53000 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / Notices 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

All comments will become part of this 

docket and will be available for 

inspection and copying at the above 

address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

E.T., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. An electronic version 

of this document and all documents 

entered into this docket is available on 

the World Wide Web at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joann Spittle, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Room W21–203, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202– 

366–5979. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

described by the applicant the intended 

service of the vessel WYSPA is: 

Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

‘‘Charter: Bareboat Charter, Charter with 

Captain.’’ 

Geographic Region: ‘‘CA, OR, WA’’. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

Dated: October 6, 2009. 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Christine Gurland, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24786 Filed 10–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Voluntary Intermodal Sealift 

Agreement (VISA) 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of open season for 

enrollment in the VISA program. 

Introduction 

The VISA program was established 

pursuant to section 708 of the Defense 

Production Act of 1950, as amended 

(DPA), which provides for voluntary 

agreements for emergency preparedness 

programs. VISA was approved for a two 

year term on January 30, 1997, and 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 13, 1997 (62 FR 6837). 

Approval is currently extended until 

October 1, 2009, as published in the 

Federal Register on November 7, 2007 

(72 FR 62898). The Maritime 

Administration has requested approval 

from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for 

an extension of VISA for another two 

years. DOJ is currently reviewing the 

extension request, and we expect that 

approval will be forthcoming. 

As implemented, the VISA program is 

open to U.S.-flag vessel operators of 

oceangoing militarily useful vessels, to 

include tugs and barges. An operator is 

defined as an owner or bareboat 

charterer of a vessel. Tug enrollment 

alone does not satisfy VISA eligibility. 

Operators include vessel owners and 

bareboat charter operators if satisfactory 

signed agreements are in place 

committing the assets of the owner to 

the bareboat charterer for purposes of 

VISA. Voyage and space charterers are 

not considered U.S.-flag vessel operators 

for purposes of VISA eligibility. 

VISA Concept 

The mission of VISA is to provide 

commercial sealift and intermodal 

shipping services and systems, 

including vessels, vessel space, 

intermodal systems and equipment, 

terminal facilities, and related 

management services, to the Department 

of Defense (DOD), as necessary, to meet 

national defense contingency 

requirements or national emergencies. 

VISA provides for the staged, timephased availability of participants’ 

shipping services/systems to meet 

contingency requirements through 

prenegotiated contracts between the 

Government and participants. Such 

arrangements are jointly planned with 

the Maritime Administration, U.S. 

Transportation Command 

(USTRANSCOM), and participants in 

peacetime to allow effective and best 

valued use of commercial sealift 

capacity, to provide DOD assured 

contingency access, and to minimize 

commercial disruption, whenever 

possible. 

There are three time-phased stages in 

the event of VISA activation. VISA 

Stages I and II provide for prenegotiated 

contracts between DOD and participants 

to provide sealift capacity to meet all 

projected DOD contingency 

requirements. These contracts are 

executed in accordance with approved 

DOD contracting methodologies. VISA 

Stage III will provide for additional 

capacity to DOD when Stages I and II 

commitments or volunteered capacity 

are insufficient to meet contingency 

requirements, and adequate shipping 

services from non-participants are not 

available through established DOD 

contracting practices or U.S. 

Government treaty agreements. 

VISA Annual Enrollment Open Season 

The purpose of this notice is to invite 

interested, qualified U.S.-flag vessel 

operators that are not currently enrolled 

in the VISA program to participate. The 

annual enrollment is intended to link 

the VISA enrollment cycle with DOD’s 

peacetime cargo contracting to ensure 

eligible participants priority 

consideration for DOD awards of cargo. 

Alignment of VISA enrollment and 

eligibility for VISA priority will solidify 

the linkage between commitment of 

contingency assets by VISA participants 

and receiving VISA priority 

consideration for the award of DOD 

peacetime cargo. This is the only 

planned enrollment period for carriers 

to join the VISA program and derive 

benefits for DOD peacetime contracts 

during the time frame of October 1, 2009 

through September 30, 2010. The only 

exception to this open season period for 

VISA enrollment will be for a non-VISA 

carrier that reflags a vessel into U.S. 

registry. That carrier may submit an 

application to participate in the VISA 

program at any time upon completion of 

reflagging. 

Advantages of Peacetime Participation 

Because enrollment of carriers in the 

VISA program provides DOD with 

assured access to sealift services during 

contingencies based on a level of 

commitment, as well as a mechanism 

for joint planning, DOD awards 

peacetime cargo contracts to VISA 

participants on a priority basis. This 

applies to liner trades and charter 

contracts alike. Award of DOD cargoes 

to meet DOD peacetime and 

contingency requirements is made on 

the basis of the following priorities: 

• U.S.-flag vessel capacity operated 

by VISA participants and U.S.-flag 

Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) 

capacity held by VISA participants. 

