[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 195 (Monday, October 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52488-52490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25661]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
[CGD 96-044]
Documentation and Marine Safety for an International, Private-
Sector, Tug of Opportunity System
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of meeting; supplemental information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice provides a summary of the sections of the Interim
Report that will be discussed at the meeting on an international,
private-sector tug of opportunity system (ITOS) to be held on October
17, 1996. Notice of this meeting was published in the Federal Register
on September 12, 1996. This second notice provides additional
information to improve the quality of input from the public at the
meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held October 17, 1996, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Written statements and requests to make oral presentations should reach
the Coast Guard on or before October 10, 1996. Other comments should
reach the Coast Guard on or before October 30, 1996.
[[Page 52489]]
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held on the fourth floor, North
Auditorium, Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, Seattle,
Washington. Written materials 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 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lieutenant W.M. Pittman, Office of Response (G-MOR-1), telephone (202)
267-0426, fax (202) 267-4085. The telephone number is equipped to
record messages on a 24-hour basis.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
On November 28, 1995, the President signed the Alaska Power
Administration Asset Sale and Termination Act (Pub. L. 104-58),
authorizing exports of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude oil when
transported in U.S. flag tankers. Section 401 of the statute directs
the Coast Guard to submit, within 15 months of enactment of the Act, a
plan to Congress on the most cost-effective means of implementing an
international private sector tug of opportunity system. The plan is to
include a coordinated system of communication, using exiting towing
vessels to provide timely emergency response to a vessel in distress
transiting the waters within the boundaries of the Olympic Coast Marine
Sanctuary or the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
In order to implement this action, the Department of Transportation
has required that the Coast Guard establish marine safety requirements
concerning crew qualification, tug performance capabilities, and
response times which any proposed international tug-of-opportunity
system (ITOS) must meet to ensure marine environmental safety. In
addition, the Coast Guard has proposed to establish specific ITOS
documentation requirements needed to properly describe the operation of
any proposed ITOS so that it may be fully evaluated as required by
Public Law 104-58.
These marine safety requirements and documentation requirements are
contained in the Interim Report on the International, Private-Sector
Tug-of-Opportunity System for the Waters of the Olympic National Marine
Sanctuary and the Strait of Juan de FICA. Initial copies of this report
were provided to interested parties. Additional copies of this report
may be obtained by contacting the Office of Response (G-MOR-1),
Directorate of Field Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 Second Street
SW., Washington DC 20593-0001 or by contacting the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. This notice provides a summary of the
marine safety requirements and documentation requirements contained in
the interim report.
A meeting to be held on October 17, 1996, was announced in the
Federal Register on September 12, 1996 (61 FR 48202). This meeting is
to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the marine
safety and documentation requirements contained in the interim report.
The present notice provides a summary of those requirements to assist
the public in preparing comments for the October 17, 1996, meeting.
A discussion of both the documentation requirements and the marine
safety requirements follows. Any international, private-sector plan
submitted for review must respond to the following areas:
Documentation Requirements
1. The Organizational and Operations Structure
(a) Identify the specific purpose of the international, private-
sector, tug of opportunity system, which should be to check disabled
vessels and tow them, if necessary, using a tug of opportunity. A tug
of opportunity is a vessel with towing capabilities designed to save a
disabled vessel and to prevent a drift grounding.
(b) Explain methods for tracking commercial vessel movement in
relation to the tug of opportunity services provided.
(c) Provide the status of available tugs and their performance
capabilities.
(d) Provide expectations for contracted tug response capabilities.
(e) Provide a means for prioritizing competing tug needs for
dispatch of tug resources.
(f) Provide for cascading resource situations including
identification of additional tug resources and replacement tugs to
release other tugs for response.
(g) Provide an explanation of the administrative, financial,
technical, and legal processes necessary to ensure an effective tug of
opportunity system.
(h) Explain expected basic organization structures, governance, and
administration.
(i) Explain needed interactions with other organizations.
(j) Define the mission, member responsibilities, financial
commitments, terms of office, rules for operation and compensation, and
other related matters.
(k) Explain the expected registration and status of the tug of
opportunity system as a legal entity.
(l) Identify the day-to-day functions of the organization.
(m) Identify the functions expected to be performed by contractors
or other organizations.
(n) Identify the organizational decision-making process by which a
vessel may request assistance or another authority may direct
assistance.
(o) Identify the method for matching tug capabilities with vessel
requirements per the marine safety requirements.
(p) Identify the minimum performance requirements expected of the
tug fleet to meet the range of expected assistance requests, and
address special tug performance limiting factors such as specified sea,
weather, wind, and current conditions.
(q) Identify the method by which 24-hour, 7-day per week monitoring
of tug of opportunity system operations will be achieved.
2. Technology Issues
(a) Identify the hardware and software systems that will be used to
identify and communicate with tugs, vessels, and organizations.
(b) Identify vessel transit population characteristics.
(c) Identify those vessel distress conditions that will most likely
be encountered in order to assess possible instances of future need.
(d) Identify tug resources and update methods.
(e) Identify the system(s) and equipment that will be used to track
a tug's location, onboard equipment, and performance capabilities.
(f) Identify a method for maintaining ready access to the
performance characteristics of any tug available for response.
(g) Identify the towing equipment needed on a vessel and on a tug
by using the International Maritime Organization towing package
requirements or equivalent standards.
