Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2021 / Notices 355 

3 $18,105 per fund × 10,536 fund = $190,754,280. 

Commission estimates that the annual 

cost burden is approximately $18,105 

per fund, for a total annual cost burden 

of approximately $190,754,280.3

Estimates of average burden hours are 

made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act and are not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules and forms. 

Under rule 498, use of the Summary 

Prospectus is voluntary, but the rule’s 

requirements regarding provision of the 

statutory prospectus upon investor 

request are mandatory for funds that 

elect to send or give a Summary 

Prospectus in reliance upon rule 498. 

The information provided under rule 

498 will not be kept confidential. An 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and 

a person is not required to respond to, 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

Whether the collections of information 

are necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information has practical utility; (b) the 

accuracy of the Commission’s estimate 

of the burdens of the collections of 

information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and (d) ways to 

minimize the burdens of the collections 

of information on respondents, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Consideration 

will be given to comments and 

suggestions submitted in writing within 

60 days of this publication. 

Please direct your written comments 

to David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, C/O Cynthia 

Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549; or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

December 29, 2020. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–29155 Filed 1–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket Number MARAD–2020–0175] 

Request for Applications To Be 

Considered for Enrollment in the Cable 

Security Fleet 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of application period for 

the cable security fleet program. 

SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration 

(MARAD) requests applications from 

owners and/or operators of eligible 

vessels to enroll such vessels in the 

Cable Security Fleet (CSF). The CSF 

Program is a newly-authorized program 

intended to maintain a fleet of active, 

commercially viable, privately owned 

United States-flag cable vessels to meet 

national security requirements and to 

maintain a United States presence in the 

international submarine cable services 

market. The CSF will consist of two 

vessels. This Notice describes, among 

other things, statutory requirements to 

apply and to participate in the CSF, 

recommendations as to the form and 

substance of applications, and a 

deadline for submitting applications for 

vessel enrollment in the CSF program. 

The Maritime Administration will 

negotiate agreements ready for 

execution with the successful 

applicants. 

DATES: Applications to enroll vessels 

into the CSF should be made by 

February 4, 2021. Applications should 

be submitted to the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section below. 

ADDRESSES: Applications should be 

addressed to the Director, Office of 

Sealift Support, Maritime 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W25–310, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rhonda Davis, Office of Sealift Support, 

Maritime Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 

Telephone (202) 366–6379, or 

Rhonda.davis@dot.gov. For legal 

questions, contact Joseph Click, 

Attorney Advisor, Maritime 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Telephone (202) 366– 

5882, or Joseph.Click@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Program Overview 

46 U.S.C. 53202(a)(1) directs the 

Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), 

in consultation with the Secretary of 

Defense (SecDef), to establish a fleet of 

active, commercially-viable cable 

vessels to meet national security 

requirements. The Cable Security Fleet, 

which will be known as the CSF, will 

consist of privately owned, United 

States-documented cable vessels, whose 

owners or operators will enter into 

Operating Agreements with MARAD to 

set forth operating qualifications and 

criteria in exchange for payments. 

Program participants will enter into 

Operating Agreements that will require 

participants to: Continuously and 

actively operate the subject vessels in 

the commercial submarine cable 

services market (including the laying, 

maintenance, and repair of submarine 

cables) and provide the United States 

Government access to participating 

vessels in times of national emergency. 

In administering the CSF Program, 

MARAD will work with a designated 

agency of the Department of Defense 

(DoD) to evaluate vessels and operators 

and to confirm that operating 

agreements meet the objectives of 

supporting economic activity and 

national security. Establishment of the 

CSF is set forth in the United States 

Code, Title 46, Chapter 532, referred to 

as ‘‘the statute’’ below. 

A. Citizenship Requirements for Owners 

and Operators 

An applicant seeking to enroll its 

vessels in CSF must meet certain 

qualifications for vessel control and 

citizenship. First, an applicant must be 

a vessel’s registered owner or operate 

the vessel as its principal demise 

charterer, such that it operates the 

vessel at its own risk and expense. 

MARAD will not consider applications 

from sub-demise charterers, time 

charterers, vessel managers, or other 

vessel stakeholders. Additionally, 

candidate vessel ownership or operation 

must meet the requirements of one of 

four citizenship categories: 

1. Vessel owned and operated by 

United States citizens, known as 50501 

Citizens, within the meaning of Section 

50501 of Title 46, United States Code; 

2. Vessel owned by a U.S. citizen, 

known as a 50501 Citizen, under 46 

U.S.C. 50501 or United States Citizen 

Trust under 46 U.S.C. 53201(11) and 

chartered to a United States citizen 

eligible to document vessels, known as 

a Documentation Citizen, under Chapter 

121 of Title 46, United States Code, 

subject to: 

a. Verifications of the U.S.-citizenship 

of the board and principal officers of the 

charterer; and 

b. Certifications by the charterer that 

no treaty, statute, or person would 

influence the vessel’s operations in a 


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356 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2021 / Notices 

manner contrary to the interests of the 

United States; 

3. Vessel owned and operated by an 

entity that contracts with the 

Department of Defense to operate 

vessels for, or charters vessels to, the 

United States; or 

4. Vessel owned by a Documentation 

Citizen and chartered to a 50501 

Citizen. 

