[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 224 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63773-63774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30373]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 175

[USCG-1998-4447]


Federal Requirements To Carry Ground Tackle on Recreational 
Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of petition for rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks comments from interested people, groups 
and businesses in response to a petition for rulemaking submitted by 
the National Boating Federation (NBF). The petition requests that the 
Coast Guard require that all recreational vessels in the United States 
carry proper anchoring gear and that the gear be in useable condition. 
Currently, Federal regulations do not require that ground tackle 
(anchor and line or chain) be carried on recreational vessels as safety 
equipment. This notice describes the Coast Guard's policy for 
establishing National minimum safety equipment carriage requirements 
for recreational vessels, and related issues, to assist interested 
persons with providing helpful comments as to whether the Coast Guard 
should initiate a regulatory project.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before May 22, 2000.

ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material (referred to 
USCG-1998-4447) are not entered more than once in the docket, please 
submit them by only one of the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 
20590-0001.
    (2) By hand-delivery 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 material received from the public, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
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 also find this docket on the Internet 
at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice contact 
Carlton Perry, Project Manager, Office of Boating Safety, by telephone 
at 202-267-0979 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For questions on 
viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Dorothy Walker, 
Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.
    You may obtain a copy of this notice by calling the U.S. Coast 
Guard Infoline at 1-800-368-5647, or read it on the Internet at the Web 
Site for the Office of Boating Safety at http://www.uscgboating.org or 
at http://dms.dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The National Boating Federation (NBF) has submitted a petition to 
the Coast Guard (included in the public docket for this notice). The 
petition requests that we require that all recreational vessels in the 
United States carry proper anchoring gear and that the gear be in 
useable condition. Currently, Federal regulations do not require that 
ground tackle (anchor and line or chain) be carried on recreational 
vessels as safety equipment. The NBF suggests that because we urge 
boaters experiencing a loss of maneuverability during near-shore 
boating to set their anchor, we should also require boaters to carry 
appropriate ground tackle. The NBF did not identify or describe any 
incidents where the lack of an anchor contributed to, or the presence 
of an anchor may have prevented, a boating accident resulting in a 
fatality, injury or property damage.
    We maintain a boating accident report database (BARD) on reported 
boating accidents involving deaths, injuries requiring medical 
treatment beyond first aid, and property damage greater than $500. We 
searched the 1997 database on

[[Page 63774]]

