Notice of Availability of Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 01-16 Change 2-Use of Electronic Charts and Publications in Lieu of Paper Charts, Maps and Publications
| Citation | 84 FR 49545 |
| Record Number | 2019-20430 |
| Published date | 20 September 2019 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Coast Guard,Homeland Security Department |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49545-49546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20430]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2019-0346]
Notice of Availability of Navigation and Vessel Inspection
Circular 01-16 Change 2--Use of Electronic Charts and Publications in
Lieu of Paper Charts, Maps and Publications
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of Navigation and
Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-16 Change 2 together with a
Deregulatory Savings Analysis. This NVIC provides that U.S. vessels may
access navigation publications electronically, through underway
connectivity, to meet domestic carriage and Safety of Life at Sea
certification requirements.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast
Guard on or before November 4, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2019-0346 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please address questions or feedback
concerning this policy to George H. Detweiler, Office of Navigation
Systems, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1566, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 49546]]
Public Participation and Request for Comments
The Coast Guard views public participation as essential to making
effective policy, and will consider all comments and material received
during the comment period. Your comment can help shape the final form
of this policy. If you submit a comment, please include the docket
number for this notice, indicate the specific section of the document
to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion
or recommendation.
We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. If you cannot submit your
material by using https://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this proposed rule for
alternate instructions. Documents mentioned in this proposed rule, and
all public comments, will be available in our online docket at https://www.regulations.gov, and can be viewed by following that website's
instructions. Additionally, if you visit the online docket and sign up
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted or if a
final rule is published.
We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the
docket, visit https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice.
Discussion
Navigation publications have always been a principal source of
voyage planning information. Mariners researched books of tide tables,
the United States Coast Pilot, local notices to mariners, and other
information sources to glean relevant information for a particular
transit. Although such publications have historically been required to
be kept on board a vessel, the Coast Guard has formally recognized that
a mariner engaged in voyage planning might not need an entire
publication at all times.\1\ Since 2010, the Coast Guard has allowed
U.S. vessels to carry certain navigation publications electronically to
meet U.S. domestic regulations and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
certificate requirements. This is an acceptance of common industry
practice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 33 CFR 164.33 and 164.72 and 46 CFR 26.03-4, 28.225, 78.05-
5, 97.05-5, 109.565, 121.420, 130.330, 140.705, 184.420, and 196.05-
5 allow for an ``applicable currently corrected extract.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to recommendations from the Navigation Safety Advisory
Council and the public, the Coast Guard is updating its policy on
electronic carriage of the Inland Navigation Rules and electronic
publications in general. Currently, the Coast Guard, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency are providing marine safety information in an
updated electronic format, some of which is now graphical and
geographically selectable. Electronic devices (both hardware and
software) have improved such that a mariner can efficiently access
navigation publications when needed.
Furthermore, the Coast Guard recognizes that the maritime industry
and mariners in general have made substantial investments to ensure
vessels maintain internet connectivity, even while underway. Because
mariners use navigation publications primarily for voyage planning
purposes, the Coast Guard sees no safety barriers preventing vessels
from accessing required navigation information via the internet on an
as-needed basis, versus keeping a publication or extract onboard. To
encourage the use of electronic voyage planning products, the Coast
Guard is allowing vessels to meet the publication requirements via
internet access.
Therefore, Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-16
Change 1 is revised to allow publications required by 33 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 83, 161, and 164 and various parts of
Title 46 CFR and SOLAS Chapter V regulation 27 to be accessed via web
services. If a mariner uses this NVIC for a publication that must be
available as a ``ready reference'', as cited in 33 CFR parts 83 and
161, the publication must be displayable within 2 minutes.
The Coast Guard has prepared a Deregulatory Savings Analysis for
NVIC 01-16 Change 2 that identifies and examines the potential costs
and cost savings associated with implementing the new equivalency
determination for carriage. This Deregulatory Savings Analysis is
available in the docket. We request your comments on any concerns that
you may have related to these policy changes or the economic analysis
thereof.
NVIC 01-16 is not a substitute for applicable legal requirements,
nor is it itself a rule.
This Notice is published under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552.
Dated: September 17, 2019.
R.V. Timme,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Prevention
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-20430 Filed 9-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
