[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18141-18142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ACT

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I rise in support of H.R. 2838, Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012, which we sent to the 
President late last week. This important bill provides authorization 
for all of the programs and missions of the United States Coast Guard, 
along with provisions important to the maritime industry.
  One important provision in the bill addresses the tonnage situation 
of the vessel Aqueos Acadian. The system of tonnage measurement, though 
arcane and complicated, is vital to the operation and economics of any 
vessel. In the case of the Aqueos Acadian, its original configuration 
in 1973 was certified in Coast Guard documentation to be 274 gross 
registered tons, GRT, which is the official domestic tonnage 
measurement. Later, the vessel had an addition of a closed-in shelter 
deck, which increased its domestic tonnage, as well as its 
international tonnage, which is measured differently than domestic 
tonnage under the International Tonnage Convention, ITC, rules. Later 
still, the modifications that increased the tonnage measurements were 
removed, and the vessel's official documents were issued by the Coast 
Guard and ABS to reflect that its GRT had been reduced to 275, almost 
exactly the original tonnage.
  Vessels with greater than 300 GRT have safety and manning 
requirements much more complicated than vessels at or below 300 GRT. At 
the time of the certification of the down-sizing modifications, the ITC 
tonnage was not reduced because the Coast Guard's ability to reduce 
international tonnage administratively is either extremely arcane or 
non-existent--even if the vessel's tonnage has in fact been reduced.
  When Aqueos Corporation in Louisiana purchased the vessel, its 
official documents reflected that the GRT had been reduced to below 300 
GRT. Relying on those Coast Guard and ABS issued documents, the company 
sought Coast Guard administrative help to reduce the international 
tonnage commensurate with the GRT. The Coast Guard bill includes 
language that allows the company to keep operating the vessel under its 
current documentation and allows time to complete the tonnage-reducing 
modifications that were not done by the previous owners of the vessel 
but that the Coast Guard has said must be done. Unfortunately, the ITC 
tonnage reduction remains incomplete. The provision does not restore 
the vessel's ITC tonnage to that of the GRT. This second step would 
afford to the vessel the same result that other vessels in the Aqueos 
Acadian's class have, through a previous legislative grandfather 
provision, that allows those vessels' GRT and ITC tonnage to be the 
same. This second step would not give the vessel a competitive 
advantage relative to other

[[Page 18142]]

vessels in the Acadian's class; rather, without it the company is at a 
competitive disadvantage with those other vessels. As time goes by, the 
vessel is losing out on potentially millions of dollars of domestic and 
international work.
  It is not yet clear whether such an administrative solution can be 
achieved. I understand the concern addressed by the ITC about vessels 
having substantially changed size, and I agree that a larger vessel 
should be regulated at a larger tonnage. Unfortunately, the way that 
the ITC addresses this situation is to forever assign a vessel a higher 
tonnage even if tonnage has been actually reduced. This vessel should 
be recognized to its lower tonnage and should not be forced into a 
regime that does not recognize its circumstance. I believe we should 
seek additional legislative language that would correct the 
international tonnage problem, but in the interim I look forward to 
continuing to work with the Coast Guard and encourage the agency to 
develop an administrative solution to this situation.

                          ____________________