The right to self-defense trumps the right of an employer to fire an at-will employee

The Volokh Conspiracy - -
I don't usually approve of lawyers interfering with private contracts; however, unless this guys agreement with 7-11 specifically said "thou shalt not interfere with a store robbery, even if failure to act will get you killed" and the employee knowledgeably signed the agreement, I think the courts got it right.

BP's fleet moves aimed at reducing risk of spills

From the Houston Chronicle:"BP is urging shipowners to meet tougher health and safety standards for their tankers, seeking to minimize the risk of an oil spill."Read it all

Presumably, BP will be somewhat more level headed than some regulatory agencies which I won't bother to name. Let's think analysis, risk-management, effectiveness...

Semester at sea operators sue University of Pittsburgh

UNIVERSITY AND SHIP OPERATORS CLASH ON ROGUE WAVE INCIDENT

A legal clash between the University of Pittsburgh and the operators of the Semester-at-Sea educational program over a rouge wave rolled into a Pennsylvania courtroom earlier this week. The Semester at Sea operators had launched a lawsuit against the university over the school's removal of its 24-year sponsorship. In defending its decision to abandon the cruise-based educational experience, the university cited substantial damage sustained to the EXPLORER in January when a rouge wave hit the ship during a storm off the US Pacific Northwest.

The university asserts that the school is concerned for student safety. On the other hand, the Semester-at-Sea operators counter that the program's vessels are as safe as any afloat and have been made even safer since the big wave hit the ship. That incident left the EXPLORER adrift for awhile in heavy seas. Preparing to begin this summer's voyage on June 17 from Halifax in Nova Scotia, the ship will have students from over 200 campuses aboard. It will boast reinforced bridge windows and an improved control system, and will avoid the area of the Pacific where the incident occurred. =

End of the day: would I permit my kids to sail on this ship? Answer: yes.

Something I didn't know from the LA Times: Who's Really Abusing the Koran?

Who's Really Abusing the Koran?: "All the headlines about 'Abuse of the Koran at Gitmo' are absolutely accurate. Brig. Gen. Jay Hood's internal investigation has uncovered some shocking incidents. On at least six occasions, Korans were ripped up. They were urinated on three times, and attempts were made to flush them down the toilet at least three other times.

Why aren't millions of Muslims rioting in response to these defilements? Because the perpetrators were prisoners, not guards. As John Hinderaker notes on weeklystandard.com, the most serious desecrations of the Koran at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility were committed by the Muslim inmates themselves."

SHIPPING COORDINATING COMMITTEE TO MEET IN PREPARATION OF IMO MEETING

The Shipping Coordinating Committee (SHC) will conduct an open meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2005, in Room 1303 of the United States Coast Guard Headquarters building, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the thirty-second session of the Facilitation Committee (FAL 32) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to be held from July 4 to 8, 2005, at IMO Headquarters in London, England.
The primary matters for discussion for FAL 32 will include the following:
* Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic.
* Consideration and adoption of proposed amendments to the Annex to the Convention.
* Electronic means for the clearance of ships.
* Application of the Committee's Guidelines.
* General review of the Convention including harmonization with other international instruments.
* Prevention and suppression of unlawful acts at sea or in port--Facilitation aspects.
* Prevention and control of illicit drug trafficking--Facilitation aspects.
* Measure to enhance maritime security--Facilitation aspects.
* Measures and procedures for the treatment of people rescued at sea--Facilitation aspects.
* Ship/port interface.
* Formalities connected with the arrival, stay and departure of ships.
* Formalities connected with the arrival, stay and departure of persons--Stowaways.
* Facilitation aspects of other IMO forms and certificates.
* Technical cooperation sub-program for facilitation.
Copies of documents associated with FAL 32 will not be available at this meeting. Documents will be available in Adobe Acrobat format on CD-ROM. To request documents, please contact David Du Pont via e-mail at DDuPont@comdt.uscg.mil or write to the address provided below.
Members of the public may attend this meeting up to the seating capacity of the room. Interested persons may seek information by writing to David Du Pont, Commandant (G-MSR), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Room 1400, Washington, DC 20593-0001 or by calling (202) 267-0971.

