COAST GUARD PROPOSAL WOULD REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION OF CHARTERER

COAST GUARD PROPOSAL WOULD REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION OF CHARTERER    The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed amending advance notification requirements for foreign ships calling U.S. ports to identify the charterers of vessels.
   The proposed change would the owner, master, operator, agent or person in charge of the vessel to identify the charter (or charterers) of the vessel.
   The Coast Guard initiated the Port State Control Program in April 1994 to address concerns raised over sub-standard non-U.S.-flagged vessels calling U.S. ports. The Coast Guard developed a “risk-based matrix” that evaluated a foreign vessel's flag state, owner, operator, classification society, ship type and its compliance history,” in order to direct the Coast Guard to those vessels that posed the greatest risk to safety and the environment.
   “The Coast Guard believes that the proposed addition of charterer, as a factor to consider in the Port State targeting scheme, would further improve our ability to identify vessels most like to pose the highest risk,' the agency said.
   The risk involved is charterers that contract for a vessel based strictly on cost, foregoing any examination of the vessels' condition or safety and casualty history, the Coast Guard said. The agency noted a study by the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, which indicated that operating a substandard vessel is 14 percent less than operating a compliant vessel.
   Vessels that are found to be substandard are detained until deficiencies are corrected. Under the program, vessel detentions has dropped from 547 in 1997 to 193 in 2000.
   Comments on the Coast Guard's proposed changes are due to the Docket Management Facility by July 2. Comments sent to the Office of Management and Budget on collection of information must reach OMB by June 15. For more information, contact Mark Prescott, project manager, at (202) 267-0225, or Dorothy Beard, chief, dockets, U.S. Department of Transportation, (202) 366-5149.