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As announced in the Federal Register, the Department of State and the Coast Guard will conduct a public meeting by teleconference at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.

The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the eighth session of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW 8) to be held remotely from Monday, February 7, 2022, to Friday, February 11, 2022.

Members of the public may participate up to the capacity of the teleconference phone line, which can handle 500 participants. To access the teleconference line, participants should call (202) 475-4000 and use Participant Code: 877 239 87#.

To RSVP, participants should contact the meeting coordinator, Mr. Charles Bright, by email at Charles.J.Bright@uscg.mil.

The agenda items to be considered at the public meeting mirror those to be considered at HTW 8, and include:

• Adoption of the agenda
• Decisions of other IMO bodies
• Validated model training courses
• Role of the human element
• Reports on unlawful practices associated with certificates of competency
• Implementation of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention
• Development of amendments to the Revised guidelines for the development, review and validation of model courses (MSC-MEPC.2/Circ.15/Rev.1)
• Comprehensive review of the 1995 STCW-F Convention
• Development of amendments to the STCW Convention and Code for the use of electronic certificates and documents of seafarers
• Development of measures to ensure quality of onboard training as part of the mandatory seagoing service required by the STCW Convention
• Development of measures to facilitate mandatory seagoing service required under the STCW Convention
• Development of training provisions for seafarers related to the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention
• Biennial status report and provisional agenda for HTW 9
• Election of Chair and Vice-Chair for 2023
• Any other business
• Report to the Maritime Safety Committee

The IMO may, on short notice, adjust the HTW 8 agenda to accommodate the constraints associated with the virtual meeting format. Any changes to the agenda will be reported to those who RSVP and those in attendance at the meeting.

View the Federal Register notice for full details, including the agenda.

Additional information regarding this and other IMO public meetings may be found at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/IMO.

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.