| Print | Close Window | AMO Currents - Posted: July 1, 2008 |
Coast Guard to begin enforcing requirement for non-tank vessel response plans Aug. 22
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 required that owners and operators of non-tank vessels operating in U.S. waters submit response plans for (1) a worst-case discharge and (2) a substantial threat of such a discharge of oil from their vessels by Aug. 9, 2005, according to the Coast Guard.
"Considering that some non-tank vessels still have not submitted a NTVRP to the Coast Guard and that the risks associated with oil spills from large non-tank vessels similar to the Nov. 7, 2007, COSCO BUSAN oil spill in San Francisco Bay, the Coast Guard will, effective Aug.22, 2008, begin actively enforcing the 2004 act by screening all non-tank vessels prior to their port arrival for the submission of NTVRPs," according to the Coast Guard.
"In an effort to devote our enforcement resources to those non-tank vessels that pose the greatest risk in the event of a worst case discharge, this interim enforcement policy will focus on those non-tank vessels of 1,600 gross tons or greater. For such vessels without a properly submitted plan, operational controls will be placed on the vessels by the Captains of the Port (COTP) under 33 CFR 160.111 issued under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act," according to the Coast Guard.
The requirement applies to any non-tank "self-propelled vessel of 400 gross tons or greater, which carries oil as fuel for main propulsion and operates on the navigable waters of the United States," according to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is accepting comments until July 23, 2008. The notice published in the Federal Register, complete with instructions for submitting comments, is available online.
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