[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21899-21901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10835]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 164

[USCG-2001-8826]
RIN 2115-AG09


Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems for Commercial 
Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to amend its regulations to allow 
commercial vessels to use as their primary means of navigation in U.S. 
waters an electronic charting and navigation system that meets the 
Electronic Charting Display and Information System (ECDIS) standard of 
the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Allowing commercial 
vessels to use modern electronic charting technology may reduce the 
potential for human error by providing a continuous update of a 
vessel's position for the mariner. To obtain information needed to 
amend this rule, the Coast Guard asks for comments from the public on 
the questions listed in this document.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before July 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material are not 
entered more than once in the docket, please submit them by only one of 
the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility (USCG 2001-8826), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202) 366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at (202) 493-2251.

[[Page 21900]]

    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
rulemaking. Comments and material received from the public, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
will become part of this docket and will be available for inspection or 
copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also find this docket 
on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this proposed rule, 
contact David Beach, Office of Vessel Traffic Management, Coast Guard, 
telephone 202-267-6623. For questions on viewing or submitting material 
to the docket, call Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of 
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related material. If you do so, please include your name 
and address and identify the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG 
2001-8826). Please indicate the specific section of this document to 
which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You 
may submit your comments and material by mail, hand delivery, fax, or 
electronic means to the Docket Management Facility at the address under 
ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one 
means. If you submit them by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would 
like to know they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-
addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period. The Coast Guard may change 
this proposed rule in view of the comments received.

Public Meeting

    As of now, the Coast Guard does not plan to hold a public meeting. 
But you may submit a request for a public meeting to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES explaining why one 
would be beneficial. If we determine that a public meeting would aid 
this rulemaking, we will hold one at a time and place announced by a 
later notice in the Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

    Currently, self-propelled vessels 1600 gross tons and over (with 
some exceptions) are required to use printed charts and publications 
and manually plot their position while navigating in U.S. waters. The 
existing regulations require a vessel to maintain current paper charts 
and publications for the area to be transited. Paper charts and 
publications requiring labor-intensive corrections cannot be updated as 
expediently as an electronic charting system. Rapid improvements in 
electronic technology and communications may offer viable options to 
replace these traditional methods and tools of navigation.
    Existing computer applications can eliminate paper documents and 
reduce the time needed to obtain updated navigation information. Today, 
computer technology can instantly assimilate data from multiple 
satellite sources and allow continuous information updates to a 
vessel's navigation and positioning. The Coast Guard realizes that 
updating or correcting printed navigation material (i.e. charts and 
publications) requires a considerable expenditure of time and effort 
for the commercial shipping industry.
    The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted 
Electronic Charting Display Information Systems (ECDIS) standards for 
vessels on international voyages, and electronic charting systems are 
commercially available for even the smallest vessels. The Coast Guard 
is considering the feasibility of allowing commercial vessels the 
option to use ECDIS as their primary means of navigation in the 
navigable waters of the United States.
    Under a separate rulemaking, the Coast Guard is publishing a Direct 
Final Rule allowing public vessels to use electronic charting and 
navigation systems as their primary means of navigation while 
transiting in the navigable waters of the United States. The Coast 
Guard is also planning to conduct an operational evaluation of certain 
electronic charting and navigation systems that are commercially 
available. This evaluation will assist the Coast Guard in determining 
if there are other charting and navigation systems incorporating 
electronic technology that are functionally equivalent to those 
required by IMO. If there are functionally equivalent systems that do 
not meet all of the IMO ECDIS requirements, the Coast Guard may attempt 
to readdress IMO acceptance of these systems at a later date.

Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The Coast Guard is considering amending existing regulations to 
allow commercial vessels to use an IMO compliant ECDIS as their primary 
means of navigation in the navigable waters of the United States. 
Commercial vessels using an ECDIS that meets the IMO standard will have 
the option to be exempt from the paper chart requirement listed in 33 
CFR 164.30 and the requirement for printed navigational publications 
found in 33 CFR 164.33. Vessels that choose to operate without an IMO 
compliant ECDIS would continue to navigate using corrected and up to 
date printed charts and publications in accordance with applicable 
regulations.

Regulatory Evaluation

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an 
assessment of potential costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of 
that Order. The Office of Management and Budget under this Order has 
not reviewed the rule. It is not ``significant'' under the regulatory 
policies and procedures of the Department of Transportation (DOT)(44 FR 
11040, February 26, 1979). The Coast Guard expects the economic impact 
of this rule to be so minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation under 
paragraph 10e of the regulatory policies and procedures of DOT is 
unnecessary.

Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Coast 
Guard must considered whether this proposed rule would have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The term ``small entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit 
organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not 
dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations of less than 50,000.
    Presently, the impact of the proposed rulemaking would have on 
small entities has not been determined. Any impact on small entities 
will be assessed in a preliminary Regulatory Flexibility Assessment. If 
you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have 
a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment to the 
Docket Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES. In your 
comment

[[Page 21901]]

explain how you think it qualifies and how and to what degree this rule 
would economically affect it.

Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), the Coast Guard would assist 
small entities in understanding this proposed rule so that they can 
better evaluate its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. 
The proposed rulemaking would provide small businesses or organizations 
an opportunity to comment and will provide a point of contact for any 
questions on the proposed rulemaking's provisions and its options for 
compliance. The Coast Guard will provide State's Small Business 
Development Centers (SBDC) with copies of the proposed rulemaking for 
further distribution. Small businesses may send comments on the actions 
of Federal employees who enforce, or otherwise determine compliance 
with, Federal Regulations to the Small Business and Agriculture 
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business 
Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these actions 
annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. If 
you wish to comment on actions by employees of the Coast Guard, call 1-
888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247).

Collection of Information

    This proposed rule does not provide for a collection of information 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. et seq.).

Questions

    The Coast Guard requests your comments and any data or information 
that would answer the following questions, as well as comments on any 
other part of the current regulations that should be revised. In 
responding to a question, please explain your reasons for each answer 
so that we can carefully weigh the consequences and impact of any 
future requirements we may propose. In addition, please provide 
relevant data (data on operational incidents resulting in personal 
injury, property damage, or pollution would be particularly useful), if 
possible that would support the need for excluding commercial vessels 
from certain requirements regarding the carriage of paper navigational 
charts, and publications.

Usage

    1. Should ECDIS systems be allowed as an alternative to paper 
charts for commercial vessels?
    2. Which categories of self-propelled vessels (1600 or more gross 
tons) will install the optional ECDIS system as defined by IMO, as an 
alternative for the paper charts required by 33 CFR part 164?
    3. How many self-propelled vessels of less than 1600 gross tons may 
install an ECDIS system?
    4. If you are planning to install ECDIS, what factors led you to 
this decision?
    5. If you are not planning to install ECDIS, what factors led you 
to this decision?
    6. Are you considering ECDIS as a stand-alone unit, or as part of 
an Integrated Bridge System?

Costs

    1. What is the cost for an ECDIS system (software/hardware)?
    2. How much would you estimate it would cost to have an ECDIS 
system installed on your vessel?
    3. Once the ECDIS system is installed, what kind of maintenance 
would the system need?
    4. How much does the maintenance of the system cost and how often 
(annual, quarterly, monthly) would it need to be conducted?
    5. What is the average operational life of the ECDIS system? Is 
there a projected time when the system should be replaced?
    6. What does it cost to update electronic charts? How is the update 
information provided? How often is the update information provided?
    7. How does the electronic chart service compare to your current 
service for paper charts?
    8. What are the economic benefits to a company that would use ECDIS 
instead of existing paper charts? What other potential benefits can be 
provided by the use of ECDIS?
    9. Are there other electronic charting and navigational systems 
that should be considered?
    10. How many paper charts are purchased on average per year? How 
much do the charts cost? How much does it cost to have the paper charts 
updated and how often are they updated (annually, quarterly, monthly)?

Operations

    1. What kind of training would be required to use an ECDIS system?
    2. What would be the estimated time period for the training and 
what are the involved costs?
    3. Who would be responsible for conducting the training?
    4. What are the potential benefits of using an ECDIS system in lieu 
of paper charts on board a vessel?
    5. IMO requires an acceptable backup for ECDIS systems. What is an 
acceptable backup system (A second, independent ECDIS system, an 
electronic charting system, manually updated and corrected paper 
charts)? If paper, how many charts and what scale do you recommend?
    6. Which electronic navigation system components need to be backed 
up (i.e. power, positioning, communications)?
    7. What means does an ECDIS use to provide voyage reconstruction 
for the purpose of marine casualty investigation and how long does the 
system retain this data?
    8. Are there mediums to share and display this data?
    9. Can ECDIS display charts and the navigation publications 
simultaneously?

Miscellaneous

    1. Should we allow electronic versions of publications as well as 
charts?
    2. How would any proposed regulation affect small entities?
    Comments are not limited to the preceding questions and are invited 
on any aspect of this proposal or of implementing the electronic 
charting and navigation requirements for commercial vessels.

    Dated: March 23, 2001.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety 
and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 01-10835 Filed 5-1-01; 8:45 am]
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