[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 248 (Thursday, December 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 78502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30686]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. 2013-0156]


Determination of Availability of Coastwise Qualified Vessels for 
the Transportation of a Platform Jacket

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 55108, the Secretary of 
Transportation, as represented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 
is authorized to make determinations permitting the use of a foreign 
launch barge in support of a Platform Jacket launch operation if no 
suitable coastwise qualified vessels are found to be available. A 
complete description of the process for determining the availability of 
coastwise qualified vessels for the transportation of Platform Jackets, 
including definitions and requirements, can be found at 46 CFR part 
389.
    In order for MARAD to determine whether a suitable coastwise 
qualified vessel is available, this notice in the Federal Register 
requests that comments and information on the availability of coastwise 
qualified vessels for a Platform Jacket launch be submitted within 30 
days of this notice's publication. Our goal is to provide a final 
determination within 90 days of the publication of this notice, unless 
a suitable coastwise qualified vessel operator comes forward with a 
vessel and additional time is needed for negotiation. If, after the 
comment period, we determine that a suitable coastwise qualified vessel 
is not available for the specific project requested, a determination of 
non-availability will be issued allowing a foreign launch barge to 
load, transport and launch the Platform Jacket.

DATES: Please submit information regarding suitable and available 
coastwise qualified vessels for the transportation of this Platform 
Jacket no later than January 27, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Hokana, Office of Cargo 
Preference and Domestic Trade, Maritime Administration, MAR-730, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202-366-0760; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All relevant information reasonably 
necessary to assess the transportation requirements for the Platform 
Jacket is available upon request to owners, operators and 
representatives of coastwise qualified vessels or other interested 
parties.
    Walter Oil & Gas Corporation is seeking MARAD's permission to use a 
foreign launch barge in transporting and launching a Platform Jacket on 
the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. The Platform Jacket 
will be loaded at a facility to be determined along the Gulf of Mexico 
coast and will be unloaded at a point in the Ewing Bank Area on the 
Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. The projected 
transportation will occur during the period of September through 
December 2015. The Platform Jacket has a total height of 1,223 feet, a 
vertical height of 1,211 feet, and a weight of 27,679 long tons. The 
Platform Jacket is 45 feet by 150 feet at the top and 330 feet by 330 
feet at the bottom. If MARAD cannot identify an available coastwise 
qualified vessel suitable for this project within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice, MARAD is authorized to make a determination 
of non-availability and allow the use of a foreign launch barge to 
load, transport and launch the Platform Jacket.
    If a coastwise qualified vessel operator expresses interest, MARAD 
will review the availability assertion and will facilitate discussions 
between the coastwise qualified vessel operator and the Platform Jacket 
owner requiring transportation service. MARAD determinations under this 
notice shall be limited solely to Walter Oil & Gas Corporation's 
request and shall have no precedential effect on other transportation 
under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 551.

    Authority:  46 U.S.C. 55108; 46 CFR 389.5.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
    Dated: December 17, 2013.
Julie P. Agarwal,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-30686 Filed 12-24-13; 8:45 am]
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