The IMO, from whence mischief comes.

A WWII Merchant Marine (or, if you prefer, Merchant Navy) Vet on Maritime day

"Even though it's not formally celebrated until Monday, Sunday is National Maritime Day.

It has become the most ignored national day, memorializing the country's most forgotten historical event and honoring the most ignored element of its military structure, the U.S. merchant marine.

Congress adopted the resolution creating the day on May 20, 1933, taking note of May 22, 1819, the day the steamer Savannah sailed from its home port on the first successful transoceanic voyage by steamship. President Franklin Roosevelt issued the proclamation.

Every succeeding president proclaimed it, and every succeeding generation ignored it.

It was easy to remember winning World War II but easy to forget the merchant marine, the logistical miracle that enabled the victory.

The merchant marine story is all about lessons learned on the cruel seas, of scandalous political treatment of its sailors after the war, of long-fought battles for recognition as veterans, and of a commitment as deep, and a risk at least as high, as any soldier's on any battlefield.

But the merchant marine was invisible."

Despite Mr. Felknor's ignorance of six of the seven maritime academies, you should read it all:Chicago Tribune | THE MERCHANT MARINE:

Base Realignment and Closure 2005 - BRAC (a/k/a BRAAAAKKKKKK)

Me auld stomping grounds in N'awlinz are on the chopping block. Back in the mists of time the Naval Air Reserve and Naval Surface Reserve were combined into a single HQ and moved to the congressional district of -- SURPRISE! -- Hale Boggs, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. BRAC will move Naval Reserve Forces Command (a/k/a Naval Reserve HQ) to Norfolk -- which is were the Fleet Forces Command hangs out.

Read it all:
Base Realignment and Closure 2005 - U.S. Department of Defense

WORLDWIDE THREAT TO SHIPPING (WWTTS)

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
CIVIL MARITIME ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT
WORLDWIDE THREAT TO SHIPPING
MARINER WARNING INFORMATION
--SNIP--
This Worldwide Threat to Shipping Report is ... also posted at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency site
http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/onit/onit_j_main.html.

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON PORT SECURITY

Yahoo! Mail - rgmcf@yahoo.com

A Mexican blueprint to rival US ports

"The driving force behind the proposal is the 'surprising and consistent' growth in Asian maritime cargo to North America, Mr Roel said."

The driving force behind this proposal might have just a little to do with the inability of western US ports to unclog themselves or to guarantee labor peace. Just possibly.

Anti-piracy current developments

1. STRAITS OF MALACCA: A 28 Apr Singapore press report states Indonesia and Singapore have agreed to step up efforts to protect the pirate infested Straits of Malacca through coordinated joint patrols of the waterways. Both sides have agreed to reaffirm their commitment to improve the safety of the waterway that borders
Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

A 26 Apr Malaysian press report states the Malaysian Navy wants all merchant ships that pass through the Straits of Malacca to use channel 6 to safeguard themselves from pirate attacks. A Malaysian Navy public relations officer explained the channel is to facilitate communications of merchant ships when entering the Straits of Malacca. He goes on to explain vessels need to provide their location to make monitoring easier for the military and that the use of channel 6 had been negotiated with the Singaporean and Indonesian
military (Local Media reports).

2. ASIA: The first four countries have signed the Japanese led Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) per 04 May message. Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos joined Japan last week in signing the ReCAAP agreement. The ReCAAP plans to establish and operate an Information Sharing Center, to be located in Singapore, with the goal of facilitating communication and information exchanges between the member countries, as well as improve the quality of statistics and reports on piracy and armed robbery
against ships in the region. The ReCAAP agreement also seeks to enhance capabilities of member countries to combat piracy and will enter into force 90 days after the 10th country signs up (LL).

The few, the proud, the ... Towing Safety Advisory Committee? TSAC?

