[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 161 (Friday, August 18, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50481-50483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21125]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 160

[USCG-2000-7796]


Notification of Arrival; Addition of Charterer or Cargo Owner to 
Required Information

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is requesting comments about charterers and 
cargo owners to improve its Port State Control targeting matrix used to 
prioritize vessel boardings. The request for comments is intended to 
enhance the Coast Guard's understanding of the role of charterers and 
cargo owners in influencing the quality of shipping. Depending on the 
information received, we may commence a rulemaking to amend the

[[Page 50482]]

notification requirements in the Notice of Arrival regulations.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before October 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material 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 (USCG-2000-7796), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By 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, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, 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; request 
for comments, call LCDR Michael Jendrossek, Vessel and Facility 
Operating Standards Division, Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 202-
267-0836. For questions on viewing or submitting material to the 
docket, call Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of 
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this Coast Guard policy 
development process by submitting comments and related material. If you 
do so, please include your name and address, identify the docket number 
for this notice (USCG-2000-7796), 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 
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. Your comments 
and materials may influence policy that we propose. We will consider 
all comments received during the comment period.
    The Coast Guard may schedule a public meeting depending on input 
received in response to this notice. You may request a public meeting 
by submitting a request to the address under ADDRESSES. The request 
should include the reasons why a meeting would be beneficial. If the 
Coast Guard determines that a public meeting should be held, it will 
hold the meeting at a time and place announced by a later notice in the 
Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

    The Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 [86 Stat. 424], as 
amended by the Port and Tanker Safety Act of 1978 [92 Stat.127], 
authorizes the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating to require the receipt of notice from vessels destined for or 
departing from a port or place under the jurisdiction of the United 
States. This Notice of Arrival, 33 CFR Part 160, Subpart C, includes 
information necessary for the control of the vessel and for the safety 
of the port or marine environment.
    In April of 1994, because of concerns raised over the steady 
increase in the number of substandard non-U.S. flagged vessels visiting 
U.S. waters, the Coast Guard established its Port State Control program 
(PSC) with the goal of eliminating substandard vessels from U.S. 
waters. Primary responsibility for ensuring that a vessel remains in 
compliance with applicable international and national regulations falls 
to the owners, operators, Flag State, and classification (class) 
society. Because these parties failed to carry out their 
responsibilities the Coast Guard implemented a more comprehensive 
foreign vessel boarding program that includes examinations of freight 
ships, tank ships, and passenger vessels.
    Each year, 8000 foreign-flagged vessels make more than 50,000 U.S. 
port calls, and the Coast Guard conducts approximately 12,000 
examinations. A risk-based targeting scheme was developed to ensure 
that vessels, which may pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. ports, are 
boarded. The targeting matrix utilizes the following information: Flag 
State, owner, operator, class society, ship type and operating history 
in U.S. waters.
    The targeting matrix is a tool that the COTP uses to assign a score 
to each arriving vessel, and then prioritizes vessel boardings based on 
the total number of points assigned, as well as other factors. These 
vessels, representing the highest risk, are targeted for boardings. 
Once aboard the vessel, the Coast Guard verifies that the vessel has 
valid certificates from its Flag State that indicate compliance with 
applicable international safety and pollution prevention conventions.
    If a vessel is determined to be substandard, which means that its 
hull, machinery, equipment, or operational readiness is substantially 
below required standards, it is detained until the deficiencies are 
corrected.
    In an attempt to improve the overall quality of shipping, two 
recent initiatives were implemented--The International Safety 
Management (ISM) Code, and the 1995 amendments to the International 
Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for 
Seafarers, 1978 (STCW 95). These initiatives focus on the human element 
of ship operations and place responsibility with the companies 
operating ships. These initiatives have been effective in reducing the 
number of substandard vessels in U.S. waters, as well as around the 
world.
    Despite these new initiatives, substandard vessels continue to call 
in U.S. waters. Although the number of detentions of substandard 
vessels fell from 547 in 1997 to 257 in 1999, we believe that there are 
still too many.
    Many involved in international shipping have noted that charterers 
can exert considerable influence on the quality of shipping and are not 
held accountable by any Port State Control regime. A recent study 
sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Transport indicates that the 
expense of operating a substandard vessel was 14 percent less than the 
operating cost for a compliant vessel. This raises the possibility that 
charterers and cargo owners may select vessels for hire which are non-
compliant because of lower charter rates.
    The Coast Guard needs answers to certain questions about charterers 
and cargo owners to determine whether it will be appropriate to add 
charterers and cargo owners to the Notice of Arrival information and 
the targeting matrix. Because the Coast Guard does not currently have 
vessel charterer data,

[[Page 50483]]

we cannot determine the impact that this information will have on the 
targeting matrix, or the number and percentage of detentions that would 
cause a charterer to be targeted. Depending on the information 
received, we may commence a rulemaking to amend the notification 
requirements in the Notice of Arrival regulations.
    Of particular interest to the Coast Guard is an understanding of 
how chartering selections are made, the factors that are considered, 
how the process works, as well as economic influences.

Questions

    We especially need the public's assistance in answering the 
following questions, and any additional information provided on this 
topic is welcome. In responding to each question, please explain your 
reasons for each answer as specifically as possible so that we can 
carefully weigh the consequences and impacts of any future actions we 
may take. For the following questions we have defined charterer as: An 
individual or company who hires a vessel or portion of a vessel. A 
charterer may also be a shipping company employee or an employee at a 
shipbroker whose job it is to do business on the freight market.
    In preparing your response to these questions please indicate your 
position in the maritime industry as well as the type of vessel, cargo, 
and charter agreement specific to your situation, if applicable.
    1. What role do the charterer and cargo owner play in ensuring 
ships are in compliance with international safety and pollution 
regulations. To what extent should they be held accountable?
    2. Would publication of a list of charterers and cargo owners that 
are associated with detentions improve compliance with international 
safety standards?
    3. Should the charterer and cargo owner be included in the Coast 
Guard's Port State Control targeting matrix? If so, does the type of 
chartering agreement matter when a decision is being made to determine 
who should be associated with a detention?
    4. What is the screening process used by your company prior to 
chartering a vessel? How is the final vessel selection made?
    5. What factors are considered when you select a vessel for 
charter?
    6. Do you consider a vessel's safety or casualty record, including 
its Port State Control history in your decision process?
    7. Does a charterer or cargo owner ever change during a voyage? If 
yes, what are the circumstances and in general how often does this 
occur?
    8. In those instances where the charterer changes during the voyage 
or there are multiple cargo owners or cargo ownership changes how is 
responsibility for ensuring compliance with international maritime 
safety and pollution prevention standards determined?
    9. What documentation does the vessel owner, agent, master, person-
in-charge or operator have that identifies the charterer or cargo 
owner? Is this documentation available onboard the vessel?
    10. How is the cost of a delay resulting from a Port State Control 
action or detention measured or determined? Who absorbs or pays for it?
    11. Would requiring that the name of the charterer and cargo owner 
be provided as part of the notice of arrival have an impact on small 
businesses?
    12. What would the cost be to your company of adding the name of 
the charterer and cargo owner to the information reported in the notice 
of arrival? Does this cost differ according to the type of charter, 
cargo owner or vessel type? What is the basis for your estimate?
    13. What is your estimate of the total cost to industry of adding 
the name of the charterer and cargo owner to the information reported 
in the notice of arrival? What is the total cost by charterer, cargo 
owner or vessel type? What is the basis for your estimate?

    Dated: August 4, 2000.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety 
and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 00-21125 Filed 8-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-U