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52–748 PDF 2009

QUALIFICATIONS AND 

CREDENTIALING OF MARINERS: 

A CONTINUING EXAMINATION 

(111–68) 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

TRANSPORTATION AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

October 7, 2009 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

( 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota, Chairman 

NICK J. RAHALL, II, West Virginia, Vice 

Chair 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon 

JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

JERROLD NADLER, New York 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

BOB FILNER, California 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas 

GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland 

LEONARD L. BOSWELL, Iowa 

TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania 

BRIAN BAIRD, Washington 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, New York 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois 

MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

MICHAEL A. ARCURI, New York 

HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona 

CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania 

JOHN J. HALL, New York 

STEVE KAGEN, Wisconsin 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

LAURA A. RICHARDSON, California 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland 

SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas 

PHIL HARE, Illinois 

JOHN A. BOCCIERI, Ohio 

MARK H. SCHAUER, Michigan 

BETSY MARKEY, Colorado 

PARKER GRIFFITH, Alabama 

MICHAEL E. MCMAHON, New York 

THOMAS S. P. PERRIELLO, Virginia 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

HARRY TEAGUE, New Mexico 

VACANCY 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin 

HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

GARY G. MILLER, California 

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina 

TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON, Illinois 

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania 

MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida 

CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

LYNN A WESTMORELAND, Georgia 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio 

BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky 

ANH ‘‘JOSEPH’’ CAO, Louisiana 

AARON SCHOCK, Illinois 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

(II) 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland, Chairman 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi 

BRIAN BAIRD, Washington 

TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, New York 

STEVE KAGEN, Wisconsin 

MICHAEL E. MCMAHON, New York 

LAURA A. RICHARDSON, California 

JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota 

(Ex Officio) 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina 

VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan 

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

(III) 

(V) 

CONTENTS Page 

Summary of Subject Matter .................................................................................... vi 

TESTIMONY 

Cook, Rear Admiral Kevin, Director, Prevention Policy, United States Coast 

Guard .................................................................................................................... 3 

Stalfort, Captain David C., Commanding Officer, United States Coast Guard, 

National Maritime Center ................................................................................... 3 

PREPARED STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY MEMBER OF CONGRESS 

Richardson, Hon. Laura, of California ................................................................... 14 

PREPARED STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY WITNESS 

Cook, Rear Admiral Kevin ...................................................................................... 17 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Cook, Rear Admiral Kevin, Director, Prevention Policy, United States Coast 

Guard: ...................................................................................................................

Response to question from Rep. Richardson, a Representative in Congress from the State of California ............................................................ 12 

Fact sheet ...................................................................................................... 22 

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(1) 

HEARING ON QUALIFICATIONS AND 

CREDENTIALING OF MARINERS: A CONTINUING EXAMINATION 

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME

TRANSPORTATION, 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:10 a.m., in Room 

2167, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Elijah E. 

Cummings [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. The Committee will come to order. 

The Subcommittee convenes today to follow up on a hearing we 

convened on July 9th of this year to examine the provisions that 

had recently been made in the processes of the Coast Guard and 

its uses to issue merchant mariner credentials. 

At the time of the hearing, the consolidation of all credentialing 

services at the new National Maritime Center and the rollout of 

that new merchant mariner credential and related technical and 

procedural issues that created a backlog of 6,800 applications sitting in boxes at the NMC waiting for review and approval. The 

backlog represented 6,800 mariners waiting to receive their credentials. 

At the time of that earlier hearing, the Coast Guard indicated 

that the average processing time for a credential application from 

the beginning of 2009 through June 23rd had been 80 days. I note 

that gross processing time includes all of the time the Coast Guard 

requires to move a credential through its internal review processes, 

as well as the time the service spends waiting for an applicant to 

submit additional required information. 

At the time of the July hearing, the average net processing time, 

meaning just the time the Coast Guard requires to move an application through the process it controls, was 48 days, and only 35 

percent of credential applications were being completely processed 

in 30 or fewer days. A mariner’s credential is that individual’s ticket to work; without it, a mariner cannot earn a living in the maritime industry. Particularly in this economic climate, bureaucratic 

delays that may threaten a mariner’s ability to work are completely 

unacceptable. 

