Notice2026-03226
Streamlined (Vessel) Inspection Program (NVIC 02-99)-Request for Information
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
February 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard seeks input from the public on improving its Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP), which is explained in Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 02-99. We seek information, ideas, and recommendations to ensure SIP implementation aligns with national security, economic prosperity, and workforce development objectives set forth in the Presidential Executive Order on Restoring America's Maritime Dominance. Finally, public input will aid in developing and improving the SIP as a tool for strengthening the domestic maritime industrial base, enhancing regulatory efficiency, and supporting the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged and U.S. built vessels.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8015-8016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03226]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2026-0041]
Streamlined (Vessel) Inspection Program (NVIC 02-99)--Request for
Information
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks input from the public on improving its
Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP), which is explained in Navigation
and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 02-99. We seek information,
ideas, and recommendations to ensure SIP implementation aligns with
national security, economic prosperity, and workforce development
objectives set forth in the Presidential Executive Order on Restoring
America's Maritime Dominance. Finally, public input will aid in
developing and improving the SIP as a tool for strengthening the
domestic maritime industrial base, enhancing regulatory efficiency, and
supporting the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged and U.S. built vessels.
DATES: Comments must be received by the Coast Guard on or before March
20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2026-0041 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. See the ``Public
Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for further instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document
call or email LCDR Vanessa R. Taylor, 571-608-0737, Coast Guard Office
of Commercial Vessel Compliance; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e380f000b1d1d0f403c403a0f1702011c2e1b1d0d0940030702"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dd8bbcb3b8aeaebcf38ff389bca4b1b2af9da8aebebaf3b0b4b1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Comments
We encourage you to submit comments or related material on the
Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) and NVIC (NAVIGATION AND VESSEL
INSPECTION CIRCULAR) 02-99. The Coast Guard views public participation
as essential to understanding how we might improve the SIP in ways that
support the revitalization of the U.S. maritime industrial base, and in
ways that better align the SIP with national security and economic
policy goals through reductions in regulatory burdens to enhance the
competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels. If you submit comments, please
include the docket number for this notice (USCG-2026-0041), indicate
the specific section or question within this document to which each
comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation.
Submitting comments. We encourage you to submit comments at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. To do so, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, type
USCG-2026-0041 in the search box and click ``Search.'' Next, look for
this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click
on the Comment option. If your material cannot be submitted using
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions.
Viewing material in docket. To view documents mentioned in this
notice as being available in the docket, find the docket as described
in the previous paragraph, and then select ``Supporting & Related
Material'' in the Document Type column. Public comments will be placed
in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> Frequently Asked Questions web page.
Personal information. We accept anonymous comments. Comments we
post to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> will include any personal
information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions
in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records
notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).
II. Purpose
The Coast Guard is issuing this request for information (RFI) in
response to Executive Order 14269, 90 FR 15635 (April 15, 2025)--
``Restoring America's Maritime Dominance.'' The Coast Guard will use
the public comments received in response to this RFI to evaluate and
improve the Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) NVIC 02-99 as a tool
for strengthening the domestic maritime industrial base, reducing
regulatory burden, and supporting the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged
and built vessels.
III. Background--SIP Focus
By statute, Congress has made various categories of U.S. flagged
vessels subject to inspection. These vessel categories are listed in 46
U.S.C. 3301. To carry out inspections, the Coast Guard has promulgated
regulations in 46 CFR part 2. It has also issued regulations providing
for ``Vessel Inspection Alternatives'' in 46 CFR part 8. Among these
alternatives is the Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP), which is
codified in subpart E of 46 CFR part 8 and explained in guidance titled
NAVIGATION AND VESSEL INSPECTION CIRCULAR (NVIC) 2-99.
