46 CFR 12 - REQUIREMENTS FOR RATING ENDORSEMENTS

The Coast Guard announces the availability of Policy Letter 11-15, which describes steps the Coast Guard is taking to implement a statutory change in mariner credentialing requirements. This policy letter details how the Coast Guard is relaxing its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enforcement posture for mariners who serve on board vessels that are not required to have a vessel security plan. It also describes policy changes to allow these mariners to acquire and renew a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) without holding a valid TWIC.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of Policy Letter 11-15, which describes steps the Coast Guard is taking to implement a statutory change in mariner credentialing requirements. This policy letter details how the Coast Guard is relaxing its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enforcement posture for mariners who serve on board vessels that are not required to have a vessel security plan. It also describes policy changes to allow these mariners to acquire and renew a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) without holding a valid TWIC.

On August 2, 2011 (76 FR 46217), the Coast Guard published a notice of public meetings and request for comments on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) entitled “Implementation of the Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to Domestic Endorsements.” The incorrect publication date of the SNPRM was cited. This notice corrects that error.

The Coast Guard is announcing a series of public meetings to receive comments on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) entitled “Implementation of the Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to Domestic Endorsements” that published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2011. The changes proposed in the SNPRM address the comments received from the public in response to a previously published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, in most cases through revisions based on those comments, and propose to incorporate the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention that will come into force on January 1, 2012.

The Coast Guard proposes to amend the existing regulations that implement the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW Convention), as well as the Seafarer's Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code (STCW Code). The changes proposed in this Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) address the comments received from the public response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), in most cases through revisions based on those comments, and propose to incorporate the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention that will come into force on January 1, 2012. In addition, this SNPRM proposes to make other non-STCW changes necessary to reorganize, clarify, and update these regulations.

The Coast Guard is advising the public of its intent to finalize regulations previously published as an interim rule on January 6, 2004. The interim rule (IR) was published to enhance the application procedures for the Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation program, which were necessary to improve maritime safety and promote the national security interest of the United States, but was never published as a final rule. Because of the lapse in time since the interim rule publication, the Coast Guard is seeking comments from the public on one remaining section of the interim rule that has remained unfinalized. The Coast Guard intends to finalize this one section of the interim rule.