the root terms ``anchor'', ``drift'' and ``ground'' and found 1,607 
incidents out of 8,047 reported accidents, where one or more of the 
terms were mentioned in the report narrative.
    The vast majority (1,593) of reported accident narratives indicated 
that a factor other than ground tackle was the cause of the accident. 
The following list describes the number of cases and the general factor 
categories leading to the 1607 reported accidents.
    1. 651--Operator inexperience, failure, or inattention.
    2. 412--Machinery failure, no details, or miscellaneous.
    3. 125--Alcohol.
    4. 115--Poor weather or hazardous water conditions.
    5. 111--Excessive speed.
    6. 73--Jet-ski or canoe.
    7. 65--Vessel at anchor and hit or upset by wake from passing 
vessel.
    8. 20--Drifting on purpose or accident while pulling anchor.
    9. 14--Improper lights.
    10. 11--Insufficient anchor or improperly anchored.
    11. 10--Ran aground while setting anchor or ran aground with anchor 
down.
    Only 14 of the 1,607 report narratives described an incident where 
the lack of an anchor contributed to, or that the presence of an anchor 
may have prevented, the reported accident. Listed below are five 
samples of report narratives from our database that reflect cases where 
the accident may have been prevented if the operator had carried 
appropriate ground tackle.
    1. ``The operator didn't pay attention to the fuel level and the 
vessel ran out of gas. Then he tried to anchor but had an improper 
anchor for sea conditions and the rough water forced the vessel onto 
the beach totaling it.''
    2. ``Due to hazardous weather conditions the operator attempted to 
anchor the vessel. The anchor line was insufficient and broke and the 
vessel grounded, causing damage. The vessel then sank.''
    3. ``The boat broke free from the dock and drifted across the creek 
into a marsh. In an effort to recover the boat, both occupants stayed 
on the boat and tried to get back to the dock. Both occupants were 
exposed to the weather elements and died from hypothermia.''
    4. ``Operator's engine stalled and wouldn't restart. The vessel 
grounded onto the jetty, causing major damage.''
    5. ``The operator was returning from fishing when the engine died 
and the vessel was sucked into shore.''
    Under 46 U.S.C. 4302, we may prescribe regulations to require the 
installation, carrying or use of associated equipment (including fuel 
systems, ventilation systems, electrical systems, sound-producing 
devices, fire fighting equipment, life saving devices, signaling 
devices, ground tackle, life- and grab-rails, and navigational 
equipment) on recreational vessels. In prescribing such regulations, we 
must consider the need for and the extent to which the regulations will 
contribute to recreational vessel safety and relevant available 
recreational vessel safety standards, statistics, and data, including 
public and private research, development, testing, and evaluation. We 
have done so for fuel systems (33 CFR part 175, subpart J), ventilation 
systems (33 CFR parts 175, subpart C and 183, subpart K and 46 CFR part 
25, subpart 25.40), electrical systems (33 CFR part 183, subpart I), 
fire fighting equipment (46 CFR part 25, subpart 25.30), life saving 
devices (33 CFR part 175, subpart B), and signaling devices (33 CFR 
part 175, subpart C). The Navigation Rules prescribe requirements to 
carry sound-producing devices (33 CFR part 86). We have not prescribed 
requirements to carry ground tackle, life- and grab-rails, or 
navigational equipment on recreational vessels.

Public Meeting

    We do not plan to hold a public meeting in response to this 
petition. You may request one by submitting a request to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES explaining why one 
would be beneficial. If we determine that one would aid the 
consideration of this petition, we will hold one at a time and place 
announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this petition for rulemaking by 
submitting comments and related material, answering the following 
questions, as well as other comments in connection with this notice. 
Please include with your submission your name and address, identify the 
docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-1998-4447), indicate the 
specific question 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-delivery, fax, or electronic means to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit 
your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by 
mail or hand-delivery, 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 reached the Facility, 
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will 
consider all comments and material received during the comment period. 
Your comments will help us to determine whether to initiate a 
rulemaking project in accordance with the petitioner's request.
    We will summarize all the comments we receive during the comment 
period, place a copy of the summary in the public docket, and provide 
copies to the members of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council 
(NBSAC) for them to consider at their next meeting. We will consider 
all relevant comments and material received during the comment period 
in proposing any regulatory or nonregulatory measures that may follow 
from this notice.
    Please consider and respond to the following questions:
    1. Should the Coast Guard propose regulations for all recreational 
vessels operated on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States to carry appropriate ground tackle as required safety equipment? 
Why or why not?
    2. If not all vessels, should the Coast Guard propose regulations 
for any class, type or size of recreational vessels to carry 
appropriate ground tackle?
    3. If not on all waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States, should the Coast Guard propose regulations for recreational 
vessels on any such waters?
    4. If the Coast Guard should propose any ground tackle carriage 
requirements, how should we address the variety of anchor sizes and 
styles, the various lengths of chain or line, and the various sizes and 
types of recreational vessels that would be subject to such 
requirements?
    5. Please describe any nonregulatory ways to reduce the number of 
recreational boating accidents that are achievable at lower cost or 
with less burden than by Federal rules for carrying ground tackle.
    6. Are you aware of any additional information about boating 
accidents involving the use or absence of anchors or ground tackle, 
which you think we should consider?

    Dated: November 15, 1999.
Ernest R. Riutta,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 99-30373 Filed 11-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P