[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 17, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48769-48770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-24592]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 155

[CGD 79-116]
RIN 2115-AA03


Qualifications for Tankermen and for Persons in Charge of 
Transfers of Dangerous Liquids and Liquefied Gases

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; Extension of a delayed compliance date, request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard establishes an extended delay of the date for 
compliance and invites further public comments on the appropriate 
qualifications for a person in charge of the transfer of fuel oil as 
treated in the final rule regulating Qualifications for Tankermen and 
for Persons in Charge (PICs) of Transfers of Dangerous Liquids and 
Liquefied Gases, published on May 8, 1997 (62 FR 25115). The delay and 
additional opportunity for comment are necessary because much of the 
maritime industry, especially the inland towing segment, has expressed 
concern that it was not aware of the rule, or was confused about the 
section that governs fueling. The delay and opportunity for comment 
will ensure that the Coast Guard fully considers all viewpoints.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date of the final rule published in the 
Federal Register on May 8, 1997 (62 FR 25115) remains June 9, 1997.
    Compliance Dates: The compliance date for the revisions to 33 CFR 
155.710(e) introductory text, (e)(1), (e)(2) and (e)(3) is July 1, 
1998. Furthermore, the compliance date for 33 CFR 155.710(e)(4), not 
revised in the final rule, is July 1, 1998.
    Comments: Comments must be received by November 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to the Executive Secretary, Marine 
Safety Council (G-LRA, 3406) [CGD 79-116], U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001, or 
deliver them to room 3406 at the above address between 9:30 a.m. and 2 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 800-842-8740, extension 7-1477.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Mark C. Gould, Project Manager, Maritime Personnel Qualifications 
Division. The telephone number is 800-842-8740, extension 7-6890.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Delay of Date for Compliance

    The Coast Guard establishes a further delay of date for compliance 
with Secs. 155.710(e), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), and (e)(4); The new date 
is July 1, 1998. The delay for compliance will allow the Coast Guard 
ample time to evaluate comments received in response to this notice.

Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to offer comments on 
the issues set forth in this delay of date for compliance and request 
for comments. Persons submitting comments should include their names 
and addresses, identify the docket [CGD 79-116], and give the reason 
for each comment. Please submit two copies of all comments and 
attachments in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ x 11 inches, 
suitable for copying and electronic filing. Persons wanting 
acknowledgment of receipt of comments should enclose stamped, self-
addressed postcards or envelopes.

Background and Purpose

    On April 4, 1995, the Coast Guard published an interim rule 
regulating Qualifications for Tankermen and for Persons in Charge of 
Transfers of Dangerous Liquids and Liquefied Gases [60 FR 17134]. On 
May 8, 1997, the Coast Guard published a final rule revising, among 
other things, the language of 33 CFR 155.710(e) [62 FR 25115]. The 
final rule did not change the requirements for fueling in 33 CFR 
155.710(e), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) from those in the interim 
rule, but it clarified the applicability of the section and made clear 
that the regulation covered more of the public than the public had 
thought. Many members of the maritime industry asked the Coast Guard to 
delay the date of compliance and to allow the opportunity for 
additional comments on Sec. 155.710(e).
    The language of the interim rule had led many operators of inland 
towboats to assume that they could comply with either paragraph 
155.710(e)(1) or (2). Paragraph (1) requires that the PIC on an 
inspected or uninspected vessel, required by 46 U.S.C. 8904(a) to have 
a licensed person aboard, hold a license that authorizes service on 
that vessel as master, mate, pilot, engineer, or operator, or hold a 
valid MMD endorsed as Tankerman-PIC or Tankerman-PIC (Barge), 
appropriate to the fuel oil and vessel. Paragraph (2) requires that, 
aboard each uninspected vessel of 100 or more gross tons, the PIC of 
the transfer of fuel oil be instructed both in his or her duties and in 
the Federal statutes and regulations on water pollution that apply to 
the vessel. But, as the final rule made plain, paragraph (2) covers 
only uninspected vessels of 100 or more gross tons not already covered 
by paragraph (1). And, since each uninspected towing vessel (UTV) of 
more than 26 feet in length must carry aboard a person licensed to 
operate that type of vessel under 46 U.S.C. 8904, each of those UTVs 
must comply with paragraph (1).
    After the Coast Guard published the final rule, it learned that 
from 2,500 to 3,000 mariners will need to obtain the licenses or 
merchant mariners' documents (MMDs) under paragraphs 155.710(e)(1). To 
obtain these credentials takes both professional experience and formal 
training. It will also take more training facilities than are now 
available. For this reason, on July 11, 1997, the Coast Guard published 
a notice [62 FR 37134] delaying the date for compliance with 
Sec. 155.710(e), in its entirety, until January 1, 1998.
    An important change in the final rule affected Sec. 155.710(e). The 
PIC may now hold a merchant mariner's document (MMD) instead of a 
license. But the MMD must be endorsed as either (1) restricted 
Tankerman-PIC (as described in the final rule under Sec. 13.111(b)); 
(2) Tankerman-PIC (as described in the final rule under Sec. 13.201); 
or, for barges only, (3) Tankerman-PIC (Barge) (as described in the 
final rule under Sec. 13.301). As the Coast Guard stressed in the final 
rule, it always intended for Sec. 155.710(e)(1) to apply to UTVs.
    Allowing a second person to serve as PIC was appropriate to 
alleviate the burden on the operator of an uninspected towing vessel 
(OUTV) during transfers of fuel under way, when the operator's 
attention and presence are necessary in the wheelhouses to ensure the 
safe navigation of their vessels. Most UTVs carry just one or two 
OUTVs. While one is navigating the vessel, the other must be getting 
his or her mandatory rest

[[Page 48770]]

before assuming the watch as OUTV; so neither is generally available 
for transfers. The usual practice has been for an unlicensed and 
undocumented person to act as the actual PIC, although the OUTV remains 
the Legal PIC. Currently, it is not uncommon for an unlicensed and 
undocumented person to act as the actual PIC, although the OUTV remains 
the legal PIC. Under paragraph 155.710(e)(1) of the final rule, it may 
become necessary for a UTV to carry aboard either another licensed 
person or an unlicensed person with an MMD endorsed as Tankerman-PIC or 
restricted Tankerman-PIC. The Coast Guard has determined that requiring 
licensing or documentation for the person in charge of a fueling 
operation is good marine practice. The fuel transfer process should be 
such that either the documented person on the fuel flat, or the 
individual ``in charge'' of the fuel transfer on the towing vessel, 
should be knowledgeable enough, and have the authority, to shut down 
the transfer in the event of a problem. Each should be appropriately 
qualified to handle their responsibilities, and accountable for any 
mistakes that they might make.
    Beyond any public comments addressing 33 CFR 155.710(e) in general, 
the Coast Guard also seeks comments on the following issues:
    (1) Somebody aboard each UTV must be accountable for the safe 
completion of every transfer of fuel. Who should be legally responsible 
for it--an OUTV? Another licensed or documented person? Or an 
unlicensed and undocumented person? If the last of these, what recourse 
would the Coast Guard have against that person if a spill occurred 
during a transfer in which he or she was the legal PIC?
    (2) Should the PIC of a transfer of fuel aboard the UTV have to 
hold either (a) a license; or (b) an MMD endorsed for Tankerman-PIC, 
restricted Tankerman-PIC, or Tankerman-PIC (Barge)?
    (3) What kind of formal training should an applicant have to prove 
to hold an MMD endorsed in any of these three ways?

    Dated: September 4, 1997.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety 
and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 97-24592 Filed 9-16-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M