Safety of Uninspected Passenger Vessels Under the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993 (PVSA)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Parts 175, 177, 179, 181, and 183

46 CFR Parts 10, 15, 24, 25, 26, 28, 70, 169, and 175

[USCG-1999-5040]

RIN 2115-AF69

Safety of Uninspected Passenger Vessels Under the Passenger

Vessel Safety Act of 1993 (PVSA)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will propose regulations that implement safety

measures for uninspected passenger vessels under the Passenger Vessel

Safety Act of 1993 (PVSA). These regulations will implement the new

class of uninspected passenger vessel of at least 100 gross tons,

address the confusion regarding bareboat charters, provide for the

issuance of special permits to certain uninspected passenger vessels,

and develop specific manning, structural fire protection, operating,

and equipment requirements for a limited fleet of PVSA exempted

vessels. To obtain information needed to develop appropriate rules, the

Coast Guard asks for comments from the public on the questions listed

in this document.

DATES: Comments must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before

June 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may mail your comments to the Docket Management

Facility, (USCG-1999-5040), U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-

401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington DC 20590-0001, or deliver them

to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the same

address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.

[[Page 15710]]

The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this

rulemaking. Comments and documents, as indicated in this preamble, will

become part of this docket and will be available for inspection or

copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the

same address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays. You may also access this docket on the Internet at

http://www.dms.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, contact

Lieutenant Keith B. Janssen, Office of Operating and Environmental

Standards, (G-MSO-2), U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-1055. For

questions on viewing, or submitting material to, the docket, contact

Dorothy Walker, Chief, Documentary Services Division, Department of

Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages you to participate in this rulemaking by

submitting written data, views, or arguments. Persons submitting

comments should include their names and addresses, identify this

rulemaking (USCG-1999-5040) and the specific section of this document

to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment.

The Coast Guard will consider all comments received during the comment

period. Please submit all comments and attachments in an unbound

format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and

electronic filing to the Docket Management Facility at the address

under ADDRESSES. Persons wanting acknowledgment of receipt of comments

should enclose stamped self-addressed postcards or envelopes.

The Coast Guard plans no public hearing. You may request a public

hearing by writing to the Docket Management Facility at the address

under ADDRESSES. The request should include the reasons why a hearing

would be beneficial. If it determines that the opportunity for oral

presentations will aid this rulemaking, the Coast Guard will hold a

public hearing at a time and place announced by a later notice in the

Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

The Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993 (PVSA) (Pub. L. 103-206)

was signed on December 20, 1993. The PVSA makes several changes to the

laws for uninspected passenger vessels. First, the PVSA requires

vessels less than 100 gross tons to be inspected as a small passenger

vessel if they are:

Carrying more than 6 passengers, at least one of whom is a

passenger for hire, whether chartered or not;

Carrying more than 6 passengers when chartered with the

crew provided or specified; or

Carrying more than 12 passengers when chartered with no

crew provided.

Second, the PVSA establishes a new class of uninspected passenger

vessel of at least 100 gross tons. This new class of uninspected

passenger vessel is limited to:

Carrying no more than 12 passengers, at least one of whom

is a passenger for hire, whether chartered or not;

Carrying no more than 12 passengers when chartered with

the crew provided or specified; or

Carrying no more than 12 passengers when chartered with no

crew provided.

Uninspected passenger vessels, greater than 100 gross tons, that

carry more than 12 passengers for hire are to be inspected as a

passenger vessel under 46 CFR Subchapter H.

Third, the PVSA requires the Coast Guard to develop equipment,

construction, and operating standards for uninspected passenger vessels

greater than 100 gross tons.

Fourth, the PVSA allows the Coast Guard to develop regulations for

special permits that allow the operation of uninspected passenger

vessels as authorized in section 511 of the PVSA. These special

circumstances and conditions were described in Senate Report 103-198

and include among other items that:

Special permits for uninspected passenger vessels will

only be issued for charitable purposes;

That a certain vessel may only be granted a special permit

a maximum of four times per year; and

That an application for a special permit must be made to

and approved by the cognizant Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection

prior to the voyage.

Fifth, and finally, the PVSA eliminates confusion regarding the use

of bareboat charter agreements for the carriage of passengers for hire.

The previous statutory definition of 'passenger' did not limit a vessel

from having an unlimited number of charterers (owners). Therefore,

vessels that were not certificated by the Coast Guard were able to

carry large numbers of people. The PVSA's narrow definition of

`passenger' subjected some formerly chartered vessels to Coast Guard

inspection for certification for the first time. The PVSA allowed these

vessels to apply for inspection with a phase-in period for compliance.

The period for application expired June 21, 1994, and the period for

compliance expired on December 21, 1996. With widespread public

notification, several hundred charter vessels applied for and met the

conditions for certification with the requirements of the PVSA and

policy guidance of Navigation and Inspection Circular (NVIC) 7-94. This

NVIC is available on the Internet at www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nvic/

index90.htm. Additionally, the PVSA authorizes the Coast Guard to

develop specific operating and equipment requirements for 16 charter

vessels greater than 100 gross tons that met exemption criteria

contained in the PVSA and NVIC 7-94.

The Coast Guard plans to develop regulations that will implement

the new class of uninspected passenger vessel of at least 100 gross

tons, address the confusion regarding bareboat charters, provide for

the issuance of special permits to certain uninspected passenger

vessels, and develop specific operating and equipment requirements for

a limited fleet of PVSA exempted vessels.

