[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27579-27581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13212]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Fees for Consultation Services for Ship Construction and 
Renovation

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces fees for conducting voluntary 
inspections of newly constructed or renovated cruise ships. This notice 
also announces a change in the proposal to charge a fee for 
consultation on construction and renovation, and to add a new ``mega'' 
size category to the sanitation inspection fee schedule.

DATES: Fees for construction and renovation inspections are effective 
June 18, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel M. Harper, Program Manager, 
Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, 
telephone (770) 488-3524 or e-mail [email protected], or Dave Forney, Public 
Health Advisor, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, 
National Center for Environmental Health, telephone (770) 488-7333 or 
e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Background

    A notice of request for public comment on a proposal to charge fees 
for consultation services for ship construction and renovation, and to 
create a new ``Mega'' category for the routine sanitary inspection of 
ships was published in the Federal Register on November 17, 1997, 
[Volume 62, Pages 61336-61338]. A subsequent amendment to extend the 
comment period an additional 30 days was published in the Federal 
Register on January 13, 1998, [Volume 63, Number 8, Page 1973].

Discussion of Comments

    The public notice of the intent to collect fees for consultation 
services for ship construction and renovation and to create a new 
``Mega'' category for routine inspections provided a 45 day comment 
period which was extended an additional 28 days at the request of the 
members of the cruise ship industry. During the comment period, 
comments were received from two sources, one of which was the 
International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) representing the 17 
largest passenger cruise lines that call on major ports in the U.S. and 
abroad. Discussion of the comments received and CDC's responses 
follows:
    Comment: One commentor stated that the use of Gross Register Tons 
alone does not correctly indicate a ship's capacity to carry passengers 
and crew, while the Total Safe Number does, and better reflects the 
type of ship that is being inspected.
    Response: The fees set forth in the public notice were based on 
Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) of the passenger vessels as reported by 
Lloyds of London. CDC believes that the use of GRT is a reasonable and 
equitable method for determining fees since the number and size of the 
food service areas and the size of the onboard water systems are 
generally functions of the vessel's GRT. CDC, after considering the 
commentor's alternative proposal, sees no advantage in the commentor's 
proposal over CDC's. CDC will continue to periodically review the fee 
schedule. If actual experience in fee collection indicates that CDC's 
proposed system does result in substantial inequity, CDC will act 
promptly to correct the situation.
    Comment: One commentor stated that the proposed ``Mega'' category 
placed an increased financial burden on these large craft by increasing 
the basic inspection fee by approximately 31% over what these ships 
were charged in 1997. In addition, the galley size and complexity on 
these ships is not significantly different than that found on ships in 
the Extra Large category.
    Response: It has been CDC's experience that the size and complexity 
of the galleys and water systems aboard ships >90,000 GRT are often 
greater than those found on smaller ships. It is also our belief that 
performing sanitation inspections of these ships requires additional 
staff time and resources. However, we have not quantified the increase 
in resources. Therefore, CDC agrees to postpone any modifications to 
the existing category structure until there can be a more thorough 
evaluation of the time, effort and other factors involved with the 
inspection of these ships.
    Comment: One commentor stated that the fee increase in the FY 98 
budget should adequately cover the costs of providing construction 
consultation services without the creation of a new

[[Page 27580]]