Because of the urgent need to ensure that the Coast Guard can 

issue a credential within a reasonable amount of time, assuming an 

applicant submits all required information, I asked Admiral Cook 

2 

and Captain Stalfort, during our July hearing, when they thought 

they could correct the problem plaguing the credentialing process 

and eliminate the backlog. They indicated that they could resolve 

the problem by September, and I promised that the Subcommittee 

would reconvene in October to receive an update. 

As I repeatedly said, I believe it is critical to Congress’s oversight 

function that whenever a commitment is made by an agency to address an outstanding problem, the Congress ensures that commitment is kept. I also believe that the best way we can do this is to 

convene a follow-up hearing, and it is for that reason that we are 

convening today. I am very pleased to see that the Coast Guard appears to have met its goal. I will let Admiral Cook and Captain 

Stalfort discuss in more detail the numbers they have to report 

today. 

That said, reports published by the NMC on the Center’s Web 

site indicate that the backlog has been eliminated and that the 

time it takes the Coast Guard to process a credential application 

has dropped significantly. This is precisely the news we hoped to 

hear and we expected to hear, and precisely the news mariners deserve, and I commend the Coast Guard for meeting this objective. 

The credentialing process is among the most basic regulatory 

functions in the Coast Guard. It isn’t necessarily the service’s most 

glamorous mission, but it is critical to maritime safety and to the 

lives and careers of individual mariners, and it is therefore absolutely essential that the credentialing process be managed effectively and efficiently. 

During today’s hearing we hope to take a closer look at issues 

related to the medical examinations required for mariners, including the seemingly troubled rollout of a new merchant mariner medical form, as well as the implications both on the merchant marine 

and on the NMC’s functions and processes of new international 

medical standards. Now that the NMC appears to be able to manage its current workload, we must ensure that any future process 

changes do not again create backlogs and delays. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. With that, I yield to the distinguished Ranking 

Member, Mr. LoBiondo. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The Subcommittee is continuing its review of the Coast Guard’s 

efforts to address personnel and resource shortages which created 

unacceptable delays in the service’s licensing and credentialing of 

U.S. merchant mariners. During the Subcommittee’s hearing on 

this subject in July, the Coast Guard testified it was surging resources to this mission arena, and I understand this stopgap strategy was successful in completely eliminating the backlog. 

While this is certainly good news to any mariner applying for a 

credential, the Coast Guard must do a better job to plan for resources and personnel necessary to maintain performance requirements for all of its missions. American merchant mariners are required by U.S. law to carry a valid credential issued by the Coast 

Guard. These mariners depend on the service for a quick, thorough, 

and fair review of their qualifications and fitness to serve in shipboard positions. 

With the state of the economy today and the significant impacts 

the recession is having on the maritime sector, we cannot allow 

3 

government mismanagement to delay something as vital as the 

credentialing process. I am encouraged by the progress that the 

Coast Guard has made in this area. I commend their ongoing efforts to address these issues in the credentialing process and I look 

forward to hearing the witnesses’ plans to prevent shortfalls in this 

and other missions in the future. 

Thank you. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Do you have a statement, Mr. Taylor? 

Mr. TAYLOR. No, sir. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. All right. 

With that, Rear Admiral Kevin Cook is the Director of Prevention Policy with the United States Coast Guard and Captain David 

C. Stalfort is the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center. Welcome, gentlemen. 

TESTIMONY OF REAR ADMIRAL KEVIN COOK, DIRECTOR, PREVENTION POLICY, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD; AND CAPTAIN DAVID C. STALFORT, COMMANDING OFFICER, UNITED 

STATES COAST GUARD, NATIONAL MARITIME CENTER 

Admiral COOK. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Mr. LoBiondo, 

Mr. Taylor. 

Mr. Chairman, I would request to have my written statement entered into the record. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Without objection, so ordered. 

Admiral COOK. Thank you. 

As you mentioned, I am Rear Admiral Kevin Cook, Director of 

Prevention Policy for Marine Safety, Security, and Stewardship for 

the United States Coast Guard. 

