[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13112-13113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5115]



[[Page 13112]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG 2001-8920]


Guidelines for Assessing Merchant Mariners' Proficiency Through 
Demonstrations of Skills for Ratings Forming Part of an Engineering 
Watch

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of, and seeks 
public comments on, the national performance measures proposed here for 
use as guidelines when mariners demonstrate their proficiency in skills 
for ratings forming part of an engineering watch. A working group of 
the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) developed and 
recommended measures for this proficiency. The Coast Guard has adapted 
the measures recommended by MERPAC.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before May 1, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please identify your comments and related material by the 
docket number of this rulemaking [USCG 2001-8920]. Then, to make sure 
they enter the docket just once, submit them by just one of the 
following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, 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 Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Facility maintains the public docket for this Notice. Comments 
and related material received from the public, as well as documents 
mentioned in this Notice, 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.
    The measures proposed here are available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. They are also available from Mr. Mark Gould, Maritime 
Personnel Qualifications Division, Office of Operating and 
Environmental Standards, Commandant (G-MSO-1), U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, telephone 202-267-0229.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this Notice or on the 
national performance measures proposed here, write or call Mr. Gould 
where indicated under ADDRESSES. For questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Ms. Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, 
Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Action Is the Coast Guard Taking?

    Table A-III/4 of the Code accompanying the treaty on Standards of 
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as 
amended in 1995, articulates qualifications for merchant mariners' 
attaining the minimum standard of competence for ratings forming part 
of an engineering watch. The Coast Guard tasked MERPAC with referring 
to the Table, modifying and specifying it as it deemed necessary, and 
recommending national performance measures. The Coast Guard has adapted 
the measures recommended by MERPAC and is proposing them now for use as 
guidelines when assessing mariners' proficiency in skills (manifesting 
knowledge, understanding, and proficiency) for ratings forming part of 
an engineering watch.
    Here follow the eight skills that a mariner must demonstrate 
respecting ratings forming part of an engineering watch, with an 
example of a Performance Condition, a Performance Behavior, and three 
Performance Standards for one of the eight:
    Eight Skills: Engine-room watchkeeping procedures; Safe working 
practices as related to engine-room operations; Basic environmental-
protection procedures; Use of appropriate internal-communication 
systems; Engine-room alarms and ability to distinguish among the 
various alarms, with special reference to alarms for fire-extinguishing 
gas; Safe operations of boilers; Escape routes from machinery spaces; 
and Familiarity with the location and use of fire-fighting equipment in 
machinery spaces.
    The Performance Condition for the skill entitled, ``Engine-room 
watchkeeping procedures'' is: ``Aboard a ship, in port or underway, or 
in an approved simulator or laboratory, given proper equipment . . .'' 
This calls for, in the case of this skill, various Performance 
Behaviors.
    One Performance Behavior for the same skill is: ``The candidate 
will properly relieve the watch.'' This behavior calls for three 
Performance Standards.
    The Performance Standards for the same behavior are: ``(1) Reports 
for duty 15 minutes before the hour; (2) Determines from the off-going 
watch: plant operational status, unusual alarms or conditions during 
previous watch, standing orders, maintenance performed during previous 
watch, on-going repairs affecting plant operations, [and] outstanding 
safety conditions; [and] (3) Seeks clarification from the off-going 
watch or engineer if information was not clearly understood.''
    If the mariner properly meets all of the Performance Standards, he 
or she passes the practical demonstration. If he or she fails to 
properly carry out any of the Standards, he or she fails the 
demonstration.

Why Is the Coast Guard Taking This Action?

    The Coast Guard is taking this action to comply with STCW, as 
amended in 1995 and 1997 and incorporated into domestic law at 46 CFR 
Parts 10, 12, and 15 in 1997 and since. Guidance from the International 
Maritime Organization on shipboard assessments of proficiency suggests 
that Parties develop standards and measures of performance for 
practical tests as part of their programs for training and assessing 
seafarers.

How May I Participate in This Action?

    You may participate in this action by submitting comments and 
related material on the national performance measures proposed here. 
(Although the Coast Guard does not seek public comment on the measures 
recommended by MERPAC, as distinct from the measures proposed here, 
those measures are available on the Internet at the Homepage of MERPAC, 
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/advisory/merpac/merpac.htm.) The measures 
proposed here, again, are available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. They are also available from Mr. Gould where indicated 
under ADDRESSES. If you submit written comments please include--
    <bullet> Your name and address;
    <bullet> The docket number for this Notice [USCG 2001-8920];
    <bullet> The specific section of the performance measures to which 
each comment applies; and
    <bullet> The reason for each comment.

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    You may mail, deliver, fax, or electronically submit your comments 
and related material to the Docket Management Facility, using an 
address or fax number listed in ADDRESSES. Please do not submit the 
same comment or material more than once. If you mail or deliver your 
comments and material, they must be on 8\1/2\-by-11-inch paper, and the 
quality of the copy should be clear enough for copying and scanning. If 
you mail your comments and material and would like to know whether the 
Facility received them, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard will consider all comments and 
material received during the 60-day comment period.
    Once we have considered all comments and related material, we will 
publish a final version of the national performance measures for use as 
guidelines by the general public. Individuals and institutions 
assessing the competence of mariners may refine the final version of 
these measures and develop innovative alternatives. If you vary from 
the final version of these measures, however, you must submit your 
alternative to the National Maritime Center for approval by the Coast 
Guard under 46 CFR 10.303(e) before you use it as part of an approved 
course or training program.

    Dated: February 20, 2001.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 01-5115 Filed 3-2-01; 8:45 am]
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