fee category and that this is supported by the vessel fee calculation 
utilized in the CDC's Federal Register notice which stipulates that 
current inspection fees fully fund the VSP Program. The commentor 
states that the proposed consultation fees are duplicative of the fees 
already being paid by vessel operators to CDC through the sanitation 
inspection fees.
    Response: Generally, the CDC recoups the costs of the VSP through 
the collection of fees. The fee schedule for sanitation inspections of 
passenger cruise ships currently inspected under the VSP was first 
published in the Federal Register on November 24, 1987 (52 FR 45019), 
and revised in a schedule published in the Federal Register on November 
28, 1989 (54 FR 48942). Since then, CDC has published the fee schedule 
annually. The formula historically used to determine the fees has been 
calculated by dividing the cost of the VSP by the weighted number of 
annual inspections. With the tremendous expansion of the cruise line 
industry, and concurrent expansion in the number of ships being 
constructed and renovated, an increasing percentage of VSP staff time 
and expense is being spent on providing consultation directly to the 
individual cruise lines building and renovating ships. In the past, 
consultations for new construction and renovation have included an 
extensive review of the ships' blueprints, an on-site shipyard 
inspection as the ship neared completion, and a final construction 
inspection. This has contributed to an overall increase in the VSP 
budget and reduces the inspector time available to conduct routine 
sanitation inspections. Because these construction consultations and 
inspections are voluntary and are directed to individual ship owners, 
builders and operators, CDC feels that the cost of these services 
should be borne by the individual recipients, and not by the collective 
cruise lines participating in the vessel sanitation program. CDC did 
not include the cost of construction consultations or inspections in 
calculating the average cost per inspection for FY 1998. If CDC added 
the cost of these voluntary services into the existing formula, the 
sanitation inspection for ALL vessels would have been substantially 
higher even though none of the existing ships in the program would have 
received direct benefit from the consultation.
    In order to more equitably distribute the cost of the program among 
the participants, CDC will charge for all inspections conducted by VSP 
staff. CDC agrees to postpone charging a fee for plan reviews and 
consultation during construction and renovation until there can be a 
more thorough evaluation of the time, effort and other factors involved 
with this activity. Future program budgets will be determined by 
dividing the cost of the VSP by the weighted number of all inspections.
    Comment: One commentor stated that the proposed fee for 
consultation is all inclusive of plan review, shipyard inspection and 
final construction inspection and does not allow an interested cruise 
line to request a consultation or inspection during a specific 
individual phase of construction or renovation.
    Response: CDC agrees that a consultation or inspection should be 
available for any or all phases of construction and renovation. 
Therefore, consultation or inspection services for new construction or 
renovation will be provided in three phases:
    In Phase 1, CDC will:
     Conduct a Plan Review with ship officials in either the 
Miami or Atlanta VSP offices and provide a written report, with 
recommendations, to the ship officials following the review.
     Provide written consultations to the appropriate ship 
officials (owners, builders, sub-contractors, etc.) during the 
construction phase of the ship.
     Provide these plan reviews and consultations at no cost.
    In Phase 2, CDC will:
     Require that requests for shipyard inspections be 
submitted to VSP Atlanta 45 days prior to travel dates (see Appendix 
A).
     Require that the shipyard pay CDC for all expenses in 
connection with the shipyard inspection and make all necessary 
arrangements for lodging and transportation, which includes airfare and 
ground transportation.
     Charge a standard inspection fee for the shipyard 
inspection based on the published fee announced annually in the Federal 
Register. Provide the shipyard with an invoice at the completion of the 
inspection.
     Provide a written report of the shipyard inspection.
    In Phase 3, CDC will:
     Conduct the final construction inspection at a U.S. port 
prior to the ship entering operational service. The time and place of 
this inspection will be mutually agreed upon by the builder, owner and 
VSP staff. This inspection will NOT be scored.
     Provide a written report of the final construction 
inspection.
     Charge a standard inspection fee for the inspection based 
on the published fee announced annually in the Federal Register. 
Provide the shipyard with an invoice at the completion of the 
inspection.
    This is a voluntary program for the cruise ship builders/owners and 
a formal written request must be made for a consultation and/or 
construction inspection. CDC's ability to honor these requests will be 
based on the availability of VSP staff. A builder/owner may request any 
one, two, or all of the consultation and inspection phases.
    CDC will assign one inspector as the ``project manager'' for each 
request for consultation or renovation of a ship. The project manager 
will be the single point of contact at VSP for any discussion regarding 
the ship from the initial plan review through the final construction 
inspection. CDC will also provide a second inspector to participate in 
all plan reviews, consultations, and inspections.

Fees

    CDC will not charge a fee for plan reviews and consultation but 
will charge the published standard fee for all inspections conducted by 
the program (e.g., shipyard, final construction, sanitation, etc.). The 
inspection fee is based on the existing fee schedule for sanitation 
inspections of passenger cruise ships, published annually in the 
Federal Register.

             Fee Schedule January 1, 1998-September 30, 1998            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Inspection
                  Vessel size and GRT \1\                        fee    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Small (<3,001).......................................       $1,075
Small (3,001-15,000).......................................        2,150
Medium (15,001-30,000).....................................        4,300
Large (30,001-60,000)......................................        6,450
Extra Large (>60,000)......................................       8,600 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ GRT--Gross Register Tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's      
  Register of Shipping.                                                 

Applicability

    The inspection fees will be applicable to all passenger cruise 
vessels requesting and receiving services as described in this notice.


[[Page 27581]]


    Dated: May 13, 1998.
Joseph R. Carter,
Acting Associate Director for Management and Operations, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Appendix A

Sample

Fax to: Henry Falk, M.D., Director, Division of Environmental 
Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford 
Highway, NE., Mailstop F-28, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, Facsimile (770) 
488-4127
Fax copy to: Chief, Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for 
Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, NE., Mailstop F-16, Atlanta, GA 30341-
3724, Facsimile (770) 488-4127

    We request the presence of a PHS representative for shipyard 
consultation on cruise liner (NAME). We tentatively expect to take 
delivery of the cruise liner on (DATE). We would like to schedule 
the shipyard consultation for (DATE). We expect the consultation to 
take approximately (NUMBER OF DAYS).
    We will pay CDC in accordance with the inspection fee published 
in the Federal Register, and for all expenses in connection with the 
shipyard inspection. We will make all necessary arrangements for 
lodging and transportation, which includes airfare and ground 
transportation in (CITY, STATE, COUNTRY). We will provide in-kind 
for lodging and transportation expenses. All remaining expenses, 
such as en route per diem and meals and miscellaneous expenses, 
including ground transportation to and from the airport nearest the 
representatives work site or residence, should be sent to the 
following address:

Company
Attention:
Street Address
City, State, Country
Zip Code
Office Telephone Number
Facsimile Number

    If you have questions regarding this confirmation, please 
contact:

    Signed:

[FR Doc. 98-13212 Filed 5-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P