[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49545-49546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20430]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2019-0346]


Notice of Availability of Navigation and Vessel Inspection 
Circular 01-16 Change 2--Use of Electronic Charts and Publications in 
Lieu of Paper Charts, Maps and Publications

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of Navigation and 
Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-16 Change 2 together with a 
Deregulatory Savings Analysis. This NVIC provides that U.S. vessels may 
access navigation publications electronically, through underway 
connectivity, to meet domestic carriage and Safety of Life at Sea 
certification requirements.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before November 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2019-0346 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please address questions or feedback 
concerning this policy to George H. Detweiler, Office of Navigation 
Systems, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1566, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 49546]]

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard views public participation as essential to making 
effective policy, and will consider all comments and material received 
during the comment period. Your comment can help shape the final form 
of this policy. If you submit a comment, please include the docket 
number for this notice, indicate the specific section of the document 
to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion 
or recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. If you cannot submit your 
material by using https://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this proposed rule for 
alternate instructions. Documents mentioned in this proposed rule, and 
all public comments, will be available in our online docket at https://www.regulations.gov, and can be viewed by following that website's 
instructions. Additionally, if you visit the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted or if a 
final rule is published.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, visit https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice.

Discussion

    Navigation publications have always been a principal source of 
voyage planning information. Mariners researched books of tide tables, 
the United States Coast Pilot, local notices to mariners, and other 
information sources to glean relevant information for a particular 
transit. Although such publications have historically been required to 
be kept on board a vessel, the Coast Guard has formally recognized that 
a mariner engaged in voyage planning might not need an entire 
publication at all times.\1\ Since 2010, the Coast Guard has allowed 
U.S. vessels to carry certain navigation publications electronically to 
meet U.S. domestic regulations and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 
certificate requirements. This is an acceptance of common industry 
practice.
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    \1\ 33 CFR 164.33 and 164.72 and 46 CFR 26.03-4, 28.225, 78.05-
5, 97.05-5, 109.565, 121.420, 130.330, 140.705, 184.420, and 196.05-
5 allow for an ``applicable currently corrected extract.''
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    In response to recommendations from the Navigation Safety Advisory 
Council and the public, the Coast Guard is updating its policy on 
electronic carriage of the Inland Navigation Rules and electronic 
publications in general. Currently, the Coast Guard, the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency are providing marine safety information in an 
updated electronic format, some of which is now graphical and 
geographically selectable. Electronic devices (both hardware and 
software) have improved such that a mariner can efficiently access 
navigation publications when needed.
    Furthermore, the Coast Guard recognizes that the maritime industry 
and mariners in general have made substantial investments to ensure 
vessels maintain internet connectivity, even while underway. Because 
mariners use navigation publications primarily for voyage planning 
purposes, the Coast Guard sees no safety barriers preventing vessels 
from accessing required navigation information via the internet on an 
as-needed basis, versus keeping a publication or extract onboard. To 
encourage the use of electronic voyage planning products, the Coast 
Guard is allowing vessels to meet the publication requirements via 
internet access.
    Therefore, Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-16 
Change 1 is revised to allow publications required by 33 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 83, 161, and 164 and various parts of 
Title 46 CFR and SOLAS Chapter V regulation 27 to be accessed via web 
services. If a mariner uses this NVIC for a publication that must be 
available as a ``ready reference'', as cited in 33 CFR parts 83 and 
161, the publication must be displayable within 2 minutes.
    The Coast Guard has prepared a Deregulatory Savings Analysis for 
NVIC 01-16 Change 2 that identifies and examines the potential costs 
and cost savings associated with implementing the new equivalency 
determination for carriage. This Deregulatory Savings Analysis is 
available in the docket. We request your comments on any concerns that 
you may have related to these policy changes or the economic analysis 
thereof.
    NVIC 01-16 is not a substitute for applicable legal requirements, 
nor is it itself a rule.
    This Notice is published under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552.

    Dated: September 17, 2019.
R.V. Timme,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Prevention 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-20430 Filed 9-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P