[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70897-70899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30095]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

33 CFR Part 401

[Docket No. SLSDC 2002-13698]
RIN 2135-AA15


Seaway Regulations and Rules: Automatic Identification System

AGENCY: Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) and 
the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) of Canada, under 
international agreement, jointly publish and presently administer the 
St. Lawrence Seaway Regulations and Rules (Practices and Procedures in 
Canada) in their respective jurisdictions. Under agreement with the 
SLSMC, the SLSDC is proposing to amend the joint regulations to make 
use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) in Seaway waters from St. 
Lambert, Quebec to Long Point, mid-Lake Erie mandatory effective at the 
beginning of the 2003 navigation season, which is scheduled for March 
25, 2003.

DATES: Any party wishing to present views on the proposed amendments 
may file comments with the Corporation on or before January 27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Signed, written comments should refer to the docket number 
appearing at the top of this document and must be submitted to the 
Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Written comments may also be submitted 
electronically at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/BlankDSS.asp. All 
comments received will be available for examination between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Those 
desiring notification of receipt of comments must include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marc C. Owen, Chief Counsel, Saint 
Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-6823.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development 
Corporation (SLSDC) and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation 
(SLSMC) of Canada, under international agreement, jointly publish and 
presently administer the St. Lawrence Seaway Regulations and Rules 
(Practices and Procedures in Canada) in their respective jurisdictions. 
Under agreement with the SLSMC, the SLSDC is proposing to amend the 
joint regulations to make use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) 
in Seaway waters from St. Lambert, Quebec to Long Point, mid-Lake Erie 
mandatory effective at the beginning of the 2003 navigation season, 
which is scheduled for March 25, 2003.

Background and Purpose

    Since the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, the Saint 
Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and the St. Lawrence Seaway 
Management Corporation Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system has been 
responsible for monitoring the progress of commercial traffic to ensure 
the safe and expeditious passage of vessels operating in Seaway sectors 
under their control. Procedures in use today include limits on vessel 
speed and requirements for all commercial traffic to report by voice on 
marine VHF radio to the Vessel Control (VTC) centers. These reports are 
made at designated ``call-in-points'' along the river. Traffic managers 
at VTC centers use the vessel reports to monitor traffic patterns, 
including one-way vessel traffic restricted areas and project the 
estimated times of arrival (ETA) of vessels at locks in the Seaway.
    SLSDC and SLSMC sponsored successful prototype demonstrations and 
evaluations of a Global Positioning System based VTS system in the fall 
of 1994 and during the 1995 shipping season. The demonstrations 
established that a VTS using AIS technology was both feasible and cost 
effective and can improve the efficiency and safety of operations. In 
the 1999 shipping season, SLSDC and SLSMC deployed a modernized vessel 
Traffic Management System (TMS). Now, for the first time, all vessel 
control centers in the Saint Lawrence Seaway share a common vessel 
information database. Presently, vessel positions, derived from 
simulations based on transit histories of vessels, are entered manually 
into the TMS system by traffic controllers and then updated by voice 
reports from the vessels during actual transits.
    AIS is a broadcast system, operating in the VHF maritime mobile 
band. It is capable of sending and receiving ship information such as 
identification,

[[Page 70898]]

position, course, speed and more, to and from other ships and to and 
from shore. The Seaway TMS will send pertinent navigation information 
such as local wind speed and direction, water levels, ice conditions, 
availability of next lockage, and safety-related messages to vessels.
    With the capabilities of ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and shore-to-
ship communications, AIS will greatly enhance the safety, improve the 
efficiency of the traffic management and increase the vessel security 
and emergency response capabilities. Specifically, the potential 
benefits of AIS for the Seaway entities include providing a more 
efficient vessel traffic management as a result of knowing accurate 
location and speed of the vessels, monitoring vessel speeds especially 
for hazardous cargo and deeper draft vessels and faster response time 
to vessels in case of security concerns and vessel accidents or 
incidents. The potential benefits to the carrier users include the 
reduction of overall transit time as a result of better scheduling of 
lockages and other services timely dispatching of pilots. It also 
provides real-time position, speed, heading and other pertinent 
information of the vessel, which will allow master or pilot to better 
coordinate on the meeting or overtaking in critical reaches of the 
Seaway.

