[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5039-5041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2119]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2011-0641]


Accommodation Service Provided on Vessels Engaged in U.S. Outer 
Continental Shelf Activities

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard requests public comment on the appropriate 
standards for the design, construction, and operation of all vessels 
providing accommodation service on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before May 1, 2012 
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2011-0641 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    (3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202) 366-9329.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call Mr. William Peters, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Design and 
Engineering Standards, Naval Architecture Division (CG-5212), telephone 
(202) 372-1371. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material 
to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.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.

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (USCG-2011-0641), indicate the specific section of this document 
to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion 
or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or 
by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. 
We recommend that you include your name and a mailing address, an email 
address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that we can 
contact you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
insert ``USCG-2011-0641'' in the ``Keyword'' box. Click ``Search'' then 
click on the balloon shape in the ``Actions'' column. If you submit 
your comments by mail or hand 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 comments by mail and would like to 
know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope.

B. Viewing Comments

    To view comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on the 
``read comments'' box, which will then become highlighted in blue. In 
the ``Keyword'' box insert ``USCG-2011-0641'' and click ``Search.'' 
Click the ``Open Docket Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column. You may 
also visit the Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground 
floor of the Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement 
with the Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management 
Facility.

C. 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 a Privacy Act notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

II. Background

A. General

    The offshore mineral and energy exploration and production industry 
has progressively moved Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activities into 
deeper waters and further offshore. Because of this, we believe that 
the use of vessels providing accommodation service on the U.S. OCS will 
continue to grow.
    Vessels that provide accommodation service are commonly referred to 
as ``floating hotels,'' ``floatels,'' or ``flotels,'' and typically 
supply hotel-like services (such as dining, berthing, and access to 
recreational facilities) for personnel who are not engaged in work 
aboard the vessel itself but are engaged in work on a nearby OCS 
installation (referred to hereafter as ``accommodated personnel''). 
These vessels support OCS installations during various phases of 
construction and operation, including initiation, commissioning, 
maintenance, repair, modification, and decommissioning. During these 
phases, the OCS installation may not always be fully operational and 
may not have necessary safety systems in place for the accommodation of 
any personnel.
    There are several vessel types that are capable of providing 
accommodation service, including purpose-built accommodation vessels, 
passenger vessels, industrial vessels, and multi-purpose support 
vessels. The number of accommodated personnel can range from a handful 
to several hundreds. The designs of these vessels range from the 
traditional ship-shape monohull to column-stabilized Mobile Offshore 
Units (MOUs) and box-shape barges. It is not uncommon for these vessels 
to maintain station near an OCS installation by using a dynamic 
positioning system (DPS) while accommodated personnel are transferred 
to and from the OCS installation, often by means of a motion-
compensated gangway or personnel transfer baskets.

B. Existing Standards

    U.S. law grants broad authority to the Coast Guard for the 
promulgation of regulations governing vessels providing

[[Page 5040]]

accommodation service on the U.S. OCS.\1\ While there are no current 
federal regulations for vessels providing accommodation service, U.S. 
flag vessels must comply with Coast Guard requirements, which are 
organized according to intended service. The current vessel categories 
include, among others, passenger vessels, Mobile Offshore Drilling 
Units (MODUs), offshore supply vessels (OSVs), and cargo and 
miscellaneous vessels. These categories of vessels are inspected under 
Title 46, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter I, Subchapters H, 
I-A, L, and I, respectively.
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    \1\ The ``Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act'', 43 U.S.C. 1331, 
et seq.
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    Federal regulations also currently do not contain a category for 
accommodated personnel. Existing categories used by the Coast Guard on 
Certificates of Inspection are: Passengers, crew, other persons in 
crew, and persons in addition to crew. On specific vessel types, the 
Coast Guard uses additional personnel categories, including industrial 
personnel, offshore workers, scientific personnel, cadets, instructors, 
and sailing school students.
    In the absence of applicable U.S. regulations, the Coast Guard has 
not inspected any U.S. flag vessels engaged in accommodation service. 
Foreign flag vessels providing accommodation service must meet 
requirements established by their flag Administration.
    In mandatory provisions of the International Convention for the 
Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), vessels are characterized 
either as passenger or cargo ships, and personnel as either passengers 
or crew.\2\ In addition, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 
promulgates voluntary codes and guidelines, which also identify another 
personnel category--special personnel who are carried on board in 
connection with the special purpose of or the special work carried out 
on the ship. Voluntary codes also often mention other specialized 
vessel types.
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    \2\ ``* * *or other persons employed or engaged in any capacity 
on board a ship on the business of that ship;'' SOLAS, 1974, as 
amended, Regulation I/2(e).
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    These existing requirements, voluntary codes, and guidelines take 
into account the risks generally associated with each ship type's 
operation, and include design and operation standards for damage 
stability, fire safety, safe means of escape, and training. Despite the 
lack of current federal regulations that specifically address the 
design, construction, and operation of vessels providing accommodation 
service, we are aware that some of these vessels have been built to 
certain classification society or proprietary standards.