B. Vessel Technical Considerations 

Vessels proposed for enrollment in 

the CSF must meet certain minimum 

technical and legal requirements as of 

the time of application. In addition to 

the citizenship requirements for each 

vessel’s owner and operator, each vessel 

must be: 

1. 40 years of age or less on the date 

on which the vessel is enrolled in CSF 

(unless waived by the Secretary under 

46 U.S.C. 53202(e)); 

2. Found suitable by DoD for cable 

servicing work in the interest of national 

security; 

3. Found commercially viable by 

MARAD for submarine cable services. 

4. Classed as a cable vessel by the 

American Bureau of Shipping or 

another classification society accepted 

by the United States Coast Guard 

(USCG); and 

5. Documented by USCG under 

Chapter 121 of Title 46, United States 

Code, or have its owners demonstrate 

their intent to document the vessel 

under Chapter 121 of Title 46. 

C. Terms of the CSF Operating 

Agreements 

If MARAD deems an applicant and its 

proposed vessel to be most qualified for 

the CSF, then MARAD will negotiate 

and enter into an Operating Agreement 

with the applicant for one year, subject 

to the availability of appropriations with 

payment for participation at the annual 

rate of $5 million after the availability 

of funding and execution of agreements 

as provided by statute and 

appropriation. 

II. Application for Entry Into the Cable 

Ship Fleet 

A. Application Elements 

Qualified cable vessel owners and/or 

operators seeking to apply for a CSF 

Operating Agreement may submit 

applications (one (1) original with two 

(2) copies) with the following 

information and materials for ease of 

review; however, conformity with this 

applicant guidance, except where 

explicit in the statute, is voluntary only. 

MARAD will review and consider all 

applications it receives and may contact 

applicants for additional information: 

1. Full name of Applicant and address 

of principal executive office; 

2. Notarized affidavit of citizenship 

status, whether as a 50501 Citizen or 

Documentation Citizen; 

3. Certificate of incorporation; 

4. Copy of corporate by-laws or other 

governing instruments; 

5. Description of domestic and 

international corporate affiliations; 

6. Financial data; 

7. Vessel’s base port where it may be 

inspected by MARAD or a designated 

marine surveyor, and a description of 

the vessel’s regular area of operation; 

8. Locations and descriptions of any 

marine depots worldwide where the 

vessel has access to servicing, spare 

cables, amplifiers, and other equipment 

necessary for undersea cable repair; 

9. Description of applicant’s vessel’s 

regular operations, which may include a 

listing of submarine cables laid or 

repaired within the preceding three (3) 

years, detailing the name of the cable 

systems laid and repaired, approximate 

location of repair work, and 

approximate depths of cable repaired, 

marine depots used for replenishment of 

spares, and a listing of marine crew and 

mission specialist positions (splicers, 

cable test technicians, cable 

transmission technicians, and cable 

engineers), including years of 

experience. 

10. Demise or bareboat charter 

arrangements, if applicable; 

11. Applicant’s stated assessment of 

the vessel’s national security value to 

DoD with respect to cable services; 

12. Copies of any Special Security 

Agreements into which the Applicant 

has entered with DoD, per 46 U.S.C. 

53202(c)(3)(A)(iii). 

B. Protection of Confidential 

Commercial or Financial Information 

If an application includes information 

that the applicant considers to be a trade 

secret or confidential commercial or 

financial information, the applicant 

should do the following: (1) Note on the 

front cover that the submission 

‘‘Contains Confidential Commercial or 

Financial Information (CCFI)’’; (2) mark 

each affected page ‘‘CCFI’’; and (3) 

highlight or otherwise denote the CCFI 

portions. MARAD will protect such 

information from disclosure to the 

extent allowed under applicable law. In 

the event MARAD receives a Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) request for the 

information, procedures described in 

the Department’s FOIA regulation at 49 

CFR 7.29 will be followed. Only 

information that is ultimately 

determined to be confidential under that 

procedure will be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA. 

(Authority: National Defense Authorization 

Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Pub. L. 116–92, 

section 3521; 49 CFR 1.93(a)) 

Dated: December 30, 2020. 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Gabriel Chavez, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2020–29159 Filed 1–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 


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