As a courtesy to our audience, Maritime Commons will provide a daily compilation of nationally-relevant Federal Register Notices, or those notices that may impact a large segment of our readers. To provide comments for the public record, follow the Federal Register link for each individual notice. In the notice you will find instructions for using an online docket to submit your comments. To ensure your comments are considered, please submit them to the online docket.

The Coast Guard has announced in the Federal Register the availability of CG-OES Policy Letter 02-20, Commercial Diving Operations—Equivalent Levels of Safety. This policy letter provides guidance on Coast Guard acceptance of certain industry-recognized standards for commercial diving operations as providing a level of safety that is equivalent to the requirements contained in Coast Guard regulations.

In summary, CG-OES Policy Letter 02-20 provides that the Coast Guard considers commercial diving operations being performed in accordance with ADCI International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and Underwater Operations, edition 6.3 (2016) ^[2] and IMCA International Code of Practice for Offshore Diving (IMCA D Start Printed Page 68354014 Version 2 (Nov 2019) ^[3] to provide a level of safety equivalent to the commercial diving regulations found in 46 CFR 197.300 through 197.462, which cover equipment, operations, diving mode procedures, periodic tests and inspections. Compliance with 46 CFR 197.480 through 197.488 is still required.

This policy letter is available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov identified by docket number USCG-2020-0317.

If you have questions or feedback related to this policy, contact Mr. Ken A. Smith, Vessel and Facility Operating Standards Division (CG-OES-2), Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1413, email Ken.A.Smith@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 publications, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These publications remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.