III. Discussion

A. Areas of Concern and Casualties

    Under federal statutes and regulations, the Coast Guard is 
responsible for promoting the safety of life and property and 
protection of the marine environment on, under and over waters subject 
to the jurisdiction of the United States.\3\ The Coast Guard is 
concerned about the safety of operations of vessels providing 
accommodation service on the U.S. OCS because those operations are 
typically far offshore, distant from search and rescue assets, and 
located near high risk industrial activities.
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    \3\ See, e.g., 14 U.S.C. 2, 43 U.S.C. 1331, et seq., and 33 CFR 
140.1.
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    More critically, those operations may involve large numbers of 
accommodated personnel, many of whom may not have received adequate 
training in firefighting, personal survival, lifeboat/raft procedures, 
modes of evacuation, or personal safety and may not be sufficiently 
familiar with the vessel. Accommodated personnel might not be 
credentialed mariners and their marine experience, capability and 
training may range from none to extensive. Additionally, the number of 
marine crew, who are responsible for shipboard safety, may not be 
sufficient to direct and assist the number of accommodated personnel in 
the event of an emergency.
    These risk factors drive concerns about requirements governing 
vessel manning and design, emergency systems, design and operation of 
DPS, design and operation of systems used to transfer personnel between 
a vessel providing accommodation service and an OCS installation, and 
training. Many of these safety concerns, which are common for most 
vessels, are associated with fire safety systems, lifesaving equipment, 
means of escape, subdivision and stability. In the case of a vessel 
providing accommodation service, these systems should be appropriate 
for the number of personnel being accommodated, their experience level 
as mariners, and their familiarity with those systems.
    There are other concerns, too. When a vessel is providing 
accommodation service for an OCS installation, the vessel is relatively 
close to the installation and often uses a DPS to maintain position. In 
the event of a malfunction of the DPS, there is increased risk of 
collision with the OCS installation or uncontrolled movement of the 
vessel. In addition, the risks associated with the operation or failure 
of the system used to transfer personnel between the OCS installation 
and the vessel providing the accommodation service are a source of 
concern.
    The degree of concern in these areas may be elevated if the vessel 
providing accommodation service was designed and constructed using 
standards appropriate for vessels with fewer people on-board and/or 
with people with greater familiarity with the vessel and its systems. 
In this context, we note that neither Coast Guard nor international 
standards for MODUs, OSVs, cargo and miscellaneous vessels were 
developed for vessels providing accommodation service. The factors 
associated with the concerns cited above, combined with greater 
distances from available search and rescue assets, could affect the 
outcome of an emergency on board a vessel providing accommodation 
service.
    There have also been a number of casualties over the years 
involving vessels providing accommodation service. The most recent of 
these involved the April 12, 2011, capsizing of the Mexican flagged, 
column-stabilized accommodation vessel Jupiter 1 with over 700 persons 
aboard in relatively shallow, calm water in the Bay of Campeche. The 
people were safely evacuated by ship in this case, but the outcome 
could have been tragically worse had it occurred in deep water, far 
from shore and rescue assets, or in more severe environmental 
conditions. Other casualties \4\ further highlight our concerns.
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    \4\ The capsizing of the semi-submersible accommodation vessel 
Alexander L. Kielland on March 27, 1980, while positioned in the 
central North Sea resulted in the loss of 123 lives. In February 
1992, eleven people died in a helicopter crash in very high gusting 
winds during a 200 meter transport of workers from the Cormorant 
Alpha production platform to the accommodation vessel Safe Supporter 
in the North Sea. On July 21, 2010, five oil cleanup workers were 
injured in a mess hall fire aboard a barge on Baptiste Collette 
Bayou, Louisiana that was fitted with stacked shipping containers 
converted to accommodation modules sufficient to quarter more than 
500 workers. On August 10, 2010, while accommodating 270 workers off 
Barrow Island, Western Australia, the Norwegian flag passenger ship 
Finnmarken was holed by a barge after it broke free from moorings 
during severe weather--the vessel subsequently sailed under its own 
power to port for repairs.
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    In light of these risk factors, concerns and casualties, and the 
lack of regulations written specifically to govern the design, 
construction and operation of U.S. and foreign flag vessels providing 
accommodation service on the U.S. OCS, the Coast Guard is soliciting 
public input on the most appropriate standards for all vessels 
providing accommodation service on the U.S. OCS.