• U.S.-flag vessel capacity operated 

by non-participants. 

• Combination U.S.-flag/foreign-flag 

vessel capacity operated by VISA 

participants, and combination U.S.-flag/ 

foreign-flag VSA capacity held by VISA 

participants. 

• Combination U.S.-flag/foreign-flag 

vessel capacity operated by nonparticipants. 

• U.S.-owned or operated foreign-flag 

vessel capacity and VSA capacity held 

by VISA participants. 

• U.S.-owned or operated foreign-flag 

vessel capacity and VSA capacity held 

by non-participants. 

• Foreign-owned or operated foreignflag vessel capacity of non-participants. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / Notices 53001 

Participation 

Any U.S.-flag vessel operator 

organized under the laws of a state of 

the United States, or the District of 

Columbia, who is able and willing to 

commit militarily useful sealift assets 

and assume the related consequential 

risks of commercial disruption, may be 

eligible to participate in the VISA 

program. The term ‘‘operator’’ is defined 

in the VISA document as ‘‘an ocean 

common carrier or contract carrier that 

owns, controls or manages vessels by 

which ocean transportation is 

provided’’. Applicants wishing to 

become participants must provide 

satisfactory evidence that the vessels 

being committed to the VISA program 

are operational and that vessels are 

intended to be operated by the applicant 

in the carriage of commercial or 

government preference cargoes. While 

vessel brokers, freight forwarders and 

agents play an important role as a 

conduit to locate and secure appropriate 

vessels for the carriage of DOD cargo, 

they may not become participants in the 

VISA program due to lack of requisite 

vessel ownership or operation. 

However, brokers, freight forwarders 

and agents should encourage the 

carriers they represent to join the 

program. 

Commitment 

Any U.S.-flag vessel operator desiring 

to receive priority consideration in the 

award of DOD peacetime contracts must 

commit no less than 50 percent of its 

total U.S.-flag militarily useful capacity 

in Stage III of the VISA program. 

Participants operating vessels in 

international trade may receive top tier 

consideration in the award of DOD 

peacetime contracts by committing the 

minimum percentages of capacity to all 

three stages of VISA or bottom tier 

consideration by committing the 

minimum percentage of capacity to only 

Stage III of VISA. USTRANSCOM and 

the Maritime Administration will 

coordinate to ensure that the amount of 

sealift assets committed to Stages I and 

II will not have an adverse national 

economic impact. To minimize 

domestic commercial disruption, 

participants operating vessels 

exclusively in the domestic Jones Act 

trades are not required to commit the 

capacity of those U.S. domestic trading 

vessels to VISA Stages I and II. Overall 

VISA commitment requirements are 

based on annual enrollment. 

In order to protect a U.S.-flag vessel 

operator’s market share during 

contingency activation, VISA allows 

participants to join with other vessel 

operators in Carrier Coordination 

Agreements (CCAs) to satisfy 

commercial or DOD requirements. VISA 

provides a defense against antitrust laws 

in accordance with the DPA. CCAs must 

be submitted to the Maritime 

Administration for coordination with 

the Department of Justice for approval, 

before they can be utilized. 

Vessel Position Reporting 

If VISA applicants have the capability 

to track their vessels, they must state 

which system is used in their VISA 

application and will be required to 

provide the Maritime Administration 

with access to their vessel tracking 

systems upon approval of their VISA 

application. If VISA applicants do not 

have a tracking system, they must 

indicate this in their VISA application. 

The VISA program requires enrolled 

ships to comply with 46 CFR Part 307, 

Establishment of Mandatory Position 

Reporting System for Vessels. 

Compensation 

In addition to receiving priority in the 

award of DOD peacetime cargo, a 

participant will receive compensation 

during contingency activation for that 

capacity activated under Stage I, II and 

III. The amount of compensation will 

depend on the Stage at which capacity 

is activated. During enrollment, each 

participant must select one of several 

compensation methodologies. The 

compensation methodology selection 

will be completed with the appropriate 

DOD agency, resulting in prices in 

contingency contracts between DOD and 

the participant. 

Application for VISA Participation 

New applicants may apply to 

participate by obtaining a VISA 

application package (Form MA–1020 

(OMB Approval No. 2133–0532)) from 

the Director, Office of Sealift Support, at 

the address indicated below. Form MA– 

1020 includes instructions for 

completing and submitting the 

application, blank VISA Application 

forms and a request for information 

regarding the operations and U.S. 

citizenship of the applicant company. A 

copy of the VISA document as 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 7, 2007, will also be provided 

with the package. This information is 

needed in order to assist the Maritime 

Administration in making a 

determination of the applicant’s 

eligibility. An applicant company must 

provide an affidavit that demonstrates 

that the company is qualified to 

document a vessel under 46 U.S.C., 

section 12103, and that it owns, or 

bareboat charters and controls, 

oceangoing, militarily useful vessel(s) 

for purposes of committing assets to the 

VISA program. 

