Submitted by Mr. Edward “Gene” Sykes, OCS NCOE

The Outer Continental Shelf National Center of Expertise (OCS NCOE) recently made numerous updates to its website to benefit the OCS industry and Coast Guard marine inspectors. A few of the new resources and improvements include:

Regulations, Policy, & Guidance

• This section is a comprehensive list of resources including national and District 8 policies, NVICs, regulatory applicability charts, and the Marine Safety Manual excerpts related to OCS inspections and examinations.
• Resources are organized by vessel or facility type: Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs), Floating OCS Facilities (FOFs, also known as FOIs), Fixed Platforms and Support Vessels (OSVs, liftboats and crew boats) and others. If a reference is applicable to multiple types of vessels or facilities, it is listed under each type of unit/vessel.
• In addition, you’ll find OCS Inspection and Examination Job Aids (formally CG-840 books) used by Coast Guard marine inspectors. Although these job aids are not all-inclusive or exclusive to any one facility or vessel type, they may provide owners/operators with insight into common items inspected, tested, and/or reviewed during a Coast Guard examination. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• The FAQs address issues related to OCS policies, regulations or other general topics and may be useful to both the OCS industry and Coast Guard field units. The FAQs are arranged by vessel or facility type and provide clarification or guidance that is based on official documents.
• The FAQs represent the OCS NCOE’s current position on various topics; FAQs do not establish policy or regulations.

Other resources available on our website include:

• OSV reference books and past CFRs
• All issues of “Drill Down,” the OCS NCOE newsletter
• Dynamic Positioning voluntary reporting and guidance
• Unit contact information and email subscription options

OCS NCOE is constantly looking to improve our site and the service we provide our site visitors.  If you have any suggestions or general inquiries, please contact us via email at HQS-DG-OCS-NCOE@uscg.mil.  

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.