Notice2021-17139
Guidance on Voluntary Compliance With Training Requirements for Personnel Serving on U.S.-Flagged Passenger Ships That Carry More Than 12 Passengers on International Voyages.
Primary source
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Published
August 12, 2021
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard announces the availability of CG-MMC Policy Letter 02-21, titled "Guidance on Voluntary Compliance with Training Requirements for Personnel Serving on U.S.-flagged Passenger Ships that Carry More than 12 Passengers on International Voyages." This policy provides guidance to passenger vessel owners and operators on voluntary compliance with the 2016 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW Convention) and the Seafarers' Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code (STCW Code). Vessels may be subject to detentions in foreign ports if personnel have not received appropriate training in accordance with the STCW Convention and the STCW Code.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 153 (Thursday, August 12, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 153 (Thursday, August 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 44378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17139]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2021-0406]
Guidance on Voluntary Compliance With Training Requirements for
Personnel Serving on U.S.-Flagged Passenger Ships That Carry More Than
12 Passengers on International Voyages.
AGENCY: Coast Guard, Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: Notice of policy.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of CG-MMC Policy
Letter 02-21, titled ``Guidance on Voluntary Compliance with Training
Requirements for Personnel Serving on U.S.-flagged Passenger Ships that
Carry More than 12 Passengers on International Voyages.'' This policy
provides guidance to passenger vessel owners and operators on voluntary
compliance with the 2016 amendments to the International Convention on
Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers,
1978, as amended (STCW Convention) and the Seafarers' Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping Code (STCW Code). Vessels may be subject
to detentions in foreign ports if personnel have not received
appropriate training in accordance with the STCW Convention and the
STCW Code.
DATES: CG-MMC Policy Letter 02-21 was issued August 05, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Policy Letter 02-21 is available in docket number USCG-2021-
0406 on <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this policy,
contact Megan Johns Henry, U.S. Coast Guard Office of Merchant Mariner
Credentialing Maritime Personnel Qualifications Division (CG-MMC-1);
telephone (202) 372-1255, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f5b89092949bdbb6dbbf9a9d9b86b580869692db989c99"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="98d5fdfff9f6b6dbb6d2f7f0f6ebd8edebfbffb6f5f1f4">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The International Maritime Organization
(IMO) establishes the minimum international standards of competence
including training requirements for mariners and maritime personnel
through the International Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW
Convention) and the Seafarers' Training, Certification and Watchkeeping
Code (STCW Code).
In 2016, the IMO adopted amendments to the STCW Convention and the
STCW Code expanding the existing training requirements for personnel on
passenger vessels. These amendments entered into force on July 1, 2018.
These amendments have not been codified into national regulations at
this time. However, because the United States is signatory to the STCW
Convention, vessel owners and operators should be aware that their
vessels are subject to foreign port state control actions, including
detention, if mariners are not compliant with the STCW Convention and
the STCW Code.
The Coast Guard has issued CG-MMC Policy Letter 02-21 to provide
guidance to passenger vessel owners and operators on voluntary
compliance with the 2016 amendments to the STCW Convention and the STCW
Code. The Coast Guard will not issue endorsements related to the
training of personnel on passenger vessels.
CG-MMC Policy Letter 02-21 is not a substitute for applicable legal
requirements, nor is it itself a rule. The Coast Guard does not
currently require any mariner to meet the training requirements in CG-
MMC Policy Letter 02-21, paragraphs 4. a. (i) and (ii), in other words,
it is possible to comply with U.S. domestic legal obligations without
undertaking the specific trainings. Before creating any such
requirement, the Coast Guard would undertake a separate rulemaking.
We issue this notice of availability in accordance with 5 U.S.C.
552(a) and under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 7101 and 7313. If you have
questions about the policy letter, or believe that changes are
necessary, please contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this notice.
Dated: August 6, 2021.
Jeffrey G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2021-17139 Filed 8-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.