[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 141 (Friday, July 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 45418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18554]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG-2000-7642]


Lifesaving Equipment

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is hosting four workshops on the 
implementation of new lifesaving system rules for large passenger 
vessels operating in domestic waters. The meetings will be informal 
workshops open to the public and will be held in cities near high 
concentrations of passenger vessels affected by the new rules. The new 
rules apply to large passenger vessels in lakes, bays, and sounds and 
to rivers service; and require them to carry lifesaving equipment for 
all persons on board, or to develop a safety assessment in lieu of 
retrofitting lifesaving equipment. The workshops will help passenger 
vessel operators and Coast Guard inspection offices create a consistent 
process for the development and approval of the safety assessment 
alternative. This notice announces the dates, time, and locations of 
the four workshops.

DATES: The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 
registration at 8:30 a.m., on the following dates, but will close early 
if all business is finished.

St. Louis, MO, August 29, 2000
Seattle, WA, September 8, 2000
Staten Island, NY, September 26, 2000
New Orleans, LA, December 6, 2000


ADDRESSES: The workshops will be held at the following locations:
    St. Louis, MO--Room 2-308, Robert A. Young Federal Building, 1222 
Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.
    Seattle, WA--Bear Conference Room, Building 5, 1519 Alaskan Way S., 
Seattle, WA 98103.
    Staten Island, NY--Fr. Capodanno Memorial Chapel, Activities New 
York, 203 New York Avenue, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, NY 10305-
5005.
    New Orleans, LA--Basement Conference Room, Hale Boggs Federal 
Building, 500 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130-3396.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LCDR Kevin Kiefer, Lifesaving and Fire 
Safety Division (G-MSE-4), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 
202-267-1444, fax 202-267-4816, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Lifesaving Equipment Final Rule [CGD 84-069], including changes 
to 46 CFR part 199, Lifesaving Systems For Certain Inspected Vessels, 
in subchapter W, Lifesaving Appliances and Arrangements, was published 
on October 1, 1998 (63 FR 52802), with an effective date of November 2, 
1998.
    Subchapter W requires existing passenger vessels certificated under 
46 CFR subchapter H in lakes, bays, and sounds service or in rivers 
service, to carry additional survival craft with a compliance date of 
October 1, 2003. As an alternative to the survival craft requirements 
listed in subchapter W, in 46 CFR 199.201(b), vessel operators may have 
a safety assessment approved by their local Officer in Charge, Marine 
Inspection (OCMI). New passenger vessels or recently built vessels may 
also consider the safety assessment alternative to possibly reduce the 
number of required survival craft.
    The safety assessment must include:
    (1) the navigation and vessel safety conditions within the vessel's 
planned operating area; and
    (2) a comprehensive shipboard safety management and contingency 
plan, including an evacuation plan that is tailored to the particular 
vessel, is easy to use, is understood by vessel management personnel 
both on board and ashore, and is updated regularly.
    Paragraph (f) of 46 CFR 199.630 contains additional information 
about the contents of the safety assessment.
    The Coast Guard recognizes that this performance-based regulation, 
designed to allow for flexibility, will inevitably involve some 
inconsistencies and differences of opinion. The implementation 
workshops will provide opportunities for the Coast Guard and vessel 
operators to work together to minimize these problems. The workshop 
participants will create a consistent process for the development and 
approval of safety assessments, which include Shipboard Safety 
Management and Contingency Plans. The workshops will consider risk 
management principles such as the types of contingencies that need to 
be planned for, the probabilities of various types of emergencies, 
given the characteristics of the waterway, and to what degree ship 
characteristics and alternative equipment can substitute for lifesaving 
equipment.
    The product of the workshops, which will be distributed to vessel 
operators and OCMIs after the completion of all four workshops, is the 
development of the criteria that will be used by the OCMI in the safety 
assessment approval process.

Format of Subchapter W Implementation Workshops

    The subchapter W implementation workshops are open to the public 
and will consist of briefings and facilitated breakout sessions.
    The morning sessions of the one-day workshops will provide 
background information and outline the Coast Guard view on the safety 
assessment approval process.
    The afternoon sessions will be facilitated to tailor the safety 
assessment approval process and to develop criteria that will be used 
by the OCMI in the approval process. Members of the public attending 
the meetings are welcome to participate in all sessions. The workshops 
will begin at 9 a.m. with registration at 8:30 a.m.

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 
LCDR Kevin Kiefer, Lifesaving and Fire Safety Division (G-MSE-4), U.S. 
Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 202-267-1444, fax 202-267-4816, or 
email [email protected], as soon as possible.

    Dated: July 14, 2000.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety and Environmental Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-18554 Filed 7-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P