Assistance for Small Entities

In accordance with section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), the Coast Guard

wants to assist small entities in understanding this notice so that

they can better evaluate the effects of any future rule on them and

participate in the rulemaking process. If your small business or

organization is affected by the PVSA and you have questions concerning

its provisions or options for compliance, please contact Lieutenant

Keith B. Janssen, Office of Operating and Environmental Standards, (G-

MSO-2), U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-1055.

Questions

The Coast Guard asks the public for input on the issues discussed

in this document. To help develop a proposed rule, the Coast Guard

requests comments on the following questions, although comments on

other issues addressed in this document are also welcome. When

responding to questions, please explain your reasons for each answer

and follow the instructions located under REQUEST FOR COMMENTS.

Questions 1 through 16 refer to uninspected passenger vessels of at

least 100 gross tons

(1) The Coast Guard is seeking information regarding the size of

the fleet of uninspected passenger vessels of

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at least 100 gross tons. Therefore, the Coast Guard requests

information regarding the total number of this type of vessel at port,

regional, and national levels.

(2) At which ports are these vessels located? Do these vessels

operate out of some specific port all year? If not, from which

additional port(s) do they operate? Please identify some specific

port(s) rather than a region. That helps the Coast Guard identify any

port(s) with a large population of this class of vessel. Please

indicate what percentage of the year these vessels are in each

location.

(3) What type of safety equipment do these vessels ordinarily

carry? What type of safety equipment, at a minimum, should the Coast

Guard require these vessels to carry? Examples of safety equipment

include, but are not limited to: Type I personal flotation devices;

ring life buoys; life rafts; auxiliary vessels; emergency position

indicating radio beacon (EPIRB); high water alarms; fire and smoke

alarms/detectors; and other fire fighting equipment or systems. What

standard(s) should the safety equipment meet? Examples of existing

standards for safety equipment include, but are not limited to:

American Yacht and Boat Council (AYBC); National Fire Protection

Association (NFPA); or American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

(4) What generally accepted construction standard(s) should these

vessels meet? Examples of generally accepted construction standards

include, but are not limited to: AYBC, NFPA, or ABS. Do any

applications or systems on these vessels currently meet generally

accepted standards? Which generally accepted standards normally apply

to which application or systems? Examples of applications and systems

include, but are not limited to: lifesaving equipment, heating/cooling

facilities, marine sanitation devices, structural fire-protection

devices, and electrical wiring.

(5) Do owners, operators, or charter brokers require a minimum

level of licensing and experience for a vessel operator? If so, what

are those requirements? What licensing requirements should the Coast

Guard require for operators of uninspected passenger vessels of at

least 100 gross tons?

(6) How many businesses operate a full-time or part-time charter or

passenger-for-hire service operation for this type of vessel? What

portion of these businesses employ less than 500 people?

(7) Are these vessels operated in passenger-for-hire service on a

full-time or part-time basis? How often are these vessels used in

personal or recreational service compared to the time these same

vessels are used in passenger-for-hire service? Please indicate the

time on an annual basis by days.

(8) What are current, advertised daily or weekly charter rates for

this class of vessel? What are current, advertised daily or weekly

passenger-for-hire service rates for this class of vessel? How will the

implementation of the PVSA impact charter or passenger-for-hire service

rates?

(9) How many days per year do these vessels currently operate in

charter or passenger-for-hire service? How will the implementation of

the PVSA impact the number of days per year that these vessels operate

in charter or passenger-for-hire service?

(10) On average, how many hours per day do these vessels spend

underway with at least one passenger for hire aboard?

(11) Are these vessels underway in the passenger-for-hire service

more than 12 hours during a 24-hour period? If so, is this

representative of normal operations or the occasional voyage? If

possible, please identify the annual breakdown of passenger-for-hire

service voyages less than and more than 12 hours duration in a 24-hour

period. Please indicate this information by percentage.

(12) On which route(s) do these vessels operate routinely? On which

route(s) do these vessels operate occasionally? Do traditional routes

exist? If so, where?

(13) Are the majority of voyage itineraries for these vessels

individually (custom) planned or are they regularly scheduled?

(14) What is the percentage breakdown between domestic and

international voyages? Please indicate percentages on an annual basis.

(15) What are the major areas of concern regarding the impact that

the implementation of the PVSA might have on the vessel fleet? Are

there any generally recognized problems within the vessel fleet that

should be addressed by regulation?

(16) What are other general areas of concern regarding possible

regulatory action to implement the PVSA?

Question 17 refers to any uninspected passenger vessel

The PVSA allows the Coast Guard to develop regulations for special

permits that allow the operation of uninspected passenger vessels as

authorized in section 511 of the PVSA. These special circumstances and

conditions were described in Senate Report 103-198 and include among

other items that:

Special permits for uninspected passenger vessels will

only be issued for charitable purposes;

That a certain vessel may only be granted a special permit

a maximum of four times per year; and

That an application for a special permit must be made to

and approved by the cognizant Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection

prior to the voyage.

(17) Based on this criteria, should the Coast Guard develop

regulations to allow a special permit for uninspected passenger

vessels? Please identify the reason(s) for your answer(s).

Dated: March 26, 1999.

R.C. North,

Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection.

[FR Doc. 99-8024 Filed 3-31-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-15-P