Notice2025-15595
Fees for Cruise Ship Operational Sanitation, Construction, and Renovation Inspections
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the vessel sanitation inspection fees instituted in fiscal year (FY) 2025 will continue in FY 2026 and remain in place until further notice or a modification is published. These inspections are conducted by HHS/CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). VSP helps the cruise line industry fulfill its responsibility for developing and implementing comprehensive sanitation programs to minimize the risk for environmentally associated illnesses and hazards. Every vessel that has a foreign itinerary and carries 13 or more passengers is subject to twice-yearly unannounced operations inspections and, when necessary, reinspection.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 156 (Friday, August 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 156 (Friday, August 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39393-39394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15595]
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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), within
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the vessel
sanitation inspection fees instituted in fiscal year (FY) 2025 will
continue in FY 2026 and remain in place until further notice or a
modification is published. These inspections are conducted by HHS/CDC's
Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). VSP helps the cruise line industry
fulfill its responsibility for developing and implementing
comprehensive sanitation programs to minimize the risk for
environmentally associated illnesses and hazards. Every vessel that has
a foreign itinerary and carries 13 or more passengers is subject to
twice-yearly unannounced operations inspections and, when necessary,
reinspection.
DATES: Fiscal year (FY) 2025 fees for vessel sanitation inspections
will continue in FY 2026 and remain in place until further notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CAPT Luis Rodriguez, 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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a1c191a2a090e09440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="75030605351611165b121a03">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Background
HHS/CDC established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in the
1970s as a cooperative activity with the cruise ship industry. VSP
helps the cruise ship industry prevent and control the introduction and
spread of environmentally associated illnesses and hazards 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,
``Control of Communicable Diseases''). 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 potential rodent, insect, or other vermin infestations;
contaminated food or water; or other sanitary conditions requiring
measures to prevent introduction 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.
The fee schedule was most recently published in the Federal Register on
September 23, 2024 (89 FR 77513). This notice announces FY 2025 fees
for inspections will continue in FY26 and remain in place until further
notice or a modification is published. The fee schedule is presented in
Appendix A.
The following formula will be used to determine the fees:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN15AU25.532
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.
Fee
The fee schedule (Appendix A) will remain in place until further
notice.
Applicability
The fees will apply to all passenger cruise vessels for which
inspections are conducted as part of HHS/CDC's VSP.
Noah Aleshire,
Chief Regulatory Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Appendix A
Fee Schedule for Each Vessel Size
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Construction
Operational and renovation
Vessel size (GT \1\) inspection \2\ inspection \3\
fee (US$) fee (US$)
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Tier 1 (<30,000 GT)..................... 8,073 16,146
Tier 2 (30,001-110,000 GT).............. 16,146 32,292
[[Page 39394]]
Tier 3 (110,001-180,000 GT)............. 32,292 64,584
Tier 4 (180,001 GT)..................... 64,584 129,168
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\1\ Gross tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register of
Shipping (<a href="https://www.lr.org/en/">https://www.lr.org/en/</a>).
\2\ Operations inspections and reinspections involve the same procedures
and require the same amount of time, so they are charged at the same
rates.
\3\ Construction and renovation inspections require at least twice the
amount of time as operations inspections, so they are charged double
the rates.
[FR Doc. 2025-15595 Filed 8-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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