[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 151 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40145-40146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19349]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

46 CFR Parts 12 and 16

[CGD 93-051]


Proof of Commitment To Employ Aboard U.S. Merchant Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is scheduling a public meeting to discuss 
proof of commitment to employ aboard U.S. merchant vessels. The purpose 
of the meeting is to receive feedback on how the elimination of the 
letter of commitment is affecting the maritime industry. Until June 
1994, a letter of commitment (proof of commitment) for employment 
aboard a U.S. merchant vessel was required for an applicant to receive 
an original, entry level merchant mariner's document to ensure that the 
applicant intended to work in the maritime industry. With no other 
criteria to obtain a merchant mariner's document, the Coast Guard 
determined in 1937 that the letter of commitment was necessary to deter 
persons from obtaining the card for identification purposes only. In 
recent years the Coast Guard recognized that the letter of commitment 
placed the mariner in the awkward situation of being told by a company 
or union that they could not work without a merchant mariner's 
document, sending the applicant to the Coast Guard for the document, 
and the Coast Guard could not issue the document without the company or 
union issuing a letter of commitment. With the advent of user fees and 
chemical testing requirements to obtain a merchant mariner's document, 
the 

[[Page 40146]]
Coast Guard determined that the letter of commitment was no longer a 
valid requirement.

DATES: The meeting will be held September 5, 1995 from 10 a.m. to 12 
p.m. Written material must be received not later than September 30, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in room 2415, Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. 
Written comments may be mailed to the Executive Secretary, Marine 
Safety Council (G-LRA), U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 Second Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20593-0001, or may be delivered to room 3406 at the same 
address between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. Comments will become part of this docket and will be 
available for inspection or copying at room 3406, Coast Guard 
Headquarters, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mrs. Justine Bunnell, Marine Personnel Division (NMC-4), National 
Maritime Center, 4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 510, Arlington, VA 22203-
1804, telephone (703) 235-1951.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 6, 1993, the Coast Guard 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled ``Proof of 
Commitment to Employ Aboard U.S. Merchant Vessels'' in the Federal 
Register (58 FR 64278), to amend the regulations covering applicants 
for merchant mariner's documents to eliminate the requirement that the 
applicant provide proof of a commitment of employment as a member of a 
crew of a United States merchant vessel. The comment period ended on 
February 4, 1994. The Coast Guard received four favorable comments and 
no unfavorable comments. It published a final rule on June 8, 1994, (59 
FR 28791), which became effective on July 5, 1994. The Coast Guard is 
interested in how the elimination of the requirement for a letter of 
commitment to employ is affecting the maritime industry, shipping 
companies and mariners. To determine the impact, the Coast Guard 
invites comments on the positive or negative effects of the elimination 
of a letter of commitment. The Coast Guard will evaluate all comments 
to determine if the regulation will remain in effect or if it is 
appropriate to reinstitute the requirement for a letter of commitment 
to employ. Maritime unions, shipping companies, and mariners or 
mariners' representatives are encouraged to attend the public meeting.
    Attendance is open to the public. With advance notice, and as time 
permits, members of the public may make oral presentations during the 
meeting. Persons wishing to make oral presentations should notify the 
person listed above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later than 
the day before the meeting. Written material may be submitted prior to, 
during, or after the meeting.

    Dated: July 28, 1995.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Acting Chief, Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 95-19349 Filed 8-4-95; 8:45 am]
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