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your continued interest 

in the maritime credentialing program. I am pleased to have this 

opportunity to appear before you today to update you and the Subcommittee on the status of our operations at the National Maritime 

Center and the Coast Guard’s plans for the mariner credentialing 

program. 

I have with me Captain David Stalfort, the Commanding Officer 

of the National Maritime Center, or NMC, as we call it. 

As I mentioned in my previous testimony, the Coast Guard is 

committed to ensuring that the mariner credentialing program is 

capable of issuing credentials to over 216,000 qualified mariners, to 

meet their needs in the shortest possible time, and to ensure a safe 

and secure maritime transportation system for the American public. Since my testimony in July 2009, the Coast Guard has made 

significant improvements in the credentialing program. In my testimony today, I will review the actions we have taken, summarize 

the results, and present you with a course of action for the future. 

In July I presented to the Subcommittee an aggressive plan 

aimed at reducing the credentialing processing time and clearing 

the backlog of applications. Specifically, the plan included surging 

resources to assist in conducting evaluations, reaching out to mariners with applications which were stalled due to additional information needs, expediting applications for mariners at risk of having their current credential expire, instituting immediate software 

changes to resolve technical problems with the database used to 

process the applications and aggressively communicating our acVerDate Aug 31 2005 10:37 Jan 27, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\52748 JASON
4 

tions to the industry leaders, marine employers, individual mariners, and the public. 

During my July testimony, I reported that our backlog was over 

6,800 credentials, net processing time 55 days, net overall processing had reached 80 days, and I also reported that our goal was 

to get that under 30 days. 

On July 6th, a group of 15 fully qualified and experienced evaluators from regional exam centers around the Country formed a 

TIGER team which helped increase the daily productivity of credentials from 300 per day to 500 per day. Recognizing that many 

mariners were at risk of having their credentials expire, the NMC 

began expediting at-risk applications. This actually enabled us to 

better prioritize daily work and helped reduce the risk of mariners 

losing their job due to an expired credential. 

By August, computer experts at the Coast Guard’s Operations 

System Center had resolved all technical problems with the software which had been hampering productivity. We also developed a 

monthly report of performance of the mariner credentialing program as a means to reach out to mariners and show our performance. The report tracks our backlog, throughput, and net processing time, with net processing time being the driver. We shared 

this monthly report with your staff and with mariners, trade associations, unions, and companies through publication on the NMC 

Web site. 

This is a copy of the measures. I think it is significant that, as 

you look at the top measure, you see the red disappear from the 

bars there. That represented our backlog. So for the last three 

months we have been going without a backlog. 

Then we see, shifting down, the bottom graph is where we really 

want to grab people’s attention. The red line on the bottom, that 

is our net processing time, which has been driving down towards 

30 days and in September got below that mark. 

More importantly, since July, over 19,000 mariners have received 

their credentials. Of these, 13,000, or approximately 60 percent, received their credentials within 27 days; and in the month of September alone 3400 mariners received their credentials within 18 

days. 

Additionally, by eliminating the backlog and driving down the 

processing time, we were able to better direct resources to other 

improvements. In August we established a more robust Customer 

Service Center, enhancing the capabilities of the NMC’s Call Center with technical experts to assist mariners through the application process and to resolve problems that they had been having 

with their application. We also began calling mariners each day to 

let them know that their credential had been printed and mailed 

to them, and seek their feedback on ways to improve our service. 

Last month we met with members of the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee, MERPAC, and the Towing Safety Advisory Committee, TSAC, during their fall meetings. We intentionally hosted these meetings at the National Maritime Center so 

Committee Members could see firsthand, by touring the facility and 

interacting with employees and being introduced to those changes 

on scene, some of the changes that were really happening at the 

NMC. We listened to their comments and recommendations on speVerDate Aug 31 2005 10:37 Jan 27, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\52748 JASON
5 

cific areas of improvement and we continue to embed them in our 

credentialing program. 

The improvements made over the past few months by no means 

indicate that we have completed all the necessary changes. We continue to listen and we want to continue to improve. 

I would now like to ask Captain Stalfort to outline some of our 

future plans for improvement. 