COAST GUARD SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR TSAC
The Coast Guard is seeking applications for membership on the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). TSAC advises the Coast Guard on matters relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal waterway navigation and towing safety.
Application forms should reach us on or before May 27, 2005
You may request an application form by writing to
Commandant (G-MSO-1)
U.S. Coast Guard
2100 Second Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Or you may call (202) 267-0214; or fax (202) 267-4570.
Send your original completed and signed application in written form to the above street address. This notice is available on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov in docket USCG-2005-21002
and the application form is also available at
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/index.htm (click on “ACM Application'').
For further information contact: Mr. Gerald Miante; Assistant Executive Director of TSAC, telephone (202)267-0214, fax (202) 267-4570, or e-mail gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.

TSAC SETS MEETING FOR MAY 4-5

TSAC SETS MEETING FOR MAY 4-5
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) will meet to discuss matters relating to specific issues of towing safety. The meetings will be open to the public.
The Towing Vessel Inspection Working Group will meet on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Thursday, May 5, 2005 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meetings may close early if all business is finished.
Written material and requests to make oral presentations should reach the Coast Guard on or before April 27, 2005. Requests to have a copy of your material distributed to each member of the Working Group should reach the Coast
Guard on or before April 27, 2005.
The Working Group will meet at the Arlington Hilton, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22203. Send written material and requests to make oral presentations to Mr. Gerald Miante, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001. This notice and related documents are
available on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov under the docket number USCG-2005-21001.
For further information contact: Mr. Gerald Miante, Assistant Executive Director of TSAC, telephone 202-267-0214, fax 202-267-4570, or e-mail gmiante@comdt.uscg.mil.

Our brethern shield in danger's hour...

MARAD - Welcome to U.S. Maritime Administration
From John Jamian, Acting Maritime Administrator:
Memorial Day National Moment of Remembrance

As Acting Maritime Administrator, I encourage you to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance, taking one minute at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, to remember the sacrifices of America’s fallen, from the Revolutionary War to the present. This honors not only members of the Armed Services, but also the U.S. Merchant Marine and other civilians whose devotion has preserved and defended our heritage of freedom. Yes, I emphasized "Merchant Marine."

To which we append, amen.

What the hell's the ITF

MarEx Newsletter: "
ITF Gains Ten Percent Pay Increase for Seamen
On January 1, 2006, 'able seamen' will receive a rate increase of $1,550 per month, which equates to a ten percent increase. The concept of this benchmark increase was opposed by many shipowners who argue that there should not be a globally applied wage because of the socio-economic conditions in their home countries, most of whom come from developing areas. "
"ITF" is International Trade Federation, a critter of the United Nations. This wage raise has the effect of forcing 'just-barely-satisfactory' shipowners into the ranks of the unsatisfactory shipowners. Further, like all minimum wage schemes, it reduces hiring -- especially from the desparately improverished areas of the world.
BUT, this action completely fulfils the bureaucratic imperative: it's much more important to be seen doing something than it is to do something effective.

Go ahead, make my day....

Press report describes a private security firm providing armed escorts through the Straits of Malacca, 08 Apr. The Singapore based Background Asia Risk Solutions has its own armor plated vessel that accompanies boats anywhere between Sri Lanka and the South China Sea for around 50,000 US dollars a mission. The firm was established nine months ago and reports having provided 12 escort missions. The firm’s boat has yet to engage in any combat with pirates but states they have warned off several suspicious vessels by using loud hailers, flares, and spotlights.

Pound to a ruble, the retromingent pithecoids of the surrounding nations will try and put a stop to this. They won't protect the ships, but they will protect their sternframes.

Source: Informa Group, formerly LLP, Llp Limited, London

Billion bucks of floating steel

Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, Formerly Facing Closure, Signs $1 Billion Double-Hulled Tanker Deal;
OSG, Inc. agrees to long-term charter.
Former President Bill Clinton Delivers Keynote Remarks At Shipyard
Oh, yeah. The kind of people that buy/borrow/operate tankers are likely to be really impressed by the running mate of the author of Earth in the Balance.

