[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55048-55049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17392]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Fees for Cruise Ship Operational Sanitation, Construction, and 
Renovation Inspections

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: General notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located 
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announces 
fees for vessel sanitation, construction, and renovation inspections 
for fiscal year (FY) 2024. These inspections are conducted by HHS/CDC's 
Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). VSP helps the cruise industry fulfill 
its responsibility for developing and implementing comprehensive 
sanitation programs to minimize the risk for acute gastroenteritis. 
Every passenger cruise vessel that has a foreign itinerary involving a 
U.S. port and carries 13 or more passengers is subject to twice-yearly 
unannounced operational sanitation inspections and, when necessary, 
reinspection. Cruise vessel design and equipment must meet VSP's 
sanitary design criteria standards and routine operational inspection 
requirements. Cruise vessel owners or shipyards that build or renovate 
cruise vessels can request construction or renovation inspections of 
new or renovated vessels before their first or next operational 
inspection.

DATES: These fees apply to inspections conducted from October 1, 2023, 
through September 30, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CAPT Luis Rodriguez, Acting Chief, 
Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS 
106-6, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3717; phone: 800-323-2132; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Background

    HHS/CDC established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in the 
1970s as a cooperative activity with the cruise industry. VSP helps the 
cruise industry prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and 
spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships. VSP operates 
under the authority of the Public Health Service Act (Section 361 of 
the Public Health Service Act; 42 U.S.C. 264). Regulations found at 42 
CFR 71.41 (Foreign Quarantine--Requirements Upon Arrival at U.S. Ports: 
Sanitary Inspection; General Provisions) state that carriers arriving 
at U.S. ports from foreign areas are subject to sanitary inspections to 
determine whether there exists rodent, insect, or other vermin 
infestations; contaminated food or water; or other insanitary 
conditions requiring measures for the prevention of the introduction, 
transmission, or spread of communicable diseases.
    The fee schedule for sanitation inspections of passenger cruise 
ships by VSP was first published in the Federal Register on November 
24, 1987 (52 FR 45019). HHS/CDC began collecting fees on March 1, 1988. 
This notice announces fees for inspections conducted during FY 2024 
(beginning on October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024).

[[Page 55049]]

    The following formula will be used to determine the fees:
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN14AU23.000
    
    Total cost of VSP = Total cost of operating the program, such as 
administration, travel, staffing, sanitation inspections, and outbreak 
response.
    Weighted number of annual inspections = Total number of ships and 
inspections per year accounting for vessel size, number of inspectors 
needed for vessel size, travel logistics to conduct inspections, and 
vessel location and arrivals in U.S. jurisdiction per year.
    The fee schedule was most recently published in the Federal 
Register on December 1, 2022 (87 FR 73767). The fee schedule for FY 
2024 is presented in Appendix A.

Fee

    The fee schedule (Appendix A) applies to inspections conducted from 
October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024.

Applicability

    The fees will apply to all passenger cruise vessels for which 
inspections are conducted as part of HHS/CDC's Vessel Sanitation 
Program.

Tiffany Brown,
Executive Secretary, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Appendix A

  Fee Schedule For Each Vessel Size--Operational Sanitation Inspections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Inspection
                   Vessel size (GRT \1\)                      fee (US$)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Small (<3,000 GRT)...................................        1,495
Small (3,001-15,000 GRT)...................................        2,990
Medium (15,001-30,000 GRT).................................        5,980
Large (30,001-60,000 GRT)..................................        8,970
Extra Large (60,001-120,000 GRT)...........................       11,960
Mega (120,001-140,000 GRT).................................       17,940
Super Mega (<140,001 GRT)..................................       23,920
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Gross register tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register
  of Shipping (https://www.lr.org/en/).

    Operational sanitation inspections and re-inspections involve 
the same procedures and require the same amount of time, so they are 
charged at the same rates.

     Fee Schedule For Each Vessel Size--Construction and Renovation
                               Inspections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Inspection
                    Vessel size (GRT\1\)                      fee (US$)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Small (<3,000 GRT)...................................        2,990
Small (3,001-15,000 GRT)...................................        5,980
Medium (15,001-30,000 GRT).................................       11,960
Large (30,001-60,000 GRT)..................................       17,940
Extra Large (60,001-120,000 GRT)...........................       23,920
Mega (120,001-140,000 GRT).................................       35,880
Super Mega (>140,001 GRT)..................................       47,840
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Gross register tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register
  of Shipping (https://www.lr.org/en/).

    Construction and renovation inspections require at least twice 
the amount of time as operational sanitation inspections, so they 
are charged double the rates.

[FR Doc. 2023-17392 Filed 8-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P