Captain STALFORT. Thank you 

Admiral. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Members of the 

Subcommittee. As introduced, I am Captain Dave Stalfort, the 

Commanding Officer of the National Maritime Center. 

The Coast Guard recognizes that additional changes to the mariner credentialing program are necessary to further reduce processing time and improve service to mariners. Ultimately, successful 

execution of this program requires a modern and efficient credential process, clear and simple regulations and policy. 

Because of the complexity of the regulatory requirements, associated policies, and the application process, many applications arrive 

with missing information, causing unnecessary processing delays. 

To address this issue and to improve the overall program, we are 

completing an assessment of all NMC operations by third-party experts to identify ways to streamline the current paper-based system, while looking at future development of an electronic processing system. This assessment began last week. 

We will begin beta testing in mariner credential trusted agent 

program to allow organizations such as mariner employers, training institutions, and unions to submit credential application packages directly to the National Maritime Center. This program, 

which makes better use of the existing private sector marine industry resources, will reduce the instances of missing information from 

the application packages. We will begin testing this program by the 

end of the year. 

We also know we need to do a better job of explaining the medical evaluation process. Next month we will be releasing a new 

medical evaluation report form for mariners and their physicians, 

which is designed to work in conjunction with the information contained in the medical and physical evaluation guidelines for merchant mariner credentials, the NVIC 04-08. We also need to address mariners’ fears that the medical evaluation process will cause 

mariners to be put out of work. In fact, the system has proven to 

be fair and so far, in 2009, only 174 mariners have been denied a 

credential due to medical reasons, and this is less than three-tens 

of one percent of the 58,000 mariners who submitted applications 

in 2009. 

We are also seeking ways to attract and retain the best physicians to work at the NMC in the medical branch. We plan to use 

the physician comparability allowance to help alleviate recruitment 

and retention problems that result from pay disparities with the 

medical staff with the private sector. We are also expediting work 

on revising and simplifying the regulations and policies to make 

the program more efficient and effective. 

The completion of these technology, regulatory, and policy 

changes will further help decrease processing time and improve 

service to the mariners. 

6 

Mr. Chairman, we will conclude our remarks by reiterating the 

Coast Guard’s commitment to improving the mariner credentialing 

program. We continue to work diligently to resolve the immediate 

challenges impacting the mariner credentialing program, as well as 

plan for future operations through continued process improvements, technical advances, training, and adjustments to staffing. 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear today to update you on 

the improvements we are making to the program, and we will be 

pleased to answer any questions you may have. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Thank you very much. 

Because I may have to leave this hearing a little bit later to do 

another hearing, I want to, first of all, thank you for what you have 

been able to accomplish in a few months. It is indeed extraordinary. And I hope that you will share with the men and women 

of the Coast Guard how much we in the Congress appreciate what 

they have done and how much we realize—not only do we thank 

them on our behalf, but we thank them on behalf of mariners, who 

are simply trying to do their jobs and do them right. So we really 

thank you for that. 

I think that what this has shown—and I am going to have just 

a few questions—is that we can take the resources that we have 

and, with proper planning, use them more effectively and efficiently. Is that a fair statement, gentlemen? 

Admiral COOK. It is, Mr. Chairman. We are now set up so that 

without that ponderous backlog pressing on us, we are able to look 

ahead and forecast with our own internal workforce, as well as, if 

we ever need to, draw on the same experts that we brought in as 

part of the TIGER team. 

And just so you know, that is in fact our plan, that we don’t have 

to just assemble all 15 at once. Those people now know that if we 

run into a situation where a backlog is starting, we can bring in 

a handful, they can help beat that down before it becomes a backlog which affects our overall processing time. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. That is very significant because basically what 

you are saying is in those urgent situations, first of all, you try to 

prevent them; then, if you have to deal with them, you have a 

group of—and these are my words—superstars that come together 

like a SWAT team, almost, and deal with it so that you can move 

forward. 