(h) Identify any pre-staged equipment packages and plans available
for deployment.
(i) Indicate the international, tug of opportunity system response
structure that will observe response times.
(j) Identify unique geographical characteristics and seasonal
changes pertinent to the area, as well as tug resources that are
typically available.
(k) Identify the method(s) by which response time requirements will
be communicated, observed, and documented for assistance calls.
(l) Identify the crew qualifications necessary to operate tugs of
opportunity
[[Page 52490]]
to satisfy the marine safety requirements.
(m) Identify training that is consistent with qualification
requirements and the method for its provision.
(n) Indicate the requirements and procedures for conducting
periodic testing for certification of capability.
3. Legal Requirements
(a) Identify applicable laws and regulations.
(b) Include any international law, treaty, convention issues that
would preclude or unnecessarily limit an international tug of
opportunity system.
(c) Identify salvage and operational legal constraints.
(d) Identify cabotage legal constraints associated with foreign
towing vessels operating in U.S. waters.
(e) Indicate any liability coverage issues potentially affecting
responders in the international tug of opportunity system.
(f) Indicate the use of any contractual relationship between the
international tug of opportunity system and service recipients to
further limit liability.
4. Fiscal Administration
(a) Identify the fee structure for organizational administration
and incident-specific assistance services, the penalties for
noncompliance, the billing process, and the method of collection.
(b) Identify the difference between member and nonmember use of
services.
(c) Identify the process for reviewing service charges upon
challenge.
(d) Identify the procedure for reimbursement of contractor and
governmental authorities.
(e) Identify the requirements and expected methods to be used for
initial capital investments.
Marine Safety Requirements
1. Tug Performance Criteria
(a) A tug of opportunity must be able to transit and maneuver in
the Strait of Juan de Fuca in wave heights of 3 meters or more with
sustained wind speed of greater than 20 knots (kts), and in offshore
wave heights of 4 meters or more with sustained wind speeds of greater
than 30 kts to get a line onto a disabled vessel.
(b) A tug of opportunity must meet the following requirements shown
in the table in accordance with the wave heights listed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bollard Pull Wave height
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class A >60 tons.......................... 5-6 meters.
Class B 40-59 tons........................ 4 meters.
Class C 35-39 tons........................ 3 meters.
Class D <35 tons.......................... calm.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) The minimum speed capability for a tug of opportunity is 13 kts
under calm conditions.
(d) The minimum speed capability for a tug of opportunity is 10 kts
under degraded conditions with offshore wave heights of 4 meters.
(e) A tug of opportunity must provide a stable work platform in
wave heights of 4 meters offshore or 3 meters in the Strait of Juan de
Fuca.
2. Tug Equipment Criteria
(a) Towline and terminal gear required for towing astern must be as
per 33 CFR 164.74 or equivalent standard.
(b) A tug of opportunity must provide tests and inspections for the
gear required in item 2 of the documentation requirements as found in
33 CFR 164.80.
(c) A tug of opportunity must have on board a line handling winch
with--brake capacity equal to 3 times the bollard pull, line pull equal
to \1/3\ times the bollard pull, and an abort mechanism.
(d) All required tow lines must have a minimum breaking strength
equal to 5 times the bollard pull.
3. Crew Skills
(a) Manning standards for tugs and the documents and licenses
required for tug crews must meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations as per 46
CFR 15.
(b) The master of a tug of opportunity shall ensure crew
proficiency in emergency operations and towing operations, and identify
skills which must be developed and maintained through training and
exercises.
(c) The master of a tug of opportunity shall certify to the tug of
opportunity system operator that the vessel has the capability to tow
deep draft vessels under adverse conditions, and may be required to
demonstrate that capability.
(e) The master of a tug of opportunity shall ensure that the number
of trained and skilled crew members on board is sufficient to meet tug
of opportunity system requirements.
4. Training
(a) Each tug of opportunity must have a training/certification
program that ensures that crew members acquire and maintain the skills
required to operate towing equipment. Each tug of opportunity must also
document these skills.
(b) Each tug of opportunity must have an exercise program for
quarterly towing drills.
5. Substance Abuse Standards
Uninspected vessels included in a tug of opportunity program must
meet the drug and alcohol testing standards as described in 46 CFR
16.230.
6. Response Times
(a) The maximum response time is 2 hours for the area east of the
line connecting New Dungeness Light with Discovery Light and all points
north and south of these lights. This area includes those waters
required for escort vessels in 33 CFR 168.40(b).
(b) The maximum response time is 2.5 hours for the area of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca west of the line connecting New Dungeness Light
with Discovery Light to a north and south line through the buoy
position at the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
(c) The maximum response time is 6 hours from a north and south
line through the buoy position at the western end of the Strait of Juan
de Fuca extending in a 50-mile radius offshore.
(d) The maximum response time is 12 hours for the remainder of the
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary southward. The southern
boundary of the area is to be avoided.
Procedural
The original notice of meeting for CGD 96-044 was published on
September 12, 1996 (61 FR 48202). Attendance is open to the public.
Persons wishing to make oral presentations at the meeting should notify
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later than
October 10, 1996.
Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Dated: October 2, 1996.
G.N. Naccara,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Acting Chief, Marine Safety and Environmental
Protection.
[FR Doc. 96-25661 Filed 10-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M