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 published a direct final rule that amends the Coast Guard’s merchant mariner manning regulations to align them with statutory changes made by the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014.

The Act allows oilers serving on certain offshore support vessels, towing vessels and barges to be divided into at least two watches. This change increases the sea service credit affected mariners are permitted to earn for each 12-hour period of work from one day to one and a half days.

The direct final rule will be effective January 25, 2016 unless the Coast Guard receives adverse comment by December 28, 2015.

View the direct final rule on the Federal Register for full details.

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.