Perhaps this will be an example for other things that we can, 

like you said, not only in this area, but other areas with regard to 

the Coast Guard. Mr. LoBiondo and I often talk about how we have 

this thin blue line, and we realize that your duties have been increased substantially, particularly since 9/11. So I guess by having 

that kind of team effort and trying to get to these matters before 

they get out of hand, that lends itself—I guess that is a good step 

in the right direction of that effectiveness and efficiency that I 

talked about just a moment ago, and it seems like, because of our 

shortage of personnel,—which, by the way, we are trying to get you 

some more—it becomes even more important. 

So I don’t want this moment to go by without acknowledging 

what you all have accomplished. It has been just short of extraordinary. And I hope that you will pass that on to the folks that you 

work with everyday. 

7 

Admiral COOK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for recognizing that. 

We have mentioned a couple times that we are not done yet. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Oh, I know you are not. I know you are not. I 

am trying to pump you up so the next time you will come back with 

even more. 

Let me just ask you two or three questions, then I will yield to 

Mr. LoBiondo. 

The Coast Guard’s most recent monthly report states that the 

National Maritime Center’s goal is to have fewer than 9,000 applications in the system at any time. The report also states that as 

long as there are fewer than 9,000 applications, there is no backlog. 

How did you arrive at the goal of having 9,000 or fewer applications in the system and how do you justify this as the benchmark 

for the existence of a backlog? 

Admiral COOK. Well, Mr. Chairman, we look across the entire 

process from the time that the mariner first submits it to an REC 

to the time he takes to mail it in, the time it then takes to go 

through and do an evaluation based on security, sea time evaluations, those kinds of things. 

So we look at each of them in a stovepipe, and we know about 

how long it takes to do that activity and we know how many people 

are assigned in that area, so, as you add it up, we figure out how 

many days it needs to spend in each of those locations such that 

the grand total is less than 30 days; and based on the number of 

files that can be handled by the number of people in each of those 

areas, it also comes out to 9,000 total files can be in the system 

and be processed over a period of 30 days. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Okay, according to the data provided to the Subcommittee from the beginning of 2009 through September 8, 2009, 

56,437 credentials have been issued. Only 158 mariners have been 

denied a credential because they were deemed medically unfit for 

duty. How many of these individuals have appealed their denials 

and how many of the appeals have been granted? And how does 

this rate of denials, based on medical unfitness compare with the 

denial rate before the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 

04-08 went into effect and before the medical review process was 

centralized at the National Maritime Center? 

Captain STALFORT. Mr. Chairman, of the mariners that have 

been denied a credential, they are all offered an appeal process to 

provide additional information, and of those we have processed six 

appeals so far in 2009 from those medical folks. The current denial 

rate for merchant mariners for medical is roughly two-tenths of one 

percent of all applications coming in. 

So of the 156,000 applications, 150, 170 have been denied since 

we started the review under the guidelines. Prior to those guidelines, not all the applications were processed at the NMC; some of 

them were still being processed at the Regional Exam Center. But 

prior to the release of the guidelines, the denial rate was about 

one-tenth of one percent. So now that we are under the full workload, the current rate is about two-tenths of one percent. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. And how many waivers have been granted to 

mariners who have medical conditions and how does the current 

waiver rate compare to the rate before issuance of the NVIC and 

consolidation of the credentialing at the NMC? 

8 

Captain STALFORT. So far, in 2009, we have processed waivers 

for 7,000 mariners out of the 56,000, so that is about 12 percent. 

And when we do a waiver, when our medical physicians look at the 

mariner’s evaluation, they have to look out for five years, because 

that is the current duration of a credential. So we evaluate a mariner’s condition, and if the condition could deteriorate to such that 

they would bring a risk to marine safety, we issue them a waiver 

which asks them to provide us a change in the medical condition 

so that we can evaluate the risks. So, so far in 2009, about 7,000 

waivers. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. LoBiondo. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Once again, I echo Chairman Cummings’ congratulatory comments and thank-yous on behalf of so many that you have really taken the issue and run with 

it in a way that most of us didn’t think would be possible in this 

short a period of time. 

As we move forward, though, can you tell us if you believe that 

the service has the capability to plan for long-term resources 

needs? And the basis of the question is, as the Chairman had 

asked, obviously, you missed something in the planning originally 

for this, so how do we look to the future for other issues? 

