The United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Manual Volume III: Marine Industry Personnel COMDTINST 16000.8B Change 2 Commandant U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7501 United States Coast Guard 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE Washington, DC 20593-7501 Staff Symbol: CG-CVC Phone: (202) 372-1224 COMDTCHANGENOTE 16000 5 JUL 2017 COMMANDANT CHANGE NOTICE 16000 Subj: CH-2 TO THE MARINE SAFETY MANUAL, VOLUME III, MARINE INDUSTRY PERSONNEL, COMDTINST M16000.8B 1. PURPOSE. This Commandant Change Notice publishes a change to The Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Marine Industry Personnel, COMDTINST M16000.8B. 2. ACTION. All Coast Guard unit commanders, commanding officers, officers-in-charge, deputy/assistant commandants, and chiefs of headquarters staff elements shall comply with the provisions of this Commandant Change Notice. Internet release is authorized. 3. DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. With the addition of this Commandant Change Notice, The Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Marine Industry Personnel, COMDTINST M16000.8B, is updated. 4. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND. The Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Marine Industry Personnel, COMDTINST M16000.8B, provides information and interpretations on international conventions and U.S. statutory and regulatory issues relating to marine industry personnel. The last revisions, Change-1, were released on 30 July 2014. Change-1 was presented in a new format, to facilitate future revisions by creating three distinct parts; Part A: Mariner Credentialing (Chapters 1-17), Part B: Vessel Manning (legacy Chapters 20-26, now Chapters 1-7), and Part C: Shipment and Service (legacy Chapters 18-19, now Chapters 1-2). The primary reasons for Change-2 are to update guidance to align with the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014, include manning scales for inspected towing vessels, and to include various policy updates impacting vessel manning. The Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of a draft Change-2 and requested public comments (See 81 FR 46042). Also, the Coast Guard sought input from the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). The final Notice of Availability, including comments and material received from the public, as well as documents mentioned as being available in the docket, are part of docket USCG-2016-0669. Unless specifically stated DISTRIBUTION – SDL No. 168 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z A B X X X X C X XX X D XX X E X X X XX X F X G H X COMDTCHANGENOTE 16000 otherwise, this Commandant Change Notice is effective as of the date of publication. Any discrepancies with vessel manning or endorsements should be brought to the attention of the owner/operator or Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) and discussed during the next scheduled Coast Guard attendance with a view of aligning with this revised guidance. 5. DISCLAIMER. This guidance is not a substitute for applicable legal requirements, nor is it itself a rule. It is not intended to nor does it impose legally binding requirements on any party. It represents the Coast Guard’s current thinking on this topic and may assist industry, mariners, the general public, and the Coast Guard, as well as other Federal and State regulators, in applying statutory and regulatory requirements. Members of the public may use an alternative approach if the approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations. 6. MAJOR CHANGES. All changes are underlined in the final version and each changed page is annotated with CH-2 in the footer. For a summary of all of the changes, as well as to view any associated documents, go to http://www.regulations.gov, using “USCG-2016-0669” as the search term. Available for viewing in the public docket is a change matrix that provides a summary of each specific public comment and the corresponding Coast Guard response; the change matrix also lists and explains changes made by the Coast Guard but not prompted by public comments. Substantive changes to Part B and Part C of this Manual include: a. Updated provisions to align with the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 Pub. L. 113-281; Sections 316, 319, and 601. Specifically, Section 316 made statutory changes which amended multiple paragraphs of 46 U.S.C. 8104. Section 319 amended 46 U.S.C. 4105 and Section 601 amended the 46 U.S.C. 8103 note. b. Incorporates updated information on riding gangs, 46 U.S.C. 8106. Chapter B1, Section J. c. Incorporates Guidelines for Liquefied Natural Gas Fuel Transfer Operations and Training of Personnel on Vessels Using Natural Gas as Fuel, by reference. Chapter B2, Section A. d. Corrects a longstanding discrepancy between in the Tables of Additional Deckhands for small passenger vessels and the regulatory breakpoints established in 46 CFR Subchapters T and K. The tables have been adjusted to align with the regulatory breakpoints as well as the base thresholds originally established in the 1955 Merchant Marine Safety Manual (CG-203), per amendment #26 of 1973. Chapter