The US Coast Guard (USCG) has proposed a rule change which will require foreign flagged vessels to meet the same marine casualty reporting requirements as US flagged vessels when operating on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Foreign flagged vessels including Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU) operating on the US OCS must report casualties to the USCG involving death, injury to five or more persons in a single incident or the incapacitation of any person for more than 72 hours (33 CFR. 146.303).
There are broader reporting requirements for any marine casualty that “occurs upon the navigable waters of the US, its territories or possessions” or that involves “any US vessel wherever such casualty or accident occurs” (46 CFR. 4.03-1(a)) as they must be reported to the USCG if they involve grounding, allision, loss of propulsion, material impact to the vessel’s seaworthiness, loss of life, injury requiring professional medical treatment, property damage in excess of $25,000 or significant harm to the environment (46 CFR part 4).
The navigable waters of the US includes its territorial and internal waters but does not cover the OCS. This means that foreign flagged vessels currently operating on the US OCS are exempt from the broader reporting requirements. However the proposed rule change means that foreign flagged vessels will be subject to the same reporting requirements as US flagged vessels.
This rule change was prompted by a recommendation made by the USCG following the Deepwater Horizon incident. In 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon (a foreign flagged MODU) operating in the Gulf of Mexcio on the US OCS, led to fire, the sinking of the MODU, 11 deaths and the largest oil spill in US history. Whilst the incident was being investigated it was discovered that the Deepwater Horizon had two separate incidents in 2008 involving flooding and total loss of power that were not reported to the USCG because it was a foreign flagged MODU.
The USCG investigators concluded that had the 2008 incidents been investigated, important contributing factors in the 2010 disaster could have been brought to light and remedied. They recommended that marine casualty reporting requirements for foreign flagged MODU’s operating on the US OCS should be revised to make them consistent with the reporting requirements for US flagged MODUs.
Comments can be made regarding this proposed regulatory change to the US Federal Government until 10 April 2014.
Foreign flagged vessels including Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU) operating on the US OCS must report casualties to the USCG involving death, injury to five or more persons in a single incident or the incapacitation of any person for more than 72 hours (33 CFR. 146.303).
There are broader reporting requirements for any marine casualty that “occurs upon the navigable waters of the US, its territories or possessions” or that involves “any US vessel wherever such casualty or accident occurs” (46 CFR. 4.03-1(a)) as they must be reported to the USCG if they involve grounding, allision, loss of propulsion, material impact to the vessel’s seaworthiness, loss of life, injury requiring professional medical treatment, property damage in excess of $25,000 or significant harm to the environment (46 CFR part 4).
The navigable waters of the US includes its territorial and internal waters but does not cover the OCS. This means that foreign flagged vessels currently operating on the US OCS are exempt from the broader reporting requirements. However the proposed rule change means that foreign flagged vessels will be subject to the same reporting requirements as US flagged vessels.
This rule change was prompted by a recommendation made by the USCG following the Deepwater Horizon incident. In 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon (a foreign flagged MODU) operating in the Gulf of Mexcio on the US OCS, led to fire, the sinking of the MODU, 11 deaths and the largest oil spill in US history. Whilst the incident was being investigated it was discovered that the Deepwater Horizon had two separate incidents in 2008 involving flooding and total loss of power that were not reported to the USCG because it was a foreign flagged MODU.
The USCG investigators concluded that had the 2008 incidents been investigated, important contributing factors in the 2010 disaster could have been brought to light and remedied. They recommended that marine casualty reporting requirements for foreign flagged MODU’s operating on the US OCS should be revised to make them consistent with the reporting requirements for US flagged MODUs.
Comments can be made regarding this proposed regulatory change to the US Federal Government until 10 April 2014.