The SIP provides a voluntary alternative method for a company to
comply with Coast Guard inspection requirements through company-
developed inspection and maintenance programs. Instead of the
traditional Coast Guard inspection by a marine inspector, the SIP
allows a company (the owner of the vessel or any other organization or
person, such as the manager or the bareboat charterer, who operates the
vessel under the SIP) to conduct the majority of inspections required
by law and to have the adequacy of these inspections verified by Coast
Guard marine inspectors on a regular basis.
The SIP is intended to reduce regulatory burdens while raising the
overall safety of a vessel by actively empowering the vessel's support
personnel. The focus of this program is on the development, under Coast
Guard supervision, of a process by which the inspection of the vessel
is carried out by qualified company personnel with approved test
procedures in a self-perpetuating, self-correcting format.
As the United States undertakes a comprehensive approach to
rebuilding its maritime industrial base and workforce, the Coast Guard
is evaluating the SIP's role in supporting these national objectives,
through policy reform, workforce development, and incorporating
existing management technologies and practices already employed by the
maritime industry to fulfil regulatory requirements.
IV. Request for Information
The Coast Guard seeks comments and relevant information from the
public and particularly from vessel owners, operators, companies,
shipyards, members of the maritime workforce, workforce organizations,
and other stakeholders that may be affected by, or have experience with
the SIP, as described in NVIC 02-99.
Commenters should feel free to answer as many questions as they
would like, but those comments which provide specific suggestions,
include details, and explain the logic behind
[[Page 8016]]
any finding or numerical estimates are likely to be most helpful.
The following information is requested; please provide as much
detail as possible:
(1) What operational and regulatory challenges do companies face in
enrolling and maintaining compliance with SIP?
(2) What are current industry practices for implementing SIP,
especially the use of existing management technologies and practices
already employed by the maritime industry to fulfil regulatory
requirements, such as digital recordkeeping, or third-party support?
How can updated SIP guidance be leveraged to promote innovation,
efficiency, and competitiveness in U.S. flag vessel operations?
(3) What best practices has your company developed for leveraging
technology to maintain a continual state of compliance and safety? How
can these practices inform updates to SIP procedures or requirements?
(4) Are there elements of other inspection or quality management
programs (e.g., the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, Towing
Safety Management Systems (TSMS), other programs under the ACP, or
Reliability Centered Maintenance) that could be integrated into SIP to
enhance its effectiveness? What best practices can or should be
adopted?
(5) How does your company use electronic recordkeeping, reliability
sensor data, or automated reporting to document vessel inspections and
maintenance? In what ways can these digital tools be integrated into
the SIP to improve efficiency, transparency, and safety?
(6) What impediments exist to enrolling vessels in SIP, especially
for small companies or operators? Are there administrative, financial,
or technical barriers that could be addressed through policy updates or
support programs?
(7) How can the SIP program be improved to promote the policy goals
of E.O. 14269, including reducing regulatory burdens and supporting
workforce development?
(8) Understanding that the SIP places the examination and
maintenance responsibility on the Company, per the required Company
Action Plan and Vessel Action Plan(s), what role can, or should, third
parties serve in meeting the objectives of the SIP?
(9) How could the scope and frequency of Coast Guard inspections be
changed to better achieve the objectives of the SIP and the regulatory
requirements?
(10) For automated vessels required to have a Periodic Safety Test
Procedure (PSTP) under 46 CFR 61.40, how does your company integrate
these testing requirements with its Planned Maintenance System (PMS)
and classification society surveys? When providing an answer, please
address the following:
a. How PSTP tests are managed within your PMS (e.g., as scheduled
work orders, linked job plans, or a dedicated module)?
b. How does your PMS document the step-by-step procedures for
performing a test? How does your PMS verify and document that a test
was performed correctly (e.g., checklists, recorded values, logs)?
c. What role does your Authorized Classification Society (ACS)
currently play in witnessing or verifying these tests? What
documentation does your ACS provide that serves as evidence of a
successful test?
C.F. Heard IV,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Commercial Vessel
Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2026-03226 Filed 2-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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