The team that rescued Kvaerner’s Philadelphia Shipyard (KPSI) from closure in 2001 today announced a $1 Billion, 10 double-hulled tanker deal and the formation of a new wholly-owned, U.S.-based subsidiary that will charter the environmentally-sound ships in the growing Jones Act domestic shipping market. The ships will be chartered for at least five years at a cost of more than $500 Million after delivery to Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE:OSG) for service in the Jones Act domestic shipping market.
A ceremonial contract-signing was held in the heart of the shipyard along the Delaware River. It was attended by more than 1,000 workers, customers, suppliers, and friends of the Yard, including former President Bill Clinton, who served as the keynote speaker. He signed into law the 1993 National Shipbuilding Initiative that mightily helped a struggling American maritime industry through streamlining regulations and a $220 million new technology support package. President Clinton said he was proud to play a role in the successful, bi-partisan public-private partnership that set the stage for the shipyard revitalization.“I never lost faith in the American shipbuilding industry and neither did so many of our public servants, workers and private businesses,” said President Clinton. “I salute the men and women of Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard for showing all of us once again that it is possible to achieve great things even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Today’s announcement is good news for the workers here, for America’s maritime industry and for the environment.” On the site of America’s first naval base, completely rebuilt by Kvaerner to world-class specifications, company officials were also joined by Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor John F. Street, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon, and numerous other local, state, and federal government officials who came together under the red-white-and-blue banner, “Building the Future”. There were several major positive announcements for the region and America’s commercial shipbuilding industry. These included:• Kick off a new, five-year, 10-ship (plus an option for two additional vessels), $1 Billion Product Tanker Program, believed to be the largest of its kind in American commercial shipbuilding. KPSI will build efficient, cleaner-burning, environmentally sound double-hulled tankers for the domestic Jones Act market. The leading-edge ship design is being provided through an exclusive, five-year agreement with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The order, which includes an option for two additional tankers, calls for the fist delivery in 2006 and order completion by 2010. • Formation of ASC (American Shipping, Inc.) as part of Kvaerner ASA, which will in turn own KPSI and charter the new tankers to domestic customers, including major oil and chemical producers and suppliers. Brad Mulholland, the former President of Matson Navigation Company, Inc is serving as CEO of the new subsidiary. He said the new, MT-46 Veteran Class, 46,000 dwt tankers will be among the most efficient tankers ever built• ASC’s first new customer, pending the approval of both company boards of directors, is OSG, the second largest publicly listed tanker owner in the world (measured by number of vessels.) Its fleet totals 99 and with this charter, it would be doubling the size of its Jones Act fleet. • News that the turnaround initiated in December 2001, under Kvaerner’s new management, headed by Mr. Røkke, is succeeding. He rebuked previous management plans to close the yard and focused significant energy and resources on building a stable future supported by steadily increasing efficiency and productivity, KPSI recently declared its first annual profit for calendar year 2004 It has sold its first four ships to Matson with two ships in service and reporting excellent results. The next KPSI-built Matson container vessel is scheduled to be christened May 21.• Start of construction of a new permanent office building on the KPSI site replacing temporary trailer offices the company has occupied since acquiring the facility in 1997. This is another tangible sign that KPSI is “here and here to stay.”Mr. Røkke, the self-made industrialist who believed from the outset that the Philadelphia yard could aggressively compete in the Jones Act market, thanked President Clinton for his contributions to the American maritime industry and to the health and safety of the world. He praised the shipyard’s tireless supporters and the dedication and determination of shipyard workers and the job they are doing to make Kvaerner Philadelphia a more efficient – and profitable – business.“I am proud to be able to show how well the people at the yard have stood up to the challenge of turning this Navy yard into the most competitive yard in the Jones Act market”, he said. “Based on the foundation of bold political decisions in the 1990s, a committed work force now produces great ships, built efficiently and with love and care. I lived and worked in the United States for 15 years, and I know this is a can-do country. We have proven that we are the can-do shipyard in the United States.”Gov. Rendell, who as Mayor of Philadelphia, helped attract Kvaerner to the city and forge a landmark public-private economic development partnership said, “Thousands of jobs have been created and are continuing to be created through our joint efforts. With the help of so many elected officials, including my predecessor, Gov. Ridge, and countless others, Kvaerner Philadelphia stands as a model to the rest of America of how you can transform a former military base into a successful major employer and economic engine that benefits not just one region, but an entire nation.”The Governor noted that more than 140 KPSI workers were rehired and retrained after they lost their jobs in the Naval Shipyard closing.“The proposed bareboat charters of ten newbuild Jones Act product tankers by subsidiaries of OSG represent a significant commitment,” said Morten Arntzen, President & CEO of OSG. “For the Jones Act fleet to grow, it will require yards like KPSI and shipping companies like OSG that are committed to quality and willing to think and act creatively and boldly. The ten ship program is OSG’s first giant step to building a world-class U.S. flag shipping business.”David Meehan, Kvaerner Philadelphia’s CEO, and a Pennsylvania native, said, “This is a proud moment for us as a company that is building the highest quality ships our nation’s maritime economy depends on”. He said while performance and productivity are continually improving, the KPSI team recognizes they are in a fiercely competitive market place. “In this business you are only as good as the next ship you build so we strive for continuous improvement in every area, from productivity to profitability.” Meehan also noted that the new fleet of tankers meets the international standards for double-hulled tankers which must be in service by 2015, replacing an aging fleet of single-hulled tankers. He said the disastrous crude oil spill from a single-hull tanker in the Delaware River last year is a stark reminder to his team of the vital need for their new ships.He also praised the contributions of Manny Stamatakis, the former Chair of the Delaware River Port Corporation (DRPA), and now Chair of the Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation (PSDC) and others who have worked to preserve and promote the highest standards of shipbuilding at the Kvaerner yard. About Kjell Inge RøkkeMr. Rokke, the Main Shareholder of Kvaerner ASA, is an entrepreneur, an industrialist, and an internationalist. His career in business began in 1982 in Seattle, Washington, with the purchase of a fishing trawler and that led to his building a network of leading worldwide fisheries. A builder of businesses in diverse sectors, ranging from shipbuilding to materials handling, he has invested significantly in the United States and Norway. His business interests include the Aker Group, Norway’s largest employer in the private sector and Kvaerner, the parent company of both KPSI and newly-formed ASC. The Aker Group is a global technology and service provider to the oil, gas energy and process industries, the fifth largest shipbuilding group in the world, and one of Europe’s leading providers of fresh fish to consumer markets.