Admiral COOK. Mr. LoBiondo, I think part of what we think will 

lead to continued success—we have taken down the graph, but the 

three simple measures that we are focused on. 

If we could put that graph back up. 

When you see the middle graph there, sir? 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Yes. 

Admiral COOK. Without any great granularity, just the fact the 

bars kind of go through seasonal ups and downs, so, as you can see 

back towards the left hand side of that, in the spring months of 

2009 is where we saw a significant surge, and that pattern does 

repeat itself; not as dramatically as it did in this year because of 

some TWIC, transportation worker identification card, combinations with the seasonal. So we will be able to watch for how we are 

doing, conduct training with our members during the times when 

we are not under peak demand, and then put everyone to full force 

work as the peak is growing. Then we will also, as I said earlier, 

draw in our cadre of experts that we used as a TIGER team. 

So I would say without a very specific plan, our plan is to be very 

closely in tune with the performance metrics which go ahead and 

drive us to understand where we need to surge our resources. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Can you tell me if the Coast Guard has established a process to approve a trusted agent to streamline the method review for the application process? 

Admiral COOK. When I was here in July, I mentioned we would 

have something up and running by the end of the year, so we have 

been working on that, Mr. LoBiondo. We have several groups that 

we have identified for a pilot program, a couple of schools that we 

are familiar with working with that already are approved to conduct Coast Guard mariner training courses, one of the unions, and 

also a major towing company that has a wide-ranging fleet and a 

number of different types of mariner licensing and credentials that 

they need to continue to pursue; and we are going to invite them 

9 

in and begin to bring them on as trusted agents in a pilot program 

this fall so that, by the end of the year, we will have the pilot program up and running. 

Then we can understand what it will mean to open it up further 

to additional companies or additional schools or other union activities. But we do see that will be a real benefit to us and a real benefit to the mariners because their applications will arrive as complete as possible. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Last question, do you need or require specific 

statutory authority to utilize trusted agents to assist in the medical 

review process? 

Admiral COOK. At this point, we don’t believe so. The legal team 

is looking at that. If we run into roadblocks or impediments in our 

pilot program, then we may have to come and seek some additional 

authority at that point. 

Mr. LOBIONDO. Okay. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Taylor. You don’t have anything? 

All right, let me go back to just a few more questions. 

The Coast Guard Navigation Inspection Circulars don’t have the 

force of law, do they? 

Admiral COOK. They do not, sir. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. However, what is the status within the Coast 

Guard, and particularly among the medical evaluators, of the medical Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 04-08, is it rigidly 

followed, so that if a mariner with a particular medical condition 

submits all the items specified by the NVIC to document a particular condition, such information should be adequate to enable 

the required assessment of the mariner’s medical condition to be 

made? 

Admiral COOK. Mr. Chairman, the NVIC is intended to be guidance to the mariners and doctors submitting on behalf of the mariners, but it is also intended to be guidelines for our own folks, too, 

so we meet on a common ground and lead to clear and expedited 

processing. 

But part of any medical evaluation, especially when it includes 

all the way up through a physician evaluating the information, 

there needs to be some discretion that goes beyond the NVIC, 

where information that is provided through responding to what is 

requested from the NVIC gets evaluated, but if the physician feels 

like he needs to know more information, we still feel like that is 

an important part of making the right medical determination. So 

the effort is to try and use that NVIC as guidance both to the mariner and to our internal Coast Guard folks reviewing it, but we do 

see that there are times when additional information would be requested. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Now, the notice indicated that the results of a 

mariner medical examination completed on or after January 1st, 

2010, would have to be recorded on the new form. The forms were 

not issued as planned. When does the Coast Guard anticipate releasing the new medical forms? When is the use of the new forms 

to be required for mariners, and why has this process been sloppy? 

Admiral COOK. Well, Mr. Chairman, I take full responsibility for 

that because the staff wanted to push the new form out in July and 

10 

I said there were just too may other changes that were going on 

and things we were trying to accomplish in terms of the bigger picture at the NMC, that I didn’t want to introduce a new form that 

could be perceived by mariners as one additional item they needed 

to comply with that they weren’t prepared for. 