New VISA applicants are required to 

submit their applications for the VISA 

program as described in this Notice no 

later than 60 days after the date of 

publication of this Federal Register 

notice. Applicants must provide the 

following: 

• U.S. citizenship documentation; 

• Copy of their Articles of 

Incorporation and/or By Laws; 

• Copies of loadline documents from 

a recognized classification society to 

validate oceangoing vessel capability; 

• U.S. Coast Guard Certificates of 

Documentation for all vessels in their 

fleet. 

• Copy of Bareboat Charters, if 

applicable, valid through the period of 

enrollment, which state that the owner 

will not interfere with the charterer’s 

obligation to commit chartered vessel(s) 

to the VISA program for the duration of 

the charter. 

• Copy of Time Charters, valid 

through the period of enrollment, for tug 

services to barge operators, if sufficient 

tug service is not owned or bareboat 

chartered by the VISA applicant. Barge 

operators must provide evidence to 

MARAD that tug service of sufficient 

horsepower will be available for all 

barges enrolled in the VISA program. 

Approved VISA participants will be 

responsible for ensuring that 

information submitted with their 

application remains up to date beyond 

the approval process. Any changes to 

VISA commitments must be reported to 

the Maritime Administration and 

USTRANSCOM not later than seven 

days after the change. If charter 

agreements are due to expire, 

participants must provide the Maritime 

Administration with charters that 

extend the charter duration for another 

12 months or longer. 

Once the Maritime Administration 

has reviewed the application and 

determined VISA eligibility, the 

Maritime Administration will sign the 

VISA application document which 

completes the eligibility phase of the 

VISA enrollment process. 

After VISA eligibility is approved by 

the Maritime Administration, approved 

applicants are required to execute a 

joint VISA Enrollment Contract (VEC) 

with DOD [USTRANSCOM and the 

Military Sealift Command (MSC)] which 

will specify the participant’s Stage III 

commitment, and appropriate Stage I 

and/or II commitments for the period 

October 1, 2009 through September 30, 

2010. Once the VEC is completed, the 

applicant completes the DOD 

contracting process by executing a 

Drytime Contingency Contract (DCC) 

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53002 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / Notices 

with MSC and, if applicable, a VISA 

Contingency Contract (VCC) with 

USTRANSCOM (for Liner Operators). 

The Maritime Administration reserves 

the right to revalidate all eligibility 

requirements without notice. 

For Additional Information and 

Applications Contact: Jerome D. Davis, 

Director, Office of Sealift Support, U.S. 

Maritime Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 

20590. Telephone (202) 366–0688; Fax 

(202) 366–5904. Other information 

about the VISA can be found on the 

Maritime Administration’s Internet Web 

Page at http://www.marad.dot.gov. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.66) 

Dated: October 8, 2009. 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Murray Bloom, 

Acting Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–24788 Filed 10–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Disciplinary Appeals Board Panel 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: Section 203 of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs Health Care 

Personnel Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102–40), 

dated May 7, 1991, revised the 

disciplinary grievance and appeal 

procedures for employees appointed 

under 38 U.S.C. 7401(1). It also required 

the periodic designation of employees of 

the Department who are qualified to 

serve on Disciplinary Appeals Boards. 

These employees constitute the 

Disciplinary Appeals Board panel from 

which Board members in a case are 

appointed. This notice announces that 

the roster of employees on the panel is 

available for review and comment. 

Employees, employee organizations, 

and other interested parties shall be 

provided, without charge, a list of the 

names of employees on the panel upon 

request and may submit comments 

concerning the suitability for service on 

the panel of any employee whose name 

is on the list. 

DATES: Names that appear on the panel 

may be selected to serve on a Board or 

as a grievance examiner after November 

16, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Requests for the list of 

names of employees on the panel and 

written comments may be directed to: 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs (051), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420. Requests and comments may 

also be faxed to (202) 273–9776. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Latoya Smith, Employee Relations 

Specialist (051), Office of Human 

Resources Management, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20420. Ms. Smith 

may be reached at (202) 461–7975. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public 

Law 102–40 requires that the 

availability of the roster be posted in the 

Federal Register periodically, and not 

less than annually. 

Dated: October 7, 2009. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. E9–24733 Filed 10–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

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