[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7444-7445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3929]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2002-11274]


Guidelines for Assessing Merchant Mariners Through Demonstrations 
of Proficiency as Masters and Chief Mates on Ships of 500 Gross Tonnage 
or More as Measured Under the International Tonnage Convention (ITC)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of, and seeks 
public comments on, the national performance measures proposed here for 
use as guidelines when mariners demonstrate their proficiency as 
Masters or Chief Mates on ships of 500 gross tonnage ITC or more. These 
measures were developed from recommendations and input provided by the 
Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC).

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before April 22, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Please identify your comments and related material by the 
docket number of this notice [USCG 2002-11274]. Then, to make sure they 
enter the docket just once, submit them by just 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 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.
    In choosing among these means, please give due regard to the recent 
difficulties with delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service to 
Federal facilities.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
Notice. Comments and related material received from the public, as well 
as documents mentioned in this Notice, 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.
    The measures proposed here are also available from Mr. Mark Gould, 
Maritime Personnel Qualifications Division, Office of Operating and 
Environmental Standards, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, telephone 202-267-0229, or e-mail address 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this Notice or on the 
national performance measures proposed here, write or call Mr. Gould 
where indicated under ADDRESSES. For questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Ms. Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, 
Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Action Is the Coast Guard Taking?

    Table A-II/2 of the Code accompanying the International Convention 
on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 
(STCW), 1978, as amended in 1995, articulates qualifications for 
ensuring merchant mariners' attaining the minimum standard of 
competence through demonstrations of their proficiency as Master or 
Chief Mate on ships of 500 gross tonnage ITC or more. The Coast Guard 
tasked MERPAC with referring to the Table, modifying and specifying it 
as it deemed necessary, and recommending national performance measures. 
The Coast Guard has reviewed the measures recommended by MERPAC and has 
developed a final set that we are proposing here for use as guidelines 
for assessing that proficiency.
    The guidelines are set up as follows: First we set forth the 
competency within the STCW a mariner must demonstrate to meet the STCW 
section. Next we give a series of examples of Performance Conditions, a 
set of Performance Behaviors for each Performance Condition, and a set 
of Performance Standards for each Performance Behavior.
    For example, if the STCW competency to demonstrate is, ``Plan a 
voyage and conduct navigation''--A Performance Condition for that 
competency demonstrating knowledge, understanding, and proficiency is: 
On a ship under way or in a navigational laboratory--
    A Performance Behavior for that condition is: The candidate will 
describe all systems for ship's position reporting and Vessel Traffic 
Systems (VTSs) required for the route.
    The Performance Standards for that behavior are: All shoreside 
entities requiring ships' position reports and all VTS services for the 
route are correctly identified; All reporting requirements are 
correctly described; and The hailing frequencies and position-reporting 
requirements of all VTS services are noted on the appropriate charts.
    If the mariner properly meets all of the Performance Standards, he 
or she passes the practical demonstration. If he or she fails to 
properly carry out any of the Performance Standards, he or she fails 
it.

Why Is the Coast Guard Taking This Action?

    The Coast Guard is taking this action to comply with STCW, as 
amended in 1995 and incorporated into domestic regulation in 46 CFR 
parts 10, 12, and 15 in 1997. Guidance from the International Maritime 
Organization on shipboard assessments of proficiency suggests that 
Parties develop standards and measures of performance for practical 
tests as part of their programs for training and assessing seafarers.

How May I Participate in This Action?

    You may participate in this action by submitting comments and 
related material on the national performance measures proposed here. 
(Although the Coast Guard does not seek public comment on the measures 
recommended by MERPAC, as distinct from the measures proposed here, 
those measures are available on the Internet at the Homepage of MERPAC, 
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/merpac/merpac.htm.) These measures 
are available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, under this docket 
number [USCG 2002-11274]. They are also available from Mr. Gould where 
indicated under ADDRESSES. If you submit written comments please 
include--
     Your name and address;
     The docket number for this Notice [USCG 2002-11274];
     The specific section of the performance measures to which 
each comment applies; and
     The reason for each comment.
    You may mail, deliver, fax, or electronically submit your comments 
and related material to the Docket Management Facility, using an 
address or fax number listed in ADDRESSES. Please do not submit the 
same comment or material more than once. If you mail

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or deliver your comments and material, they must be on 81/2-by-11-inch 
paper, and the quality of the copy should be clear enough for copying 
and scanning. If you mail your comments and material and would like to 
know whether the Docket Management Facility received them, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard 
will consider all comments and material received during the 60-day 
comment period.
    Once we have considered all comments and related material, we will 
publish a final version of the national performance measures for use as 
guidelines by the general public. Individuals and institutions 
assessing the competence of mariners may refine the final version of 
these measures and develop innovative alternatives. If you vary from 
the final version of these measures, however, you must submit your 
alternative to the National Maritime Center for approval by the Coast 
Guard under 46 CFR 10.303(e) before you use it as part of an approved 
course or training program.

    Dated: January 14, 2002.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 02-3929 Filed 2-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P