Proposed Rule

    The SLSDC and the SLSMC are proposing a new Sec.  401.20 that would 
require mandatory use of AIS in Seaway waters from St. Lambert, Quebec 
to Long Point, mid-Lake Erie effective at the beginning of the 2003 
navigation season, which is scheduled for March 25, 2003. All vessels 
that require pre-clearance and have a 300 gross tonnage or greater, 
have an Length Over All (LOA) over 20 meters, or carry more than 50 
passengers for hire, would have to use an AIS transponder to transit 
the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Dredges and floating plants and towing 
vessels over 8 meters in length would also be required to use AIS, 
except only each lead unit of combined and multiple units (tugs and 
tows) would have to use it. Each vessel would have to meet the 
following international recommendations, standards, and guidelines:
    1. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolution MSC.74(69), 
Annex 3, Recommendation on Performance Standards for a Universal 
Shipborne AIS, as amended;
    2. International Telecommunication Union, ITU-R Recommendation 
M.1371-1: 2000, Technical Characteristics For A Universal Shipborne AIS 
Using Time Division Multiple Access In The VHF Maritime Mobile Band, as 
amended;
    3. International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC 61993-2 Ed.1, 
Maritime Navigation and Radio Communication Equipment and Systems--AIS 
--Part 2: Class A Shipborne Equipment of the Universal AIS--Operational 
and Performance Requirements, Methods of Test and Required Test 
Results, as amended;
    4. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Guidelines for 
Installation of Shipborne Automatic Identification System (AIS), NAV 
48/18, 2 April 2002, as amended, and for ocean vessels only, with a 
pilot plug, as specified in Section 3.2 of those Guidelines, installed 
close to the primary conning position in the navigation bridge and a 
standard 120 Volt, AC, 3-prong power receptacle accessible for the 
pilot's laptop computer; and
    5. Computation of AIS position reports using differential GPS 
corrections from the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards' maritime 
Differential Global Positioning System radiobeacon services.
    6. The use of portable AIS is permissible.

Regulatory Evaluation

    This proposed regulation involves a foreign affairs function of the 
United States and therefore Executive Order 12866 does not apply and 
evaluation under the Department of Transportation's Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures is not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Determination

    The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation certifies that 
this proposed regulation will not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities. The St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff 
of Tolls primarily relates to commercial users of the Seaway, the vast 
majority of whom are foreign vessel operators. Therefore, any resulting 
costs will be borne mostly by foreign vessels.

Environmental Impact

    This proposed regulation does not require an environmental impact 
statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (49 U.S.C. 4321, 
et reg.) because it is not a major federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of human environment. All nine AIS shore base 
stations (three in U.S. and six in Canada) are co-located with the 
existing Seaway VHF radio or private telephone towers.

Federalism

    The Corporation has analyzed this proposed rule under the 
principles and criteria in Executive Order 13132, Dated August 4, 1999, 
and has determined that this proposal does not have sufficient 
federalism implications to warrant a Federalism Assessment.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Corporation has analyzed this proposed rule under title II of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, 109 Stat. 48) 
and determined that it does not impose unfunded mandates on State, 
local, and tribal governments and the private sector requiring a 
written statement of economic and regulatory alternatives.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed regulation has been analyzed under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 and does not contain new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Office of Management and Budget 
review.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 401

    Hazardous materials transportation, Navigation (water), Penalties, 
Radio, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Vessels, Waterways.

    Accordingly, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation 
proposes to amend 33 CFR chapter IV as follows:

PART 401--SEAWAY REGULATIONS AND RULES

Subpart A--[Amended]

    1. The authority citation for subpart A of part 401 would continue 
to read as follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 983(a) and 984(a)(4), as amended; 49 CFR 
1.52, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Part 401 would be amended by adding a new Sec.  401.20 to read 
as follows:


Sec.  401.20  Automated Identification System.

    (a) Each of the following vessels must use an Automatic 
Identification System (AIS) transponder to transit the Seaway:
    (1) each vessel that requires pre-clearance in accordance with 
Sec.  401.22 and has a 300 gross tonnage or greater, has a Length Over 
All (LOA) over 20 meters, or carries more than 50 passengers for hire; 
and
    (2) each dredge, floating plant or towing vessel over 8 meters in 
length,

[[Page 70899]]

except only each lead unit of combined and multiple units (tugs and 
tows).
    (b) Each vessel listed in paragraph (a) of this section must meet 
the following requirements to transit the Seaway:
    (1) International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolution 
MSC.74(69), Annex 3, Recommendation on Performance Standards for a 
Universal Shipborne AIS, as amended;
    (2) International Telecommunication Union, ITU-R Recommendation 
M.1371-1: 2000, Technical Characteristics For A Universal Shipborne AIS 
Using Time Division Multiple Access In The VHF Maritime Mobile Band, as 
amended;
    (3) International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC 61993-2 Ed.1, 
Maritime Navigation and Radio Communication Equipment and Systems--AIS 
--Part 2: Class A Shipborne Equipment of the Universal AIS--Operational 
and Performance Requirements, Methods of Test and Required Test 
Results, as amended;
    (4) International Maritime Organization (IMO) Guidelines for 
Installation of Shipborne Automatic Identification System (AIS), NAV 
48/18, 2 April 2002, as amended, and, for ocean vessels only, with a 
pilot plug, as specified in Section 3.2 of those Guidelines, installed 
close to the primary conning position in the navigation bridge and a 
standard 120 Volt, AC, 3-prong power receptacle accessible for the 
pilot's laptop computer; and
    (5) Computation of AIS position reports using differential GPS 
corrections from the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards' maritime 
Differential Global Positioning System radiobeacon services; or
    (6) The use of portable AIS is permissible.

    Issued at Washington, DC, on November 22, 2002.

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
Marc C. Owen,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 02-30095 Filed 11-26-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-61-P