[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 223 (Friday, November 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69603-69604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29514]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2000-8292]


Sea Princess Trading, Inc. and the Sabine Transportation Company; 
Notice of Petition for a Declaratory Order

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of petition.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration is seeking public comment on the

[[Page 69604]]

subject petition. Pursuant to 46 CFR 201.74, Sea Princess Trading, Inc. 
(Trading), the owner, and the Sabine Transportation Company (Sabine), 
the operator, by petition dated November 7, 2000, request a ruling that 
the SEA PRINCESS, a 37,500 DWT oil tanker, would if converted to a dry 
bulk carrier in a foreign shipyard be qualified to lift cargo reserved 
to privately owned United States-flag commercial vessels by section 
901(b)(1) and 901b et seq., of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as 
amended (Act); provided the United States Coast Guard ruled that the 
vessel so converted qualified for a coastwise endorsement to its 
document of registration pursuant to 46 App. U.S.C. 883 and 46 U.S.C. 
12106.

DATES: You should submit your comments early enough to ensure that 
Docket Management receives them not later than close of business (5 
p.m. EST) December 1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Your comments should refer to docket number MARAD-2000-8292. 
You may submit your comments in writing to: Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT 
Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 7th St., SW, Washington, DC 20590. You may 
also submit them electronically via the internet at
http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/. You may call Docket Management at (202) 
366-9324 and visit the Docket Room from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., EST., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal Holidays. An electronic version of this 
document is available on the World Wide Web at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may call Frances M. Olsen, Acting 
Director, Office of Cargo Preference, (202) 366-4610. You may send mail 
to Frances M. Olsen, Acting Director, Office of Cargo Preference, Room 
8118, Maritime Administration, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket 
number of this document in your comments. We encourage you to write 
your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach 
necessary additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on 
the length of the attachments. Please submit two copies of your 
comments, including the attachments, to Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES.
    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Docket Management will return the 
postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration, at 
the address given above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. You 
should mark ``CONFIDENTIAL'' on each page of the original document that 
you would like to keep confidential. In addition, you should submit two 
copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business 
information, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES. When you send comments containing information claimed to be 
confidential business information, you should include a cover letter 
setting forth with specificity the basis for any such claim.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the Petition and the comments received by Docket 
Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the 
Docket Room are indicated above in the same location. You may also see 
the comments on the Internet. To read the comments on the Internet, 
take the following steps: Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web 
page of the Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov/). On that 
page, click on ``search.'' On the next page (http://dms.dot.gov/search/
), type in the four digit docket number shown at the beginning of this 
document. The docket number for this document is MARAD-2000-8292. After 
typing the docket number, click on ``search.'' On the next page, which 
contains docket summary information for the docket you selected, click 
on the desired comments. You may download the comments.

Petition Request

    Pursuant to 46 CFR 201.74, Sea Princess Trading, Inc. (Trading), 
the owner, and the Sabine Transportation Company (Sabine), the 
operator, by petition dated November 7, 2000, request a ruling that the 
SEA PRINCESS, a 37,500 DWT oil tanker, would if converted to a dry bulk 
carrier in a foreign shipyard be qualified to lift cargo reserved to 
privately owned United States-flag commercial vessels by section 
901(b)(1) and 901b et seq., of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as 
amended (Act); provided the United States Coast Guard ruled that the 
vessel so converted qualified for a coast wise endorsement to its 
document of registration pursuant to 46 App. U.S.C. 883 and 46 U.S.C. 
12106.
    On April 15, 1994, the Maritime Administrator rendered an opinion 
that the tanker GOLDEN MONARCH when converted to a bulk carrier in 
Korea would not be eligible to lift preference cargo, although the 
Coast Guard had ruled that the MONARCH was eligible for a coastwise 
endorsement. Aquarius Marine Company Docket No. A-185. MARAD's decision 
was upheld by the United Stastaes Court of Appeals for the Second 
Circuit in Aquarius v. Pena, 64 F.3d 89 (2nd cir. 1985).
    Trading and Sabine ask the Maritime Administration to essentially 
reverse its decision in the GOLDEN MONARCH case.
    This notice is published as a matter of discretion, and the fact of 
its publication should in no way be considered a favorable or 
unfavorable decision on the application, as filed, or as may be 
amended. MARAD will consider all comments submitted in a timely 
fashion, and will take such action as may be deemed appropriate.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: November 14, 2000.
Joel C. Richard,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-29514 Filed 11-16-00; 8:45 am]
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