© Kværner ASA - Fjordallèen 16, P.O.Box 1423 Vika, N-0115 OSLO, Tel +47 24 13 00 00 Disclaimer

Another eternal truth unveiled

Quoted in Government Computer News:
Senator Richard Shelby: "Given the amount of information agencies collect, [having] Chief Privacy Officers makes sense."
Congresscritter Tom Davis: "The Shelby legislation contradicts existing infomation policy currently executed by the CIOs."

Eternal Truth: The validity of a statement is inversely proportional to the amount of bureaucratese in the statement.

Pirates sail Indonesian seas after tsunami

The pirates, believed by analysts to be part of a northern Indonesian crime syndicate, emerged just after operations wound down by more than a dozen foreign navies deployed to Indonesia's northern Aceh province at the peak of the tsunami relief effort.
The good old days when pirates were hung by the first law enforcement agency to lay their hands on them are, alas, gone.
A string of bold attacks by armed bandits in the Malacca Strait is stoking fears of a new wave of sea piracy in one of the world's busiest waterways, fueled by desperation in tsunami-ravaged northern Indonesia.

The three attacks in two weeks bore the trademark style of pirates who have stalked the strait for decades: grappling hooks were hurled as the bandits clambered aboard, abducting crew at gun point and then vanishing in speedboats, demanding ransom.

"It's going to get worse because the money from piracy is so good," said the managing director of a Singapore shipping company whose ships have been ransacked by bandits in the past and who has negotiated with pirates for the release of abducted crew.

"All they have to do is pirate three or four vessels a month. Each averages about $100,000 for them, so they can bring about $4 million a year. That's a lot of money and they can well afford to pay people off," said the shipper, who declined to be identified.

