[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82027-82028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33499]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 6972]


Shipping Coordinating Committee; Notice of Committee Meeting

    The Shipping Coordinating Committee (SHC) will conduct two open 
meetings, one for the International Maritime Organization's Design and 
Equipment Sub-Committee (DE) and one for the International Maritime 
Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
    The first open meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 
January 19, 2012, in Room 6103 of the United States Coast Guard 
Headquarters Building, 2100 2nd Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-7126. 
The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the fifty-sixth 
session of the International Maritime Organization's Sub-Committee on 
Ship Design and Equipment (DE 56) to be held at the International 
Maritime Organization in London, United Kingdom from February 13th to 
February 17th, 2012.
    The primary matters to be considered include:

--Adoption of the agenda;
--Decisions of other IMO Bodies;
--Performance standards for recovery systems for all types of ships;
--Development of amendments to SOLAS regulation II-1/40.2 concerning 
general requirements on electrical installations;
--Making the provisions of MSC.1/Circ.1206/Rev.1 mandatory;
--Development of new framework of requirements for life-saving 
appliances;
--Development of safety objectives and functional requirements of the 
Guidelines on alternative design and arrangements for SOLAS chapters 
II-1 and III;
--Development of amendments to the LSA Code for thermal performance of 
immersion suits;
--Development of amendments to the LSA Code for free-fall lifeboats 
with float free Capabilities;
--Development of a mandatory Code for ships operating in polar waters;
--Protection against noise on board ships;
--Provisions for the reduction of noise from commercial shipping and 
its adverse impacts on marine life;
--Classification of offshore industry vessels and consideration of the 
need for a Code for offshore construction support vessels;
--Consideration of IACS unified interpretations and amendments to the 
ESP Code;
--Development of guidelines for use of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) 
within ship structures;
--Revision of testing requirements for lifejacket RTDs in resolution 
MSC.81(70);
--Amendments to SOLAS regulation II-1/11 and development of associated 
guidelines to ensure the adequacy of testing arrangements for 
watertight compartments;
--Revision of the Recommendation on conditions for the approval of 
servicing stations for inflatable liferafts (resolution A.761(18));
--Development of guidelines for wing-in-ground craft;
--Revision of the Revised guidelines on implementation of effluent 
standards and performance tests for sewage treatment plants (resolution 
MEPC.159(55));
--Biennial agenda and provisional agenda for DE 57;
--Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman for 2013;
--Any other business;
--Revision of the Standard specification for shipboard incinerators 
(resolution MEPC.76(40));
--Provisions for the reduction of noise from commercial shipping and 
its adverse impacts on marine life;
--Report to the Maritime Safety Committee.

Members of the public may attend this meeting up to the seating 
capacity of the room. To facilitate the building security process, and 
to request reasonable accommodation, those who plan to attend should 
contact the meeting coordinator, Mr. Wayne Lundy, by email at 
[email protected], by phone at (202) 372-1379, by fax at (202) 
372-1925, or in writing at Mr. Wayne Lundy, Commandant (CG-5213), U.S. 
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 2nd Street SW STOP 7126, Room 1300, 
Washington, DC 20593-7126 not later than January 12, 2012, 7 days prior 
to the meeting. Requests made after January 12, 2012 might not be able 
to be accommodated. Please note that due to security considerations, 
two valid, government issued photo identifications must be presented to 
gain entrance to the Headquarters building. The Headquarters building 
is accessible by taxi and privately owned conveyance (public 
transportation is not generally available). However, parking in the 
vicinity of the building is extremely limited. Additional information 
regarding this and other IMO SHC public meetings may be found at: 
www.uscg.mil/imo. Hard copies of documents associated with the 56th 
session of DE will be available at this meeting. To request further 
copies of documents please contact Mr. Wayne Lundy using the contact 
information above.
    The second open meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 
February 8, 2012, in Room 4202 of the United States Coast Guard 
Headquarters Building, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC, 20593-
7126. The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the sixty-
third session of the International Maritime Organization's Marine 
Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 63) to be held at the 
International Maritime Organization in London, United Kingdom from 
February 27th to March 2nd, 2012.
    The primary matters to be considered include:

--Adoption of the Agenda;
--Harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water;
--Recycling of ships;
--Air pollution and energy efficiency;
--Reduction of GHG emissions from ships;
--Consideration and adoption of amendments to mandatory instruments;
--Interpretation of, and amendments to, MARPOL and related instruments;
--Implementation of the OPRC Convention and the OPRC-HNS Protocol and 
relevant Conference resolutions;
--Identification and protection of Special Areas and Particularly 
Sensitive Sea Areas;

[[Page 82028]]

--Inadequacy of reception facilities;
--Reports of sub-committees;
--Work of other bodies;
--Status of Conventions;
--Harmful anti-fouling systems for ships;
--Promotion of implementation and enforcement of MARPOL and related 
instruments;
--Technical Co-Operations sub-program for the Protection of the Marine 
Environment;
--Role of the human element;
--Noise from commercial shipping and its adverse impacts on marine 
life;
--Work program of the Committee and subsidiary bodies;
--Application of the Committees' Guidelines;
--Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman for 2012;
--Any other business;
--Consideration of the report of the Committee.

Members of the public may attend this meeting up to the seating 
capacity of the room. To facilitate the building security process, and 
to request reasonable accommodation, those who plan to attend should 
contact the meeting coordinator, Ms. Regina Bergner, by email at 
[email protected], by phone at (202) 372-1431, or in writing at 
Ms. Regina Bergner, Commandant (CG-5224), U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 2nd Street SW STOP 7126, Room 1601, Washington, DC 
20593-7126 not later than January 29, 2012, 10 days prior to the 
meeting. Requests made after January 29, 2012 might not be able to be 
accommodated. Please note that due to security considerations, two 
valid, government issued photo identifications must be presented to 
gain entrance to the Headquarters building. The Headquarters building 
is accessible by taxi and privately owned conveyance (public 
transportation is not generally available). However, parking in the 
vicinity of the building is extremely limited. Additional information 
regarding this and other IMO SHC public meetings may be found at: 
www.uscg.mil/imo. Hard copies of documents associated with the 63rd 
Session of MEPC will be available at this meeting. To request further 
copies of documents please contact Ms. Regina Bergner using the contact 
information above.

    Dated: December 22, 2011.
Brian W. Robinson,
Executive Secretary, Shipping Coordinating Committee.
[FR Doc. 2011-33499 Filed 12-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P