[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9549-9551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4740]



[[Page 9549]]

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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: Final rule.

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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 amending 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.
    The 2003 Seaway navigation season is scheduled to open on March 25. 
These amendments will be in effect in Canada on that date. For 
consistency, because these are joint regulations under international 
agreement and to avoid confusion among users of the Seaway, the SLSDC 
finds that there is good cause to make this U.S. version of the 
amendments effective on that date, March 25, 2003.

DATES: This rule is effective on March 25, 2003.

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 amending 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, 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.

Comments and Modifications

    On November 27, 2002, the SLSDC published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking asking for public comment. The SLSDC received three 
comments. All three noted that the joint SLSDC-SLSMC rule would require 
use of AIS in the Seaway System in advance of the dates set by the 
International Maritime Organization (IMO) for certain commercial 
vessels to be permanently equipped with AIS units. One commenter also 
noted that the joint SLSDC-SLSMC requirement would also be in advance 
of the same requirement for the navigable waters of the United States 
under the ``Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002'' (Pub. L. 
107-295) (U.S. Act). The same commenter voiced concern that production 
of integrated AIS equipment would not be sufficient to ensure 
installation within the rule's timeframe. Another commenter also 
recommended that, since the SLSDC-SLSMC requirement would precede the 
IMO and the Act's effective dates, portable equipment be made available 
and its use allowed. The St. Lawrence Seaway is jointly operated under 
an International Agreement between the United States and Canada. It is 
an inland waterway to which the IMO requirements do not apply. 
Furthermore, the U.S. Act's does not apply in the navigable waters of 
Canada, transit through which is inextricably necessary for passage 
through the Seaway System. Thus, even if the requirement were not to 
apply in the navigable waters of the United States, ships would still 
be required to use it in Canadian waters. Entry into the Seaway System 
in either direction is only through Canada. Thus, making the rule 
applicable only in Canadian waters would be impractical. Moreover, the 
Shipping Federation of Canada, representing approximately 95% of the 
commercial oceangoing vessels using

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the Seaway, has actively supported the Seaway AIS initiative. In 
addition, according to the SLSMC, the Canadian Shipowners Association, 
representing the commercial non-oceangoing vessels (lakers) using the 
Seaway, expects 100% AIS equipage among its members. Notwithstanding, 
the SLSDC-SLSMC rule does not require permanent installation of 
integrated AIS equipment as required by the IMO and the U.S. Act before 
the effective dates of those two requirements. The rule will allow the 
use of temporary or, in some cases, portable equipment, for those 
vessels not permanently equipped at considerably less cost. The SLSDC 
and SLSMC have been working with private navigation equipment and 
service vendors in Montreal to ensure that rental, temporary AIS units 
will be available for vessels that do not have permanent shipboard AIS 
installation. Thus, even if permanent, integrated units were not 
available as alleged, these temporary units would be. Temporary AIS 
installation will meet all carriage requirements as specified for 
vessels required to be fitted with a gyro compass under the Seaway 
Regulations and Rules. In this regard, subparagraph (b)(6) of the rule 
has been changed to require ``temporary'' units meeting the 
requirements of subparagraphs (b)(1) through (5) for these vessels, as 
opposed to ``portable units,'' since portable units do not have the 
gyro compass connection. For vessels that do not have to meet the gyro 
compass requirement, use of portable units compatible to the 
requirements of subparagraphs (b)(1) though (3) and (b)(5) still will 
be allowed under a new subparagraph (b)(7). In addition, to be 
consistent with the IMO and U.S. Act requirements, subparagraph (a)(1) 
has been changed to apply only to ``commercial'' vessels that require 
pre-clearance and have a 300 gross tonnage or greater, have a Length 
Over All (LOA) over 20 meters, or carry more than 50 passengers for 
hire. Another comment was concerned about a possible lack of type 
approved AIS equipment. There are at least six major AIS transponder 
manufacturers in the world that have already obtained type approved 
certificates for AIS equipment from the IMO recognized testing houses 
such as BSH of Germany and Qinetiq of the United Kingdom. Finally, the 
reference in paragraph (b)(4) to the ``International Maritime 
Organization (IMO) Guidelines for Installation of Shipborne Automatic 
Identification System (AIS), NAV 48/18, 2 April 2002, as amended'' has 
been changed to reflect the final version of ``6 January 2003.''

Final Rule

    The SLSDC and the SLSMC are promulgating a new Sec.  401.20 that 
requires 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 
commercial vessels that require pre-clearance and have a 300 gross 
tonnage or greater, have Length Over All (LOA) over 20 meters, or carry 
more than 50 passengers for hire, will have to use an AIS transponder 
to transit the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Dredges and floating plants and 
towing vessels over 8 meters in length will also be required to use 
AIS, except only each lead unit of combined and multiple units (tugs 
and tows) will have to use it. Each vessel will 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, 6 January 2003, 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 a temporary AIS unit in compliance with Class A AIS 
transponder specifications and standards, as specified in 1 through 5 
above, is permissible.
    7. For each vessel less with LOA than 30 meters, the use of 
portable AIS unit compatible with AIS transponder specifications and 
standards, as specified in 1, 2, 3 and 5 above, is permissible.

Regulatory Evaluation

    This 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 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 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 rule under the principles and 
criteria in Executive Order 13132, Dated August 4, 1999, and has 
determined that it does not have sufficient federalism implications to 
warrant a Federalism Assessment.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Corporation has analyzed this 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 regulation has been analyzed under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 and does not contain new or

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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 
amends 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 is 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 commercial 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, 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, 6 January 2003, 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 a temporary unit meeting the requirements of 
paragraphs (b)(1) through (5) of this section is permissible; or
    (7) For each vessel less with LOA less than 30 meters, the use of 
portable AIS compatible with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) 
through (3) and paragraph (5) of this section is permissible.

    Issued at Washington, DC on February 25, 2003.

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
Albert S. Jacquez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-4740 Filed 2-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-61-P