The latest hits were bolder than most of the attacks of 2004 and shattered two months' of peace in the strait, through which pass about a quarter of global trade and nearly all oil imports for Japan and China, since the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami.

"Clearly the tsunami effect was to stop activity but now it's resuming and it's mainly criminal elements based on the east coast of Indonesia," said Clive Williams of the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University.

Three attacks in two weeks
The International Maritime Bureau's Southeast Asian piracy reporting center in Malaysia got first word of the attacks on Feb. 28 when bandits wielding machine guns ransacked a tugboat in Malaysian waters and shot its chief engineer in the leg before abducting its captain and chief officer for ransom.

Twelve days later, gunmen armed with rocket launchers stormed a fully laden chemical tanker, briefly taking control of the ship before making off with the captain and chief engineer. They were held until a ransom was paid, a regional maritime official said. Within 48 hours, 10 bandits speaking in an Indonesian dialect fired at a Japanese tugboat before boarding the ship in northern Malaysia and abducting two Japanese crew and a Filipino. They were later freed after an apparent ransom was paid.
© EITB24 - 2005

David Shirlaw
Editor SeaWaves Magazine
http://www.blogger.com/www.seawaves.com
(TEL) 604-924-5401 (FAX) 604-924-5403

USCG PROPOSING TO MAKE PERMANENT ’94 SUSPENSION OF THE CRASH STOP REQUIREMENTS IN TANKER ESCORT RULES

The Coast Guard is proposing to make permanent the 1994 suspension of their crash stop requirements in tanker escort rules. Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before June 27, 2005. You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number USCG-2003-14734 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one of the following methods:
(1) Website: http://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (202) 366-9329.
(5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
If you have questions on this proposed rule, call Lieutenant Sam Stevens, G-MSE-1, telephone (202) 267-0173, e-mail: SStevens@comdt.uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2003-14734), indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period. We may change this proposed rule in view of them.
Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Background
This rulemaking addresses ``unfinished business'' from 1994. In 1994, we published the final rule entitled Escort Vessels for Certain Tankers under docket number CGD 91-202, which adopted 33 CFR part 168 (57 FR 30058, Aug. 19, 1994). The rule drew on a study to determine the capabilities of escort vessels to control disabled tankers. The study was published in two parts (59 FR 1411, Jan. 10, 1994; 60 FR 6345, Feb. 1, 1995). Preliminary data for the second study became available after publication of the final rule, but before the rule took effect. This preliminary data indicated that it might be dangerous to implement the final rule's crash stop provision, 33 CFR 168.50(b)(2). Therefore, on November 1, 1994 (59 FR 54519), we suspended the crash stop provision before it could take effect with the other provisions of part 168. No further action was taken with respect to the crash stop provision, and it remains suspended today.
As long as the crash stop provision's suspension remains in effect, we must continue to report the CGD 91-202 rulemaking on the Uniform Regulatory Agenda of the United States, the Federal Government's official list of ongoing regulatory projects. CGD 91-202 appears in the most recent edition of the Agenda at 69 FR 73240 (Dec. 13, 2004). Twice each year, the Coast Guard spends valuable administrative time maintaining its Uniform Regulatory Agenda reports, whether or not a reported project is active.
For the reasons given under “Removal of Crash Stop Provision,” the Coast Guard maintains the position it first adopted in 1994, that the crash stop provision should not be implemented. Therefore, it is the Coast Guard position that the crash stop provision's 1994 suspension should be made permanent, thereby allowing us to complete the CGD 91-202 rulemaking.
Since 1998, the Coast Guard has used the Department of Transportation's Docket Management System (DMS) to make its rulemaking documents widely available to the public. DMS assigns unique docket numbers to each rulemaking, and the format of those docket numbers is not compatible with the Coast Guard's pre-1998 conventions for numbering dockets. Therefore, if we are ever to complete CGD 91-202 in a way that makes our actions visible to the public through DMS, we must complete it under a new, DMS-compatible docket number. For that reason, we opened the current rulemaking under DMS docket number USCG-2003-14734. In essence, when we complete USCG-2003-14734, we will also complete CGD 91-202.