[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33189-33190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10978]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. DOT-MARAD-2023-0101]


Request for Comments on the Renewal of a Previously Approved 
Information Collection: Application and Reporting Elements for 
Participation in the Tanker Security Program

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) invites public comments on 
our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval to renew an information collection. The proposed collection 
OMB 2133-0554 (Application and Reporting Elements for Participation in 
the Tanker Security Program) will be used to evaluate the eligibility 
of the applicant for participation in the Tanker Security Program 
(TSP). A minor change request to include a privacy act statement for 
the collection of personally identifiable information will be added to 
the form for this collection. We are required to publish this notice in 
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. A 60-day 
Federal Register Notice soliciting comments on this information 
collection was published on March 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collections should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Hatcher, Office of Sealift 
Support, Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, telephone: 202-366-0688, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Application and Reporting Elements for Participation in the 
Tanker Security Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2133-0554.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a previously approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2021 (FY21 NDAA) authorized the Secretary of Transportation to 
establish the Tanker Security Program (TSP) comprised of a fleet of 
active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned product 
tank vessels of the United States. The fleet will meet national defense 
and other security requirements and maintain a United States presence 
in international commercial shipping. The National Defense 
Authorization for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22 NDAA) made minor adjustments 
related to the participation of long-term charters in the TSP. OMB 
2133-0554 (Application and Reporting Elements for Participation in the 
Tanker Security Program) provides for enrollment of eligible tank 
vessels in the program for FY 2022 through FY 2035.
    This information collection supports the Department of 
Transportation's strategic goal for National Security. A fuel tanker 
study required by the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization 
Act (FY20 NDAA) examined the sufficiency of the U.S.-

[[Page 33190]]

flagged tanker fleet to meet National Defense Strategy (NDS) 
requirements. The report's summary found there to be a substantial risk 
to the nation's defense associated with a heavy reliance on foreign-
flagged tankers, particularly within a contested environment. The 
location, timing, and specific missions associated with some tanker 
requirements dictate the need for U.S.- flagged assets, for which there 
currently are insufficient numbers available. The report's gap analysis 
found a clear and critical need for a tanker security program to 
increase U.S.-flagged tanker capacity, to reduce the risk of reliance 
on foreign-flagged tankers for the most important fuel missions, and to 
ensure the Department of Defense (DoD) has sufficient tanker 
capabilities to meet NDS objectives. In response to the FY20 NDAA Fuel 
Tanker Study, Congress directed in the FY21 NDAA, with minor 
adjustments in the FY22 NDAA, that the Secretary of Transportation, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, establish a fleet of 
active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned product 
tanker vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements 
and maintain a United States presence in international commercial 
shipping. The Maritime Administration worked with the DoD's United 
States Transportation Command to identify and shape TSP requirements 
and timelines.
    Respondents: Vessel Owners.
    Affected Public: Business Assistance, Water Transportation 
Operations, Merchant Marine.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 160.
    Estimated Hours per Response: 1.75.
    Annual Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 280.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.

(Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.49.)

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-10978 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
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