So we have the form ready to roll out. We will be posting it in 

November and it will be able to be used on a voluntary basis so 

that people can become comfortable with it, and it will become 

mandatory on January 1st. The rest of the month here in October 

we are going to be reaching out to physicians which we routinely 

hear from representing our mariners and others to help them become comfortable with the idea of the new form. 

I would just comment that the new form has 88 different conditions identified there, and we think that this is going to be a very 

clear mapping over of requirements that relate to the different 

mariner conditions that previously were open-ended, but will bring 

better alignment and smoother processing. But the form will be 

available and mandatory January 1st, and it will be on our Web 

site, ready to be used on a voluntary basis in November. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. [Presiding] Thank you very much for that response. 

Under the International Labor Organization Conventions, which 

the U.S. is a party, mariners are supposed to undergo physical examinations every two years, is my understanding. Additionally, the 

Labor Convention also requires a two-year medical certificate, 

which will come into force sometime in 2011. The Coast Guard has 

indicated that it is currently discussing whether and how and when 

to begin requiring mariners other than pilots to undergo these examinations every two years. Do you have a status on that assessment? 

Admiral COOK. It is being considered to bring us in alignment 

with the ILO Convention that you mentioned, and also there are 

some changes that are being talked about with the STCW Convention, which will link back to the ILO Convention, and we expect 

those two to marry up and come in force either in 2012 or 2013; 

and we intend to follow the lead as the STCW incorporates the ILO 

functions. So that is the time frame that we are looking at, 2012 

to 2013. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. So what steps are you taking currently to 

begin that process? Or are you, if any? 

Admiral COOK. Well, I would say that the part that we are participating in are normal interaction with the STCW Subcommittee 

at IMO, so that we are a part of that negotiation and deliberation, 

which will lead to the modifications to the Convention. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. And do you anticipate that those who would be 

required would be all mariners or only those on the international? 

Admiral COOK. That has not been completely decided right now, 

but we do—— 

Ms. RICHARDSON. What is your opinion? What would be your recommendation? 

Admiral COOK. We are looking to bring all mariners under the 

same program. We think that that provides the greatest level of 

safety. But, again, there are some aspects that need to continue to 

be evaluated. 

11 

Ms. RICHARDSON. Such as? 

Admiral COOK. Well, in any type of rulemaking, we always go 

through our public outreach. We have the advantage, also, with the 

Coast Guard, we have the Towing and Safety Advisory Committee, 

TSAC, which would be a group of inland mariners that we could 

relate to; the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee that 

could give us advice. 

There could be some aspect of the two-year interval which the industry itself would not think is a good idea, an aspect that maybe, 

as regulators, we hadn’t considered. So I don’t have a specific thing 

to mention right now that is under active consideration, just that 

our process would lead us to consider a wider field of conditions 

than just the Coast Guard might think is proper. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. And then just my last question, kind of leading 

on the same point. In 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration reported that heart attacks, other than physical impairments of the ability to act, were critical reasons in 3 percent 

of all serious truck crashes. Does the Coast Guard keep any similar 

records with respect to marine casualties, and would such statistics 

be useful in developing a medical policy? 

Admiral COOK. Ma’am, I am not really prepared to answer that 

question. I have to get back to you on the record, if that would be 

okay. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. Sure. To give you another similar example, recently, when we extended the age, for example, with the pilots, and 

then we had had an incredible record run with pilots, you know, 

no problems, and not long thereafter we actually had a pilot, for 

example, who had a heart attack in flight. So that is one of the vehicles that can be used to consider in light of some of the incidents 

that are occurring to justify in fact fully implementing this program. 

So you will get back to the Committee? 

Admiral COOK. That would be my preference, rather than to 

speculate at this point. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. Okay. Thank you, sir. 

[Information follows:] 

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Next, I would like to turn to our Ranking Member. Did you have 

any other questions? 

Mr. LOBIONDO. No. 

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Taylor? No? 

Seeing no other questions, we will adjourn at this time. 

We look forward to you coming back and following up with any 

other information that was asked today. Thank you very much. 

Meeting adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 2:45 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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