West Building News

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced the extension of the period for the public to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed SPOT Terminal Services, LLC deepwater port facility. The comment period was initially scheduled to end on March 23, 2020, but is now extended 30-days from the publication date of this Federal Register notice published on Friday, May 1, 2020.Due to the nationwide impacts of COVID-19 and the associated social distancing protocols, MARAD and the U.S. Coast Guard determined that the impact of these protocols have affected the public’s ability to assemble and provide feedback on the SPOT DEIS.

Construction of the third cruise terminal in Hamburg commenced July 4 with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony. And in less than a month, the biggest cruise ceremony will take place on the river Elbe, the fourth edition of the Hamburg Cruise Days, taking place August 1-3. The month of August will see in total 43 cruise calls. Surface construction work on the site of Hamburg’s third cruise terminal at the Kronprinzkai quay in Steinwerder officially commenced last Friday, July 4, with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony.

The US Coast Guard (USCG) inform it has extended the comment period related to proposed new measures to reduce the risks of oil spills in oil transfer operations from or to a tank vessel. The original deadline for feedback to be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov by 22, November 2013 has now been extended until 30, December 2013. The Coast Guard earlier announced that it is considering new measures to reduce the risks of oil spills in oil transfer operations from or to a tank vessel, and requests public input on measures that can be implemented to reduce these risks. The Coast Guard may use that input to inform future rulemaking efforts. (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. (2) Fax: 202–493–2251.

The Maritime Administration is proposing that organizations seeking to have their cruise vessel security and safety training programs certified by MARAD may voluntarily submit their programs for review and approval by the MARAD Administrator. The proposed policy is in keeping with the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010, and may be viewed in the Federal Register at (LINK). Comments may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-12300 or by mailing or hand delivering comments to: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, D.C., 20590.

Guidance Regarding Inspection and Certification of Vessels Under the Maritime Security Program; A Notice by the Coast Guard on 02/28/2013. Dates: NVIC 01-13 is effective as of February 28, 2013. Action: Notice of availability. The Coast Guard announces the availability of Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-13, “Inspection and Certification of Vessels Under the Maritime Security Program (MSP).” The MSP serves as a means for establishing a fleet of commercially viable and militarily useful vessels to meet national defense as well as other security requirements. NVIC 01-13 sets forth the Coast Guard's policies and procedures regarding the inspection and certification of vessels under the MSP.

The Coast Guard is currently seeking input from the public to evaluate the need for establishing vessel routing measures in the Bering Strait. The port access route study will assess whether the creation of a vessel routing system is advisable to increase the predictability of vessel movements which may decrease the potential for collisions, oil spills and other events that could threaten the marine environment. Since 2007’s record minimum for summer ice cover in the Arctic, international attention has been focused on the region and its potential accessibility for shipping and natural gas exploration. The Coast Guard is encouraging comments in order to ensure that the concerns of all interested parties are considered.