[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 77 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19850-19852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10113]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
[USCG-1999-5543]
Study of the Implementation and Enforcement of Safety Management
System (SMS) regulations, complying with the International Safety
Management (ISM) Code
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting to discuss how we
intend to study the implementation and enforcement of the International
Safety Management (ISM) Code and the impact that Safety Management
Systems (SMSs) are having on marine safety and environmental
protection. The study will measure the effectiveness of vessel and
company SMSs and identify actions that could be taken to further
promote the use and effective implementation of the ISM Code. The Coast
Guard encourages interested parties to attend the meeting and submit
comments for discussion during the meeting, and seeks written comments
from any party who is unable to attend the meeting.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on May 14, 1999, from 9:30 a.m.
to 2 p.m. The meeting may close early if all business is finished.
Written material for discussion during the meeting should reach the
Docket Management Facility on or before May 7, 1999. Comments and
related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before
May 31, 1999.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters Transpoint Building, room 2415, 2100 Second Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20593-0001. The telephone number is 202-267-1181.
You may submit your comments and related material by only one of
the following methods:
(1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-1999-5543),
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(2) By hand to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
(3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this
notice. Comments and documents, as indicated in this preamble, will
become part of this docket and will be available for inspection or
copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza Level of the Nassif Building at the
same address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. You may electronically access the public docket for
this rulemaking on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this notice
or public meeting, contact Mr. Bob Gauvin, Project Manager, Vessel and
Facility Operating Standards Division (G-MSO-2), Coast Guard, 202-267-
1053. For questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket,
contact Dorothy Walker, Chief, Documentary Services Division, U.S.
Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
The Coast Guard (``We'') encourages you to participate in this
study by submitting comments and related material, and by attending the
public meeting. If you submit written comments, please include your
name and address, identify the docket number for this study (USCG-1999-
5543), indicate the specific section of this document to which each
comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may submit
your comments and material by mail, hand, fax, or electronic means to
the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but
please do not submit the same comment or material by more than one
means.
If you submit them by mail or hand, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and
electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know
they were received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard
or envelope.
We will consider all comments and material received during the
comment period for the study report.
Public Meeting
This meeting is open to the public. Please note that the meeting
may close
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early if all business is finished. Members of the public may make oral
presentations during the meeting. If you would like to make an oral
presentation at the meeting, please notify Mr. Bob Gauvin at 202-267-
1053 no later than May 7, 1999.
We will begin the public meeting with a brief presentation
discussing the actions taken to date by the Coast Guard to develop and
enforce regulations and policy for the implementation of SMSs, as well
as ISM Code requirements for certification. The presentation will
include a brief synopsis of the Coast Guard's planned actions to
complete the study.
On completion of the Coast Guard presentation, we will read any
written comments received before the public meeting to those attending
and into the record of the meeting. We will then give the attendees
time to speak on their concerns and interest regarding this issue and
the study. After the attendees complete their oral presentations, we
may open up discussions about concerns voiced repeatedly during the
comment period of the meeting. These discussions may request input on
the Coast Guard's planned actions to complete the study and
recommendations from the attendees on how we can best research
information from those companies using SMSs in their shore and vessel
operations.
Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact
Mr. Bob Gauvin at the address or phone number under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.
Background and Purpose
The ISM Code is enforced by the Coast Guard in compliance with
regulations in Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, part 96 (33 CFR
part 96), and Chapter IX of the International Convention for the Safety
of Life at Sea (SOLAS). Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars No.
2-94 (NVIC 2-94) and No. 4-98 (NVIC 4-98) provide the Coast Guard's
enforcement policy. Both of these NVICs may be read or downloaded from
the Coast Guard's publication homepage on the Internet at http://
www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/index.htm.
In July 1998, the Coast Guard began recognizing classification
societies to issue certification for and ensure compliance with the ISM
Code for shipping companies and certain vessels, with the approval of
the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The ISM Code addresses
the importance of designated persons and various responsibilities of
the master and maritime company and requires consistent documentation
and monitoring of management procedures, actions and practices
implemented in accordance with governmental and company requirements.
The ISM Code ensures the continuous improvement of safety management
skills in the maritime industry and requires companies to ensure safe
operation of their fleets in accordance with applicable international
and Flag State requirements by developing Safety Management Systems
(SMSs) for their shore and vessel operations.
The primary goal of an SMS is to ensure, in writing, the commitment
and involvement of a shipping company's top management and
representatives of shore and ship personnel to continuously improve
safety management skills of shore-based and ship-based personnel,
including preparation for emergencies related to both safety and
environmental protection. Implementing an SMS ensures company and
vessel compliance with mandatory rules and regulations. Using an SMS
also ensures that applicable codes, guidelines, and standards
recommended by the IMO, various Flag Administrations, recognized
classification societies, and maritime industry organizations are taken
into account. Companies are required by the ISM Code to develop and
implement SMSs; this includes exercising company procedures and
maintaining regular written reports and internal audits for reporting
accidents and non-conformities with the provisions of the ISM Code.
