[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43103-43104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17572]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2012-0546]


Policy on the 2009 Revision of the International Maritime 
Organization Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore 
Drilling Units

AGENCY:  Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of CG-ENG Policy 
Letter 02-12, ``Acceptance of the 2009 MODU Code.'' On December 2, 
2009, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted IMO 
Assembly Resolution A.1023(26), Code for the Construction and Equipment 
of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 2009 (2009 MODU Code). CG-ENG Policy 
Letter 02-12 establishes that the Coast Guard considers the design and 
equipment standards of the 2009 MODU Code to be at least as effective 
as the design and equipment standards of the 1979 and 1989 versions of 
the MODU Code. Therefore, an Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection 
(OCMI) may consider a foreign documented MODU with a valid 2009 MODU 
Code Certificate issued by the flag state or its authorized agent to 
comply with 33 CFR 143.207(c) after confirming substantial compliance 
with the provisions of the 2009 MODU Code.

DATES: CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is effective as of May 7, 2012.

ADDRESSES: This notice and the documents referenced within are 
available in the docket and can be viewed by going to 
www.regulations.gov, inserting USCG-2012-0546 in the ``Keyword'' box, 
and then clicking ``Search.'' CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is also 
available at www.uscg.mil and can be viewed by clicking the link to the 
Office of Design and Engineering Standards (CG-ENG) under the 
``Units,'' ``USCG Headquarters Organization,'' and ``CG-5P'' tabs, and 
scrolling down to ``Policy Documents.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
or CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12, call or email Lieutenant Commander 
Heather Mattern, Human Element and Ship Design Division (CG-ENG-1), 
telephone (202) 372-1361, or email [email protected]. If you 
have questions on viewing material in the docket, call Renee V. Wright, 
Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    Foreign documented MODUs engaged in any offshore activity 
associated with the exploration for, or development or production of, 
the minerals of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) must comply with 
one of three options outlined in 33 CFR 143.207, which deal with design 
and equipment standards. The majority of foreign MODU operators on the 
OCS choose to comply with 33 CFR 143.207(c), often referred to as 
``Option C.'' When choosing this option, MODU operators present the 
OCMI with a valid MODU Code Certificate issued by the flag state or an 
agent authorized to act on its behalf. Existing regulation and policy 
permits MODUs to comply with the design and equipment standards in the 
1979 MODU Code or 1989 MODU Code.
    The Coast Guard has evaluated the 2009 MODU Code, which applies to 
MODUs, the keels of which are laid or at a similar stage of 
construction on or after January 1, 2012. The Coast Guard considers the 
design and equipment standards of the 2009 MODU Code to be at least as 
effective as the design and equipment standards of the 1979 and

[[Page 43104]]

1989 MODU Codes. Therefore, OCMIs may consider a foreign MODU with a 
valid 2009 MODU Code Certificate issued by the flag state or its 
authorized agent to be compliant with 33 CFR 143.207(c) after 
confirming that the MODU is in substantial compliance with the 
provisions of the 2009 MODU Code.
    The guidance in this notice and CG-ENG Policy Letter 02-12 is not a 
substitute for applicable legal requirements, nor is it itself a rule. 
It is intended to provide operational guidance for Coast Guard 
personnel and is not intended to nor does it impose legally binding 
requirements on any party outside the Coast Guard. It represents the 
Coast Guard's current thinking on this topic and may assist industry, 
mariners, the general public, and the Coast Guard, as well as other 
Federal and State regulators, in applying statutory and regulatory 
requirements.
    This notice is issued under authority of 43 U.S.C. 1331, et seq., 5 
U.S.C. 552(a), and 33 CFR 1.05-1.

    Dated: July 12, 2012.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2012-17572 Filed 7-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P