[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63548-63550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24453]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG 2004-19483]


Review and Approval of Classification Societies

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of policy; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice contains procedures the Coast Guard will use to 
review classification societies seeking Coast Guard approval to perform 
certain functions for vessels. Under the 2004 Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation Authorization Act, after January 1, 2005, classification 
societies may not perform those certain functions for vessels unless 
they are either approved by the Coast Guard or are full members of the 
International Association of Classification Societies. Class societies 
seeking Coast Guard approval should submit a package in accordance with 
the procedures in this notice. The Coast Guard also seeks public 
comment on the procedures described herein for reviewing and approving 
classification societies.

DATES: This notice of policy is effective November 2, 2004. Comments 
and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or 
before January 3, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

[[Page 63549]]

Application Process

    Classification societies may request review and approval by writing 
to Commandant (G-MSE), 2100 Second Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-
0001.

Comment Submissions

    You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number 
USCG-2004-19483 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Web site: http://dms.dot.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    (4) Delivery: 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.
    (5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice of 
policy, contact Mr. William Peters, Office of Design and Engineering 
Standards, (G-MSE-2), Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-2988, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    The criteria for classification society approval is based, in part, 
on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolution A.739(18), 
``Guidelines for the Authorization of Organizations Acting on Behalf of 
the Administration.'' Resolution A.739(18) establishes minimum 
requirements for Recognized Organizations (ROs) to act on the behalf of 
Administrations in the surveys and certification and determination of 
vessel tonnages as required by the applicable international 
conventions. After review and consideration, the Coast Guard deems 
Resolution A.739(18) to provide a sound and internationally recognized 
standard from which to base the review and approval program required by 
46 U.S.C. 3316(c).
    Classification societies often act as ROs because of the similarity 
in the technical and survey work these organizations perform. To be 
authorized under the resolution, an RO must satisfy the Administration 
that their business practices are aligned with the standards of 
Resolution A.739(18). The RO is required to publish and systematically 
maintain rules, be professionally staffed with strategically placed 
resources for geographic coverage, maintain a high level of 
professional ethics, be competent, provide timely and quality services, 
and maintain an internal quality system no less effective than ISO 9000 
series certification.
    In addition, the statute outlines additional requirements for 
approval as follows:
    (1) Vessels surveyed by the classification society must have an 
adequate safety record;
    (2) The classification society must have an adequate program to 
develop and implement safety standards for vessels it surveys;
    (3) The classification society must have an adequate program to 
make their safety records available to the Secretary in an electronic 
format;
    (4) The classification society must have a program to make the 
safety records of a vessel available to other classification societies 
(for the purpose of a specific vessel survey); and
    (5) The classification society must have a program to request 
records from other classification societies that previously surveyed 
the vessel.
    As further evidence of the adequacy of the safety record of item 
(2) above, the Coast Guard also requires that a classification society 
is an RO for at least one sovereign nation that is signatory to the 
International Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), MARPOL 73/78, the 
International Convention on Load Lines (ICLL), 1966, and the Protocol 
of 1988 relating to the ICLL, 1966.

Discussion of Notice of Policy

    This notice of policy describes the approval process by which 
classification societies may comply with 46 U.S.C. 3316(c). This 
process includes approval criteria, review and approval procedures, and 
application procedures to assist classification societies to comply 
with this statute. This process differs from the requirements of 46 
U.S.C. 3316(b) that establish criteria by which certain statutory 
functions may be delegated to the American Bureau of Shipping or other 
recognized classification societies.

Candidate Application Submittals

    For the purposes of 46 U.S.C. 3316(c), a classification society 
desiring an approval may apply in writing to Commandant (G-MSE), 2100 
Second Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. An application package 
(written in English) must:
    (1) Indicate the type of work the classification society wishes to 
perform on vessels in the United States;
    (2) Provide appropriate documentation proving that the 
classification society has applied for and received approval as an RO 
from at least one Administration that is signatory to SOLAS, MARPOL 73/
78, Load Lines, 1966, and the Protocol of 1988 relating to Load Lines, 
1966, under the provisions of IMO Resolution A.739(18);
    (3) Demonstrate that the classification society operates as an RO 
on behalf of at least one Administration under a formal written 
agreement that includes all of the elements set out in Resolution 
A.739(18), Appendix 2;
    (4) Demonstrate that the classification society maintains all of 
the minimum standards for ROs as set forth in Resolution A.739(18), 
Appendix 1;
    (5) Demonstrate that the classification society is subject to a 
satisfactory system of verification and monitoring by at least one 
Administration, as set forth in the Annex to IMO Resolution A.739(18);
    (6) Provide a list of the vessels surveyed by the classification 
society including vessel names, flags, and IMO numbers;
    (7) Describe a system in which the classification society makes its 
safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the 
classification society available to the Coast Guard in electronic 
format;
    (8) Describe a system in which the classification society provides 
its safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the 
classification society to another classification society that requests 
those records for the purpose of conducting surveys of vessels; and
    (9) Describe a system in which the classification society or those 
persons acting on its behalf are capable of requesting the safety 
records of a vessel to be surveyed from any other classification 
society that previously surveyed a vessel.
    On or after January 1, 2005, a classification society (including an 
employee or agent of that society) may not review, examine, survey, or 
certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the 
United States unless it is a full member of the International 
Association of Classification Societies (IACS) or is approved by the 
Coast Guard.
    Classification societies authorized to perform work on behalf of 
the United States under the provisions of 46 U.S.C. 3316(b) and all 
full members of IACS are approved to perform functions otherwise 
prohibited by 46 U.S.C. 3316(c).

[[Page 63550]]

Comments and Viewing Documents Referenced in This Notice

    If you wish to submit comments regarding this notice, please send 
them to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES. 
All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy 
Act'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-
2004-19483), 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 electronic means, mail, fax, or 
delivery 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 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 that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period. We will review this policy 
and may amend it in view of comments received.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time 
and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit 
the Docket Management Facility in 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.

Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Department of 
Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

    Dated: October 28, 2004.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental 
Protection, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 04-24453 Filed 10-29-04; 11:40 am]
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