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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Federal Decision Making Portal at https www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to https www.regulations.gov, type USCG20200492 in the search box and click Search. Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. If you cannot submit your material by using https
www.regulations.gov, call or email the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this proposed rule for alternate instructions.
Viewing material in docket. To view documents mentioned in this proposed rule as being available in the docket, find the docket as described in the previous paragraph, and then select Supporting & Related Material in the Document Type column. Public comments will also be placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the https
www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked Questions web page. We review all comments received, but we will only post comments that address the topic of the proposed rule. We may choose not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive.
Personal information. We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to https www.regulations.gov will include any personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions to the docket in response to this document, see DHSs eRulemaking System of Records notice 85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020.
Public meeting. We do not plan to hold a public meeting, but we will consider doing so if we determine from public comments that a meeting would be helpful. We would issue a separate Federal Register notice to announce the date, time, and location of such a meeting.

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II. Abbreviations BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics CFR Code of Federal Regulations DHS Department of Homeland Security FR Federal Register GT Gross tonnage GRT Gross register tons MERPAC Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee MMC Merchant Mariner Credential MMLD Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation NAICS North American Industry Classification System NMC National Maritime Center NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking NVIC Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular OMB Office of Management and Budget OPM Office of Personnel Management Section SME Subject Matter Expert
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STCW Convention International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as Amended STCW Code Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, as Amended TSAC Towing Safety Advisory Committee U.S.C. United States Code
III. Basis and Purpose The legal basis of this proposed rule is title 46 of the United States Code U.S.C. section 7101, which authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security DHS to establish the experience and professional qualifications required for the issuance of merchant mariner credentials with officer endorsements. The DHS
Secretary has delegated the rulemaking authority under 46 U.S.C. 7101 to the Coast Guard through DHS Delegation No. 0170.192e. Additionally, 14
U.S.C. 1023 grants the Coast Guard broad authority to promulgate and enforce regulations for the promotion of safety of life and property on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, which includes establishing the experience and professional qualifications required for the issuance of credentials.
The purpose of this proposed rule is to revise title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR, 11.201h3 to provide mariners seeking a national officer endorsement as master of towing vessels limited 1 or mate pilot 2 of towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers routes the option to take a modified basic firefighting course instead of a basic firefighting course.
The modified basic firefighting course eliminates training on equipment that is not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western Rivers.3 This proposed change would apply to applicants for national Merchant Mariner Credential MMC
endorsements as master of towing vessels limited and mate pilot of 1 An endorsement as a master of towing vessels limited authorizes service as a master the person in command of the vessel to work on a towing vessel in a limited local area within inland waters or Western Rivers e.g., master of towing vessels limited restricted to the Lower Mississippi River mile marker 775.0 to mile marker 850.0.
2 Mate means a qualified deck officer other than the master. On towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers, pilot also refers to a qualified deck officer other than the master. The terms mate and pilot refer to the same position on the vessel and usage varies based on company and regional preference.
3 Throughout this NPRM, the term modified basic firefighting course describes the basic firefighting course required by 46 CFR 11.201h3 modified to eliminate training on equipment that is not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western Rivers routes.

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towing vessels. Mariners seeking an endorsement as master of towing vessels would have had to complete firefighting training when they obtained one of the endorsements that are a prerequisite to qualifying for master of towing vessels.
Mariners who will not be working solely on Western Rivers or inland waters other than the Great Lakes would need to complete a basic firefighting course and not the modified basic firefighting course.
IV. Background Coast Guard regulations in 46 CFR
part 11, subpart B, contain the general merchant mariner credentialing requirements for national and International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as Amended STCW Convention officer endorsements. Currently, 46 CFR
11.201h3ii requires mariners seeking national officer endorsements as master or mate pilot of towing vessels on routes other than oceans 4 to complete a Coast Guard-approved firefighting course that meets the basic firefighting training requirements in Regulation VI/1 of the STCW
Convention and Table AVI/12 5 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, as Amended STCW Code. This requirement was implemented by the Coast Guard through the December 24, 2013 final rule titled, Implementation of the Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to National Endorsements. 78 FR 77795.
Prior to the 2013 final rule, there had not been a requirement to complete firefighting training to obtain a national endorsement for master or mate pilot of towing vessels in services other than oceans.6 The Coast Guard included this requirement in 2013 to improve overall safety by requiring basic firefighting training. Basic firefighting training ensures that mariners have the skills to contain small fires before they can spread, leading to injury, death, 4 For the purposes of this NPRM, we refer to routes other than oceans as near-coastal, Great Lakes, inland waters, and Western Rivers.
5 Regulation VI/1 and Regulation VI/3 of the STCW Convention provides two levels of firefighting training, basic and advanced. The competence requirements for basic firefighting are contained in Table AVI/12 of the STCW Code and the competence requirements for advanced firefighting are found in Table AVI/3 of the STCW
Code.
6 Completion of an approved basic and advanced firefighting course for towing vessel endorsements on ocean routes has been a requirement for several decades.

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