SHIPPING COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS SCHEDULED

SHIPPING COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS SCHEDULED    The U.S. State Department’s Shipping Coordinating Committee has scheduled several meetings this fall to help prepare the country’s positions on various international maritime safety and environmental conventions.
   On Sept. 6, the committee will meet at the Transportation Department headquarters in Washington to prepare for the Sixth Session of the International Maritime Organization Subcommittee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue, which is scheduled for Feb. 18-22 at the IMO’s headquarters in London.
   Topics under consideration at this committee meeting will be maritime safety information for the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); NAVTEX (Navigational Text) display methods; bridge and bridge communications; GMDSS false alerts; positions for the International Telecommunications Union World Radio Conference 2003; and other new technologies. Other meetings on these topics are scheduled for Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, and Jan. 3.
   For more information about this meeting, contact Russel Levin, of the Coast Guard at (202) 267-1389.
   On Sept. 20, the Shipping Coordinating Committee will hold a meeting at Coast Guard headquarters regarding the U.S. positions on the draft International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems to be considered at the International Conference on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems for Ships, which will be held at the IMO in London on Oct. 1-5.
   For more information about this meeting, contact the Coast Guard’s Environmental Standards Division at (202) 267-0713.