[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45903-45904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15173]


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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

[Docket No. FMC-2023-0014]


Agency Information Collection Activities: 60-Day Public Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION: Sixty-Day notice; request for comments.

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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 information collection related to Licensing, Financial 
Responsibility Requirements and General Duties for Ocean Transportation 
Intermediaries and Related Forms. This notice announces a renewal of an 
existing collection and includes a minor update to the collection based 
on an increase in the number of entities required to respond.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 18, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: The Commission will collect comments on this notice through 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. The docket of 
this notice can be found at https://www.regulations.gov/ under Docket 
No. FMC-2023-0014 The FMC will

[[Page 45904]]

summarize any comments received in response to this notice in a 
subsequent notice and include them in its information collection 
submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cody, Secretary; Phone: (202) 
523-5725; Email: [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 collections 
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 Collections Open for Comment

    Title: 46 CFR 515--Licensing, Financial Responsibility Requirements 
and General Duties for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries and Related 
Forms.
    OMB Approval Number: 3072-0018 (Expires Dec 31, 2023).
    Abstract: The Shipping Act of 1984 (the Act), 46 U.S.C. 40101-
41309, as amended, provides that no person in the United States may 
advertise, hold oneself out, or act as an ocean transportation 
intermediary (OTI) unless that person holds a license issued by the 
Commission. The Commission shall issue an OTI license to any person 
that the Commission determines to be qualified by experience and 
character to act as an OTI. Further, no person may act as an OTI unless 
that person furnishes a bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in a 
form and amount determined by the Commission to insure financial 
responsibility. The Commission has implemented the Act's OTI 
requirements in regulations contained in 46 CFR part 515, including 
financial responsibility Forms FMC-48, FMC-67, FMC-68, and FMC-69, 
Optional Rider Forms FMC-48A and FMC-69A, its related license 
application Form FMC-18, and the related foreign-based unlicensed NVOCC 
registration/renewal Form FMC-65. This update includes an increase in 
number of responses received. The burden estimated per response remains 
the same.
    Current Actions: There are no changes to this information 
collection.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission uses information obtained under this 
part and through Form FMC-18 to determine the qualifications of OTIs 
and their compliance with the Act and regulations, and to enable the 
Commission to discharge its duties under the Act by ensuring that OTIs 
maintain acceptable evidence of financial responsibility. If the 
collection of information were not conducted, there would be no basis 
upon which the Commission could determine if applicants are qualified 
for licensing. The Commission would also not be able to effectively 
assess the compliance of foreign-based, unlicensed NVOCCs without the 
required registration information.
    Frequency: This information will be collected on an ad hoc basis.
    Type of Respondents: The types of respondents are persons desiring 
to obtain or maintain a license or registration to advertise, hold 
themselves out as, or act as an OTI. Under the Act, OTIs may be either 
an ocean freight forwarder, an NVOCC, or both.
    Number of Annual Respondents: The 2020 notice stated that the 
number of respondents was 6,475. Due to an increase in the number of 
OTIs, the Commission estimates the new number of respondents as 10,130. 
The distribution of responses is as follows: 750 FMC-18 filings, 1,770 
OTI License renewals, 5,160 FMC-48 filings, 50 FMC-69 filings,12 FMC-
48A filings, 1,560 FMC-65 registration filings, and 830 FMC-65 
renewals. The Commission does not anticipate receiving any filings of 
FMC-67, FMC-68, or FMC-69A based on experience in recent years and the 
estimate for these forms is zero, but wishes to renew these forms.
    Estimated Time per Response: The average time per response to 
complete application Form FMC-18 is 2 hours and to complete the 
triennial renewal is 10 minutes. The time to complete a financial 
responsibility form (FMC-48, FMC-48A, FMC-67, FMC-68, FMC-69, or FMC-
69A) averages 20 minutes. The time to complete Form FMC-65 to submit or 
renew a registration as a foreign-based, unlicensed NVOCC averages 15 
minutes.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,500 person-hours (Form FMC-18) + 1,720 
person-hours (Form FMC-48) + 4 person-hours (Form FMC-48A) + 17 person-
hours (Form FMC-69) + 598 person-hours (Form FMC 65 New/Renewal) + 295 
person-hours (License Renewal) = 4,134 total person-hours. Total burden 
equals 4,134 hours.

JoAnne O'Bryant,
Program Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2023-15173 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6730-02-P