B2, Sections C & D. e. Updated policy reflecting the regulations for Offshore Supply Vessels of at Least 6,000 GT ITC (79 FR 48894, August 18, 2014]). Chapter B2, Section L. f. Consolidates hydrofoils under a single header and incorporates High-Speed Craft. Chapter B2, Section T. g. Having considered the recommendations of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC), Tasks 13-02 and 15-01, the Coast Guard has included manning scales for towing vessels inspected under 46 CFR Subchapter M, which comply with the current provisions of Title 46, U.S. Code (U.S.C.) Subtitle II, Part F. This includes scales for towing vessels of 300 GRT or 2 COMDTCHANGENOTE 16000 more exclusively in Great Lakes service, which were not included in the TSAC recommendation. The scales are presented in a new standard format. Chapter B2, Section W. h. Adds a figure for Tonnage Applicability: Dual-Tonnage Vessels. Chapter B3, Section B. i. Clarifies the Federal and First-Class Pilot requirements. Chapter B3, Section I. j. Adds clarification for Person in Charge of Medical Care. Chapter B3, Section Q. k. Adds discussion on Port Relief Officers. Chapter B3, Section R. l. Adds considerations for the assignment of Able Seamen (ABs) on vessels of limited size. Chapter B4, Section D. m. Includes a section on Cadets, Student Observers & Apprentices. Chapter B4, Section G. n. Revisions for the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, as amended by IMO Resolution MSC.353(92). Chapter B5, Section F. o. Created Sample Reduced Scales for certain vessels with automated engineering systems. Chapter B6, Section A. p. Adds an Abbreviations section, Suggested Manning Proposal Template, MMS Work Instruction, Master’s Field Guide, and a Manning Verification Check-sheet. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT AND IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS. a. The development of this Commandant Change Notice and the general policies contained within it have been thoroughly reviewed by the originating office in conjunction with the Office of Environmental Management, and are categorically excluded (CE) under current USCG CE # 33 from further environmental analysis, in accordance with Section 2.B.2. and Figure 2-1 of the National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures and Policy for Considering Environmental Impacts, COMDTINST M16475.1 (series). Because this Commandant Change Notice contains guidance on, and provisions for, compliance with applicable environmental mandates, Coast Guard categorical exclusion #33 is appropriate. b. This directive will not have any of the following: significant cumulative impacts on the human environment; substantial controversy or substantial change to existing environmental conditions; or inconsistencies with any Federal, State, or local laws or administrative determinations relating to the environment. All future specific actions resulting from the general policies in this Commandant Change Notice must be individually evaluated for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), DHS and Coast Guard NEPA policy, and compliance with all other environmental mandates. Due to the administrative and procedural nature of this Commandant Change Notice, and the environmental guidance provided within it for compliance with all applicable environmental laws prior to promulgating any directive, all applicable environmental considerations are addressed appropriately in this Commandant Change Notice. 3 COMDTCHANGENOTE 16000 8. DISTRIBUTION. No paper distribution will be made of this Commandant Change Notice. An electronic version will be located on the following Commandant (CG-612) web sites. Internet: http://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-C4IT-CG- 6-/The-Office-of-Information-Management-CG-61/aboutCGDS/ , and CGPortal: https://cgportal2.uscg.mil/library/directives/SitePages/Home.aspx. 9. PROCEDURE. Remove and replace the following sections of The Marine Safety Manual, Volume III, Marine Industry Personnel, COMDTINST M16000.8B: Remove Replace Forward Forward Contents IV-X Contents IV-X Chapters B1-B7 Chapters B1-B7 Chapter C1-C2 Chapter C1-C2 LIF-i LIF-i & ABB-i-ii ANNEX ANNEX 10. RECORDS MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS. This Commandant Change Notice has been thoroughly reviewed during the directives clearance process, and it has been determined there are further records scheduling requirements, in accordance with Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq., NARA requirements, and Information and Life Cycle Management Manual, COMDTINST M5212.12 (series). This policy does not create significant or substantial change to existing records management requirements. 11. FORMS/REPORTS. The forms referenced in this Manual are available in USCG Electronic Forms on the Standard Workstation or on CG Portal https://cgportal2.uscg.mil/delivery/Satellite/CG611/FORMS and Intranet at http://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-C4IT-CG-6-/The- Office-of-Information-Management-CG-61/aboutFormsManagement/. 12. REQUEST FOR CHANGES. Units and individuals may recommend changes via the chain of command to: [email protected].