Washington Waves for August 30, 2024
Washington, D.C.—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced grants totaling $90 million to 200-plus applicants under the Port Security Grant Program for fiscal year 2024. One of six competitive grant programs covered by the DHS announcement, the port security grants help protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness, improve port-wide maritime security risk management and maintain or re-establish maritime security mitigation protocols that support port recovery and resiliency capabilities.
The awards range in size from a $6.5 million grant received by the New York City Police Department for the New York and New Jersey port area to a $4,010 grant received by the East Moline Police Department in Illinois for the Mid America-Quad Cities port area.
Totaling nearly $724 million, the amount for each grant program is set by Congress with allocations made by DHS through a competitive process.
MMC Fees
The Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy published CG-MMC Policy Letter 03-24 on a final rule providing for an exemption from fees associated with a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) application for active duty and selected reserve members of the uniformed services. The policy letter also includes expanding the ways mariners may use to document their eligibility for an MMC fee exemption.
The final rule and the policy letter take effect November 4, at which time CG-MMC Policy Letter 02-20, which provides for a waiver of fees associated with MMC applications, is cancelled. The policy letter is available at the Merchant Mariner Credentialing Policy Letter web page. For additional information, mariners and other interested parties should contact the Mariner Credentialing Program Policy Division at 202-372-2357 or MMCPolicy@uscg.mil.
Pilotage Rates
The Coast Guard announced a 15-day extension of the comment period on the Great Lakes Pilotage Rates—2025 Annual Review notice of proposed rulemaking, extending it until after the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee meeting on September 10.
“Participation in this meeting will allow stakeholders to better understand the issues at play and to submit more informed public comments,” the Coast Guard stated in the Federal Register on August 28.
Comments and related material now must be received by September 25. They may be submitted via Docket No. USCG-2024-0406 using www.regulations.gov.
For additional information, contact Commandant Brian Rogers, Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy-Great Lakes Pilotage Division, at 410-360-9260 or Brian.Rogers@uscg.mil.
Virtual Meeting
The National Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee is scheduled to conduct a virtual meeting September 11 to discuss matters relating to medical certification determinations for the issuance of licenses, certificates of registry and merchant mariners’ documents, medical standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of commercial vessel operators, medical examiner education and medical research. Open to the public, the meeting is set to begin at 9 a.m.
To join the virtual meeting or to request special accommodations, contact Pamela Moore at 202-372-1361 or pamela.j.moore@uscg.mil by 1 p.m. EDT on September 3 to obtain specific meeting information. The number of virtual lines is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To ensure comments are received before the virtual meeting, they should be submitted by September 3, preferably via https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. USCG-2024-0433.
Offshore Safety
The National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet in person along with the SEACOR POWER and Dynamic Positioning subcommittees September 17-18 in Spring, Texas, to discuss matters related to the exploration of offshore mineral and non-mineral energy resources that are within the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
Open to the public, the meetings will begin at 12:30 p.m. CDT September 17 for the SEACOR POWER Subcommittee and 2 p.m. for the Dynamic Positioning Subcommittee. On September 18, the full committee will meet at 8 a.m. All three meetings will be held at the American Bureau of Shipping Global Headquarters, 1701 City Place Dr., Spring, Texas. To ensure comments are reviewed by members before the meetings, they should be submitted no later than September 4, preferably at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. USCG-2024-0609. For additional information and to request accommodations due to a disability, contact Patrick Clark at 571-607-8236 or patrick.w.clark@uscg.mil.
TSAC Meeting
The National Towing Safety Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet in person along with four of its subcommittees September 24-25 in Portland, Maine, to discuss matters relating to shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway navigation and towing safety. All meetings will be open to the public and held at the AC Hotel Portland Downtown/Waterfront, 158 Fore Street.
On September 24, after the full committee is called to order at 8 a.m. EDT, the four subcommittees will meet beginning with the Rulemaking Improvements to Subchapter M subcommittee at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Statutory Information Requirements Within Accommodations Spaces on Merchant Vessels subcommittee at 9:30 a.m., the Master Key Control Requirements Aboard Merchant Vessels subcommittee at 10:30 a.m. and the MarAd Maritime Workforce Group Report on the Maritime Workforce subcommittee at 12:30 p.m. On September 25, the full committee will meet at 8 a.m. EDT.
To ensure comments are received before the meetings, they should be submitted by September 11, preferably at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. USCG 2024-0190. For additional information and to request accommodations due to a disability, contact Matthew Layman at 202-372-1421 or Matthew.D.Layman@uscg.mil as soon as possible.
Commercial Fishing
The National Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee is scheduled to conduct a series of meetings September 10-11 in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss and make recommendations on matters related to marine investigation cases and other relevant initiatives pertaining to commercial fishing vessels.
Open to the public, the meetings will begin at 9 a.m. AKDT on September 10 and 8 a.m. on September 11. They will be held at the William A. Eagan Civic & Convention Center, 555 W Fifth Ave., in Anchorage. To ensure comments are received before the meetings, they should be submitted by September 2, preferably at https://www.regulations Docket No. USCG-2024-0431. For additional information or to request accommodations due to a disability, contact Jonathan Wendland at 202-372-1245 or Jonathan.G.Wendland@uscg.mil as soon as possible.
