Mariner Advocacy Group Encourages Formal Inspection Program For Tow Vessels
The National Mariners Association, a non-profit organization which describes its mission as improving the safety, health and social stability of American mariners, has released an update to its earlier report on the state of "inspection" requirements for domestic towing vessels. The report, entitled "Examination" of Towing Vessels Is Not "Inspection" - The Background Of The Towing Vessel "Bridging" Program, sets out the recent history of towing vessel safety regulations and enforcement and urges the final adoption of a mandatory inspection program.
The Association's report makes particular note of the United States Coast Guard's Cooperative Towing Vessel Examination Program (CTVEP), under which vessel owners could receive decals if their tow vessels passed Coast Guard examinations, and such vessels generally would not be boarded by Coast Guard personnel unless they later became involved in a serious accident or otherwise demonstrated a flagrant violation of law. According to the Association, however, the program never came to fruition as a widespread and effective means of safety improvement.
In July 2009, the Coast Guard announced its Towing Vessel Bridging Program (TVBP), which was adopted to ensure that the agency and the industry were prepared for impending new inspection requirements. According to the Association's report, this was, in essence, a revitalization of the CTVEP, under which vessel owners could arrange voluntary Coast Guard examinations. The current requirements for uninspected towing vessels are set out in a comprehensive Coast Guard publication.
Now, in keeping with § 701(c) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, which was signed into law on October 15, 2010, there is to be a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding inspection requirements for towing vessels, with a final rule issued no later than one year from the Act's date of enactment.
Although expressing skepticism about the Coast Guard's ability or willingness to timely achieve final adoption of formal inspection regulations through its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Association urges towing vessel officers to (1) ensure their compliance with existing regulations and (2) prepare for issuance of new inspection requirements.
As the Association notes, "All of the good practices the Coast Guard has suggested during their vessel examinations probably will be required by the new regulations."
Hopefully those efforts will result in a safer working environment for mariners aboard towing vessels, with attendant improved safety for those who live and work on the country's commercial waterways.
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