical tank vessels and to protect the environment from pollution.

Report of oil or hazardous substance discharge and report of suspicious maritime activity
The Coast Guard needs comments from persons-in-charge of a vessel or onshore/offshore facility, owners and operators of vessels or facilities required to have security plans and the public. Any discharge of oil or a hazardous substance must be reported to the National Response Center, or NRC, so that the pre-designated on-scene coordinator can be informed and appropriate spill mitigation action carried out. The NRC also receives suspicious activity reports from the public and disseminates the information to the appropriate entities.

Plan approval and records for marine engineering systems – Title 46 CFR Subchapter F
The Coast Guard needs comments from owners and builders of commercial vessels. This collection of information requires an owner or builder of a commercial vessel to submit to the U.S. Coast Guard for review and approval, plans pertaining to marine engineering systems to ensure that the vessel will meet regulatory standards.

Periodic gauging and engineering analysis for certain tank vessels over 30 years old
The Coast Guard needs comments from owners and operators of certain tank vessels. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 required the issuance of regulations related to the structural integrity of tank vessels, including periodic gauging of the plating thickness of tank vessels over 30 years old. This collection of information is used to verify the structural integrity of older tank vessels.

View the Federal Register notice for full details.

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 8, 2015.

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.