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The Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register that it is seeking public comment regarding the draft Merchant Mariner Medical Manual. The guidance in this manual should assist medical practitioners, the maritime industry, individual mariners, and Coast Guard personnel in evaluating a mariner applicant’s physical and medical status to meet the requirements of the merchant mariner medical certificate. This draft commandant instruction manual incorporates and consolidates prior guidance on the medical evaluation of merchant mariners contained in several Coast Guard documents. The manual includes guidance on the medical certificate and related processes, including procedures for application, issuance, and cancellation of the medical certificate.

Comments must be submitted to the online docket, USCG-2018-0041, via http://www.regulations.gov, on or before Jan. 14, 2019.

For information about this document call or email Adrienne Buggs, M.D., United States Coast Guard, Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing; telephone: 202-372-2357, email: MMCPolicy@uscg.mil.

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