Posted:
December 20, 2012
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (H.R. 2838) - legislation containing provisions beneficial to U.S. merchant mariners and the American maritime industry - is awaiting the signature of the President after being approved by the House of Representatives and Senate earlier this month.
H.R. 2838, among other things, would mandate greater transparency in the process used in issuing waivers of U.S. navigation or vessel-inspection laws, which include the Jones Act. It would also authorize reimbursement of vessel owners or operators for the cost of hiring security teams for U.S.-flagged vessels transiting piracy-prone waters while carrying U.S. government-impelled cargoes. The legislation would require an easing of the travel burden on those requiring a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), and would allow for the extension of medical certificates issued to merchant mariners.
The legislation awaiting approval by the President does not include a provision that would have undercut a key U.S. cabotage law by allowing foreign-flagged cruise ships to operate directly between islands in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This provision was included in an earlier version of the bill but was later removed.
Waiver process: Prior to the issuance of a waiver to U.S. navigation or vessel-inspection laws, which include the Jones Act, by Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, H.R. 2838 would require the Maritime Administration to identify any actions that could be taken to enable qualified U.S.-flagged capacity to meet national defense requirements, and to publish determinations on the Department of Transportation website. Additionally, any request for such a waiver, as well as the issuance of any such waiver, would have to be reported to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Piracy: For the protection against piracy of U.S.-flagged vessels and crews carrying U.S. government-impelled cargoes through high-risk waters, H.R. 2838 would direct federal agencies "to reimburse, subject to the availability of appropriations, the owners or operators of applicable vessels for the cost of providing armed personnel."
TWIC program: H.R. 2838 would require, in no later than 270 days, the Department of Homeland Security to "reform the process for Transportation Worker Identification Credential enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal to require, in total, not more than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center except in cases in which there are extenuating circumstances" that would require "more than one such in-person visit."
Medical certificates: H.R. 2838 would grant the Coast Guard authority to extend for up to one year a medical certificate issued to a merchant mariner if necessary to enable the agency to eliminate a backlog in processing applications for medical certificates or in the event of a national emergency or natural disaster.
Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act includes provisions to bolster U.S. merchant marine
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (H.R. 2838) - legislation containing provisions beneficial to U.S. merchant mariners and the American maritime industry - is awaiting the signature of the President after being approved by the House of Representatives and Senate earlier this month.
H.R. 2838, among other things, would mandate greater transparency in the process used in issuing waivers of U.S. navigation or vessel-inspection laws, which include the Jones Act. It would also authorize reimbursement of vessel owners or operators for the cost of hiring security teams for U.S.-flagged vessels transiting piracy-prone waters while carrying U.S. government-impelled cargoes. The legislation would require an easing of the travel burden on those requiring a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), and would allow for the extension of medical certificates issued to merchant mariners.
The legislation awaiting approval by the President does not include a provision that would have undercut a key U.S. cabotage law by allowing foreign-flagged cruise ships to operate directly between islands in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This provision was included in an earlier version of the bill but was later removed.
Waiver process: Prior to the issuance of a waiver to U.S. navigation or vessel-inspection laws, which include the Jones Act, by Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, H.R. 2838 would require the Maritime Administration to identify any actions that could be taken to enable qualified U.S.-flagged capacity to meet national defense requirements, and to publish determinations on the Department of Transportation website. Additionally, any request for such a waiver, as well as the issuance of any such waiver, would have to be reported to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Piracy: For the protection against piracy of U.S.-flagged vessels and crews carrying U.S. government-impelled cargoes through high-risk waters, H.R. 2838 would direct federal agencies "to reimburse, subject to the availability of appropriations, the owners or operators of applicable vessels for the cost of providing armed personnel."
TWIC program: H.R. 2838 would require, in no later than 270 days, the Department of Homeland Security to "reform the process for Transportation Worker Identification Credential enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal to require, in total, not more than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center except in cases in which there are extenuating circumstances" that would require "more than one such in-person visit."
Medical certificates: H.R. 2838 would grant the Coast Guard authority to extend for up to one year a medical certificate issued to a merchant mariner if necessary to enable the agency to eliminate a backlog in processing applications for medical certificates or in the event of a national emergency or natural disaster.