[Federal Register: November 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 63548-63550]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02no04-73]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[USCG 2004-19483]
Review and Approval of Classification Societies
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of policy; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice contains procedures the Coast Guard will use to
review classification societies seeking Coast Guard approval to perform
certain functions for vessels. Under the 2004 Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Authorization Act, after January 1, 2005, classification
societies may not perform those certain functions for vessels unless
they are either approved by the Coast Guard or are full members of the
International Association of Classification Societies. Class societies
seeking Coast Guard approval should submit a package in accordance with
the procedures in this notice. The Coast Guard also seeks public
comment on the procedures described herein for reviewing and approving
classification societies.
DATES: This notice of policy is effective November 2, 2004. Comments
and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or
before January 3, 2005.
ADDRESSES:
[[Page 63549]]
Application Process
Classification societies may request review and approval by writing
to Commandant (G-MSE), 2100 Second Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-
0001.
Comment Submissions
You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number
USCG-2004-19483 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
(1) Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is (202) 366-9329.
(5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice of
policy, contact Mr. William Peters, Office of Design and Engineering
Standards, (G-MSE-2), Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-2988, e-mail:
wpeters@comdt.uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
The criteria for classification society approval is based, in part,
on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolution A.739(18),
``Guidelines for the Authorization of Organizations Acting on Behalf of
the Administration.'' Resolution A.739(18) establishes minimum
requirements for Recognized Organizations (ROs) to act on the behalf of
Administrations in the surveys and certification and determination of
vessel tonnages as required by the applicable international
conventions. After review and consideration, the Coast Guard deems
Resolution A.739(18) to provide a sound and internationally recognized
standard from which to base the review and approval program required by
46 U.S.C. 3316(c).
Classification societies often act as ROs because of the similarity
in the technical and survey work these organizations perform. To be
authorized under the resolution, an RO must satisfy the Administration
that their business practices are aligned with the standards of
Resolution A.739(18). The RO is required to publish and systematically
maintain rules, be professionally staffed with strategically placed
resources for geographic coverage, maintain a high level of
professional ethics, be competent, provide timely and quality services,
and maintain an internal quality system no less effective than ISO 9000
series certification.
In addition, the statute outlines additional requirements for
approval as follows:
(1) Vessels surveyed by the classification society must have an
adequate safety record;
(2) The classification society must have an adequate program to
develop and implement safety standards for vessels it surveys;
(3) The classification society must have an adequate program to
make their safety records available to the Secretary in an electronic
format;
(4) The classification society must have a program to make the
safety records of a vessel available to other classification societies
(for the purpose of a specific vessel survey); and
(5) The classification society must have a program to request
records from other classification societies that previously surveyed
the vessel.
As further evidence of the adequacy of the safety record of item
(2) above, the Coast Guard also requires that a classification society
is an RO for at least one sovereign nation that is signatory to the
International Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), MARPOL 73/78, the
International Convention on Load Lines (ICLL), 1966, and the Protocol
of 1988 relating to the ICLL, 1966.
Discussion of Notice of Policy
This notice of policy describes the approval process by which
classification societies may comply with 46 U.S.C. 3316(c). This
process includes approval criteria, review and approval procedures, and
application procedures to assist classification societies to comply
with this statute. This process differs from the requirements of 46
U.S.C. 3316(b) that establish criteria by which certain statutory
functions may be delegated to the American Bureau of Shipping or other
recognized classification societies.
Candidate Application Submittals
For the purposes of 46 U.S.C. 3316(c), a classification society
desiring an approval may apply in writing to Commandant (G-MSE), 2100
Second Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. An application package
(written in English) must:
(1) Indicate the type of work the classification society wishes to
perform on vessels in the United States;
(2) Provide appropriate documentation proving that the
classification society has applied for and received approval as an RO
from at least one Administration that is signatory to SOLAS, MARPOL 73/
78, Load Lines, 1966, and the Protocol of 1988 relating to Load Lines,
1966, under the provisions of IMO Resolution A.739(18);
(3) Demonstrate that the classification society operates as an RO
on behalf of at least one Administration under a formal written
agreement that includes all of the elements set out in Resolution
A.739(18), Appendix 2;
(4) Demonstrate that the classification society maintains all of
the minimum standards for ROs as set forth in Resolution A.739(18),
Appendix 1;
(5) Demonstrate that the classification society is subject to a
satisfactory system of verification and monitoring by at least one
Administration, as set forth in the Annex to IMO Resolution A.739(18);
(6) Provide a list of the vessels surveyed by the classification
society including vessel names, flags, and IMO numbers;
(7) Describe a system in which the classification society makes its
safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the
classification society available to the Coast Guard in electronic
format;
(8) Describe a system in which the classification society provides
its safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the
classification society to another classification society that requests
those records for the purpose of conducting surveys of vessels; and
(9) Describe a system in which the classification society or those
persons acting on its behalf are capable of requesting the safety
records of a vessel to be surveyed from any other classification
society that previously surveyed a vessel.
On or after January 1, 2005, a classification society (including an
employee or agent of that society) may not review, examine, survey, or
certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the
United States unless it is a full member of the International
Association of Classification Societies (IACS) or is approved by the
Coast Guard.
Classification societies authorized to perform work on behalf of
the United States under the provisions of 46 U.S.C. 3316(b) and all
full members of IACS are approved to perform functions otherwise
prohibited by 46 U.S.C. 3316(c).
[[Page 63550]]
Comments and Viewing Documents Referenced in This Notice
If you wish to submit comments regarding this notice, please send
them to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES.
All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov
and will include any personal information you have
provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation
(DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy
Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your
name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-
2004-19483), indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may
submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or
delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under
ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one
means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped,
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment period. We will review this policy
and may amend it in view of comments received.
Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble
as being available in the docket, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time
and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit
the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act
Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of
Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov
.
Dated: October 28, 2004.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental
Protection, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 04-24453 Filed 10-29-04; 11:40 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P