External audits conducted by recognized classification societies ensure
that companies maintain current internal audits, reports, and records
of exercises, procedures, accidents, and non-conformities and the
company's or vessel's respective corrective actions.
Essential to the effective functioning of an SMS is the need for
all persons involved with the system to openly exchange safety
information that will result in corrective actions of material
conditions, safety procedures and company processes that support
safety. Candid and accurate records ensure open lines of communication
between company management and vessel crews and are vital for
companies, vessels, and external recognized authorities to measure a
company's safety and environmental protection performance against a
documented system.
Recently, we received comments and questions from the maritime
industry regarding vessel owners' ability or willingness to fully
implement SMSs. They contended that vessel owners, out of fear of self-
incrimination for liability, would not properly complete the internal
audits, critical management reviews, and reports of non-conformities
required by the SMSs and subject to external audits. Incomplete, vague,
or inaccurate reports interfere with the effectiveness such a system
would have in raising levels of safety. If these required SMS documents
could be used against a vessel, its owner, or the companies' employees
in legal challenges, how could we expect full disclosure?
In response, we recognize that certain information of a personal or
business nature is already protected to varying degrees by laws, such
as the Privacy Act. In addition, SMSs are considered a form of
intellectual property since they define and describe key practices that
play a role in maintaining a competitive edge in the maritime industry.
We acknowledge and abide by our legal and moral duty to protect
personal and business information from public disclosure in the course
of our role as a safety agency. However, records intended to improve
safety may also demonstrate the omission or commission of an act that
could be construed as negligent. Although this was not the intended
purpose of the ISM Code, legal actions could occur as a result of
information found in SMS-required documentation of accidents and non-
conformities evaluated by external audits.
Coast Guard ISM Code Study
The purpose of this notice is to announce that we intend to conduct
a study regarding the effective implementation and possible
improvements of ISM Code SMSs and to invite the public to attend a
public meeting to discuss issues and concerns regarding the ISM Code
and the study.
Section 306 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 (Pub. L.
105-383), ``Safety Management Code Report and Policy,'' mandates the
Secretary of Transportation to complete a study on:
(1) Reporting the status of ISM Code implementation;
(2) Detailing enforcement actions involving the ISM Code, including
the role documents and reports produced following the external audits
required by the ISM Code play in such enforcement actions;
(3) Evaluating the effects the ISM Code has had on marine safety
and environmental protection, and identifying actions to further
promote
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marine safety and environmental protection through the ISM Code;
(4) Identifying actions to achieve full compliance with and
effective implementation of the ISM Code; and
(5) Evaluating the effectiveness of internal reporting and auditing
under the ISM Code, and recommending actions to ensure the accuracy and
candidness of such reporting and auditing. These recommended actions
might include proposed limits on the use of documents produced
following external audits required by the ISM Code in legal
proceedings.
Questions to the Public and Maritime Industry
We are initiating research for the study by requesting answers to
the questions listed below. You may submit your responses in writing to
the docket at the address under ADDRESSES or present them orally at the
public meeting on May 14, 1999. Please consider the following questions
with regard to granting access to information in the SMS. Who should
have access to this information and what impact could the release of
this information have on safety and the intended purpose of the
information?
(1) Should the information contained in an SMS be restricted to
direct users of the system, i.e., recognized organizations directly
responsible for the audit of the system, Port State and Flag State
authorities, etc. and no others?
(2) Would restricting the use of information in the SMS to only
those entities listed in Question 1, and excluding all others,
appreciably improve candid reporting of corrective actions for items
related to safety or environmental protection?
(3) If you answered that restricting the access to or use of SMS
information by entities other than those listed in Question 1 would
improve the reporting of corrective actions, please respond. Would this
improvement be of a sufficient magnitude to justify placing
restrictions on the use of that information?
(4) If selected entities could be granted access beyond those
listed in Question 1, who should they be and why?
(5) Who should not, under any circumstances, be granted access to
the information in the SMS and why?
(6) Should the safety information and records contained in the SMS
be as accessible as other similar information now contained in ships
logs and other records required to be maintained by law, regulations or
international convention (e.g., the ships oil record book)?
(7) If company SMS procedures and SMS audit report information is
made available and could be used by private litigants in actions
against the company or company employees; what impact, if any, would
the use of this information have on the level of detail vessel crew
members and company personnel would use in creating and maintaining
records that identify corrective actions related to safety items?
(8) Instead of restricting access to the information, should
restrictions be placed on the use of the information from the SMS? If
yes, for what purposes should information in the SMS not be used?
(9) Are there SMS records that should be accessible while other SMS
records should be restricted?
(10) Are there other alternatives that would promote candidness of
reporting that would not restrict access (e.g., placing limits of
liability on actions stemming from use of information in the SMS)?
Dated: April 16, 1999.
Jeffery P. High,
Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental
Protection.
[FR Doc. 99-10113 Filed 4-21-99; 8:45 am]
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