[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 24814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09817]


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

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: 60-Day Public Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, the Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) invites comments on 
the continuing information collection (extension with no changes) 
listed below in this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 27, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments to: Vern W. Hill, Managing Director, 
Office of the Managing Director, Federal Maritime Commission, 800 North 
Capitol Street NW., Washington, DC 20573, Phone: (202) 523-5800, Email: 
[email protected].
    Please send separate comments for each specific information 
collection listed below. You must reference the information 
collection's title and OMB number in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the information collections 
and instructions, or copies of any comments received, may be obtained 
by contacting Donna Lee on (202) 523-5800 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Comments

    The Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on the continuing information collection 
listed in this notice, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be included or 
summarized in our request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of the relevant information collection. All comments are part 
of the public record and subject to disclosure. Please do not include 
any confidential or inappropriate material in your comments. We invite 
comments on: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information 
collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the 
use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Information Collection Open for Comment

    Title: 46 CFR part 532--NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements.
    OMB Approval Number: 3072-0071 (Expires July 31, 2016).
    Abstract: Section 16 of the Shipping Act of 1984, 46 U.S.C. 40103, 
authorizes the Commission to exempt by order or regulation ``any class 
of agreements between persons subject to this [Act] or any specified 
activity of those persons from any requirement of this [Act] if the 
Commission finds that the exemption will not result in substantial 
reduction in competition or be detrimental to commerce.'' The 
Commission may attach conditions to any exemption and may, by order, 
revoke an exemption. In 46 CFR part 532, the Commission exempted non-
vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) from the tariff rate 
publication requirements of Part 520, and allowed an NVOCC to enter 
into an NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangement (NRA) in lieu of publishing 
its tariff rate(s), provided the NVOCC posts a prominent notice in its 
rules tariff invoking the NRA exemption and provides electronic access 
to its rules tariff to the public free of charge. This information 
collection corresponds to the rules tariff prominent notice and the 
requirement to make its tariff publicly available free of charge.
    Current Actions: There are no changes to this information 
collection, and it is being submitted for extension purposes only.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission uses the information filed by an 
NVOCC in its rules tariff to determine whether the NVOCC has invoked 
the exemption for a particular shipment or shipments. The Commission 
has used and will continue to use the information required to be 
maintained by NVOCCs for monitoring and investigatory purposes, and, in 
its proceedings, to adjudicate related issues raised by private 
parties.
    Frequency: An NVOCC invokes the NRA exemption by publishing a 
prominent notice in its rules tariff once.
    Type of Respondents: NVOCCs.
    Number of Annual Respondents: 255. While there has been a 
substantial decrease in the number of annual responses, in 2013 the NRA 
exemption was extended to include foreign unlicensed NVOCCs, which 
resulted in a ``one-time'' increase in the number of annual respondents 
to 626. The Commission expects the number of annual respondents to 
remain at 255 in the future, as new NVOCCs enter the market and some 
invoke the exemption.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes for those adding a tariff 
rule to use a combination of tariff rates and NRAs. One hour for those 
who make their tariff rules publicly available by opting to use NRAs 
exclusively and posting them to their Web site.
    Total Annual Burden: Based on the number of NVOCCs who have filed a 
rule or prominent notice in their respective tariffs, we calculate that 
25% of new NVOCCs will use the NRA exemption. Of those, about 3% will 
use NRAs exclusively. Almost all will likely use similar language 
invoking the exemption in their tariffs. For the 255 annual 
respondents, the total burden is calculated as follows:

8 x 1 hour = 8 hours (3% using NRAs exclusively)
247 x .25 hour = 61.75 hours rounded to 62 (combination of tariff rates 
and NRAs)
    Total annual burden is estimated to be 70 hours.


Rachel E. Dickon,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-09817 Filed 4-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6731-AA-P