[[Page 5041]]

B. Standards for Vessels Providing Accomodation Service

    We recognize that accommodated personnel are neither marine crew 
nor explicitly included in other personnel categories, and are not 
treated as traditional passengers either. While passengers would 
generally be expected to have little or no sea-going experience or 
familiarity with vessel systems, the level of that experience and 
familiarity may vary widely among accommodated personnel. For this 
reason, some accommodated personnel could be expected to behave like 
passengers in an emergency.
    Because accomodated personnel are not marine crew or explicitly 
included in another personnel category, and in view of the risks, 
concerns and casualties described above in section III.A., the use of 
MODU, OSV, or cargo and miscellaneous vessel standards may not be 
appropriate for vessels providing accommodation service. Instead, 
passenger ship safety standards, supplemented by requirements 
addressing DPS and personnel transfer, may be more appropriate for 
these vessels.

IV. Request for Comments

    In summary, the Coast Guard recognizes that federal statutes or 
regulations that explicitly address the design, construction, and 
operation of vessels providing accommodation services do not exist, 
that cargo ship or MODU safety standards may not be appropriate for 
these vessels, and that passenger ship safety standards supplemented by 
DPS and personnel transfer standards may be more appropriate.
    We request comment on the standards appropriate for existing, new, 
and planned U.S. and foreign flag vessels that are engaging or would 
engage in accommodation service on the OCS, including appropriate DPS, 
personnel transfer system, manning, and training standards. We also 
request views on whether accommodated personnel should be treated as 
passengers, marine crew, special personnel, another personnel category, 
or a combination thereof. We further request information on the impact 
appropriate standards might have on such vessels and their operation. 
Additionally, we are interested in obtaining information about the 
scope of accommodation service provided by U.S. and foreign flag 
vessels on the U.S. OCS since January 1, 2002, including:

    A. On vessels that are providing, or have provided, accommodation 
service:
    1. The type of vessel used (e.g., column-stabilized mobile offshore 
unit, passenger ship, offshore supply vessel, liftboat, barge, etc.);
    2. The number and size of such vessels, including the length, 
breadth, depth, number of crew, number of accommodated persons, tonnage 
and any other information relevant to vessel capability;
    3. The time interval that a vessel provided accommodation service;
    4. The safety standards the vessel uses (e.g., SOLAS Cargo Ship, 
SOLAS Passenger Ship, 2009 IMO MODU Code, etc.);
    5. The DPS used, if any, and the standards associated therewith;
    6. The personnel transfer system used and the standards associated 
therewith; and,
    7. Any other pertinent vessel information, including construction 
and operation costs, charter rates, and the average day rate per 
accommodated person on a vessel.
    B. On crew and accommodated personnel:
    1. The training, including special training, that crew receive in 
crowd or crisis management, passenger safety, or similar training 
required to be provided to crew on SOLAS passenger ships by the 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and 
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, (STCW);
    2. The crew size, both licensed and other credentialed, and 
variations based on the number of accommodated personnel;
    3. The frequency or degree to which the population of accommodated 
personnel changes over the course of a job or a given period of time;
    4. The degree of training and experience of accommodated personnel 
(e.g., marine credentials, STCW basic safety training or similar, 
training provided by vessel crew, frequency and degree of participation 
in drills); and,
    5. Any other pertinent information on the scope of accommodation 
service (e.g., crew cycling, replenishment, shore-based and on-board 
training, repatriation).

    Please provide any comments in accordance with the procedures in 
the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' section above.

V. Authority

    This document is issued under the authority of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. Sec.  1331, et seq., 5 U.S.C. 
552(a), and 33 CFR 1.05-1.

    Dated: January 26, 2012.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2012-2119 Filed 1-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P