[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2464-2466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00506]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2013-0966]


Distant Water Tuna Fleet Vessels--Manning Exemption Guidance

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 421 of the Coast Guard and Marine 
Transportation Act (CGMTA) of 2006, section 904 of the 2010 Coast Guard 
Authorization Act, and section 701 of the CGMTA of 2012, the Coast 
Guard announces the availability of CG-CVC Policy Letter 13-04, Distant 
Water Tuna Fleet (DWTF) Vessels Manning Exemption Guidance. The Coast 
Guard also requests public comments on the manning exemption criteria 
and eligibility, and on the process for obtaining a manning exemption 
approval letter.

DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before February 13, 
2014 or reach

[[Page 2465]]

the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2013-0966 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 or email Jonathan G. Wendland, Fishing Vessel Safety Division (CG-
CVC-3), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1245, email 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Barbara Hairston, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation and Request for 
Comments: We encourage you to submit comments and related material on 
the Distant Water Tuna Fleet (DWTF) Vessels Manning Exemption Guidance. 
All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the 
docket number for this notice (USCG-2013-0966) 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 telephone 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 
type ``USCG-2013-0966'' in the ``Keyword'' box. 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 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.
    Viewing the comments and related material: To view the comments, 
the policy letter, or other documents or references mentioned in this 
notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov and click on the ``read 
comments'' box, which will then become highlighted in blue. In the 
``Keyword'' box insert ``USCG-2013-0966'' and click ``Search.'' Click 
the ``Open Docket Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column. If you do not 
have access to the internet, you may view the docket online by visiting 
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.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of 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, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in 
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Background and Purpose

    Section 421 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 
2006 (Pub. L. 109-241, 120 Stat. 547) authorized the distant water tuna 
fleet (DWTF; certain United States-documented purse seine vessels 
fishing exclusively for highly migratory species like tuna) to use 
foreign citizens, except for the master, to meet manning requirements 
if no United States citizens are readily available. This ``distant 
water tuna fleet manning exemption'' was only applicable to vessels 
operating in and out of American Samoa. That authorization was for a 
48-month period and ended on July 11, 2010.
    Section 904 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 
111-281, 124 Stat. 3011), reauthorized the DWTF manning exemption until 
the end of 2012. This reauthorized exemption also only applied to 
vessels operating in and out of American Samoa. In addition, the 2010 
legislation added a safety examination requirement such that a vessel's 
owner/operator may not employ and embark a foreign citizen to meet a 
manning requirement unless the vessel has successfully completed a 
safety examination within the previous 12 months by a qualified 
commercial fishing safety examiner. The reauthorization retained the 
restriction that a foreign officer engaged to fill a required position 
must hold a valid license or certificate issued in accordance with 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and 
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) standards and by an authority 
recognized by the Coast Guard.
    Section 701 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 
2012 (Pub. L. 112-213, 126 Stat. 1579) again re-authorized the DWTF 
manning exemption, this time for as long as the U.S. remains party to 
the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, under which DWTF vessels are licensed to 
fish. The 2012 re-authorization extended the exemption to vessels 
operating in and out of Guam, as well as those operating in and out of 
American Samoa. Further, it provided that a foreign citizen making use 
of the exemption may possess either STCW credentials or foreign 
credentials that are equivalent to Coast Guard-issued credentials for 
the position the foreign citizen holds.
    We have issued CG-CVC Policy Letter 13-04 to provide guidance to 
Coast Guard field personnel and the DWTF on the changes to the DWTF 
manning exemption eligibility requirements pursuant to the 2012 CGMTA. 
This Policy Letter reiterates the purpose of the guidance, the 
background of and changes to the manning exemption authorizations, the 
requirements for vessel safety examinations, and the general guidance 
for requesting and issuing a manning exemption approval letter. CG-CVC 
Policy Letter 13-04 expands on CG-543 Policy Letter 11-05 (May 18, 
2011) by adding definitions, a short discussion about the recent 
history and operations of the DWTF, a discussion on compliance and 
enforcement of the manning exemption, how the 14th Coast Guard District 
will manage the approval letters, what is required of a foreign mariner 
and administration for credential equivalency, and procedures and 
requirements for annual safety examinations.
    We request your comments for consideration as the Coast Guard 
implements the guidance in CG-CVC Policy Letter 13-04 which is intended 
to clarify the requirements enabling a

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DWTF vessel to request and be approved to exercise the manning 
exemption afforded by law.

Authority

    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: January 7, 2014.
J.C. Burton,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Inspections and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-00506 Filed 1-13-14; 8:45 am]
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