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on an expeditious basis and using the shortest existing appli-
cable process, determinations on any required approval for 
issuance of any permits under the jurisdiction of such depart-
ment related to the construction or alteration of a bridge over 
the Kill Van Kull consistent with Executive Order 13604 
(March 22, 2012) and the Administration’s objectives for the 
project. 
SEC. 713. TONNAGE OF AQUEOS ACADIAN. 
The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 
Guard is operating may consider the tonnage measurements 
for the vessel Aqueos Acadian (United States official number 
553645) recorded on the certificate of inspection for the ves-
sel issued on September 8, 2011, to be valid until May 2, 
2014, if the vessel and the use of its space is not changed 
after November 16, 2012, in a way that substantially affects 
the tonnage of the vessel. 
SEC. 714. NAVIGABILITY DETERMINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate an assessment of the impact of additional regulatory re-
quirements imposed on passenger vessels operating on the
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Ringo Cocke Canal in Louisiana as a result of the covered 
navigability determination. 
(b) RESTRICTION.—Before the date that is 180 days 
after the date on which the assessment required under sub-
section (a) is submitted, the Commandant may not enforce 
any regulatory requirements imposed on passenger vessels op-
erating on the Ringo Cocke Canal in Louisiana that are a re-
sult of the covered navigability determination. 
(c) COVERED
NAVIGABILITY
DETERMINATION
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered navigability deter-
mination’’ means the Coast Guard’s Navigability Determina-
tion for Ringo Cocke Canal, Louisiana, dated March 25, 
2010. 
SEC. 715. COAST GUARD HOUSING. 
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives the Coast 
Guard’s National Housing Assessment and any analysis con-
ducted by the Coast Guard of such assessment. 
SEC. 716. ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL COAST 
GUARD PRESENCE IN HIGH-LATITUDE REGIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast
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Guard is operating shall submit to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives an assessment of the need for addi-
tional Coast Guard prevention and response capability in the 
high-latitude regions. The assessment shall address needs for 
all Coast Guard mission areas, including search and rescue, 
marine pollution response and prevention, fisheries enforce-
ment, and maritime commerce. The Secretary shall include in 
the assessment— 
(1) an analysis of the high-latitude operating capa-
bilities of all current Coast Guard assets other than ice-
breakers, including assets acquired under the Deepwater 
program; 
(2) an analysis of projected needs for Coast Guard 
operations in the high-latitude regions; and 
(3) an analysis of shore infrastructure, personnel, 
logistics, communications, and resources requirements to 
support Coast Guard operations in the high-latitude re-
gions, including forward operating bases and existing in-
frastructure in the furthest north locations that are ice 
free, or nearly ice free, year round. 
SEC. 717. POTENTIAL PLACE OF REFUGE. 
(a) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast
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Guard shall consult with appropriate Federal agencies and 
with State and local interests to determine what improve-
ments, if any, are necessary to designate existing ice-free fa-
cilities or infrastructure in the Central Bering Sea as a fully 
functional, year-round Potential Place of Refuge. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the consultation under 
subsection (a) shall be to enhance safety of human life at sea 
and protect the marine environment in the Central Bering 
Sea. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 90 
days after making the determination under subsection (a), 
the Commandant shall inform the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives in writing of the findings under subsection (a). 
SEC. 718. MERCHANT MARINER MEDICAL EVALUATION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate an assessment of the Coast Guard National Maritime 
Center’s merchant mariner medical evaluation program and 
alternatives to the program.
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(b) CONTENTS.—The assessment required under sub-
section (a) shall include the following: 
(1) An overview of the adequacy of the program for 
making medical certification determinations for issuance 
of merchant mariners’ documents. 
(2) An analysis of how a system similar to the Fed-
eral Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National 
Registry of Certified Medical Examiners program, and 
the Federal Aviation Administration’s Designated Avia-
tion Medical Examiners program, could be applied by 
the Coast Guard in making medical fitness determina-
tions for issuance of merchant mariners’ documents. 
(3) An explanation of how the amendments to the 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Cer-
tification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, that 
entered into force on January 1, 2012, required changes 
to the Coast Guard’s merchant mariner medical evalua-
tion program. 
SEC. 719. DETERMINATIONS. 
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 
Guard is operating shall provide to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate an assessment of—
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(1) the loss of United States shipyard jobs and in-
dustrial base expertise as a result of rebuild, conversion, 
and double-hull work on United States-flag vessels eligi-
ble to engage in the coastwise trade being performed in 
foreign shipyards; 
(2) enforcement of the Coast Guard’s foreign re-
build determination regulations; and 
(3) recommendations for improving transparency in 
the Coast Guard’s foreign rebuild determination process. 
SEC. 720. IMPEDIMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES-FLAG REG-
ISTRY. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate an assessment of factors under the authority of the Coast 
Guard that impact the ability of vessels documented in the 
United States to effectively compete in international trans-
portation markets. 
(b) CONTENT.—The assessment under subsection (a) 
shall include— 
(1) a review of differences between Coast Guard 
policies and regulations governing the inspection of ves-
sels documented in the United States and International
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Maritime Organization policies and regulations gov-
erning the inspection of vessels not documented in the 
United States; 
(2) a statement on the impact such differences have 
on operating costs for vessels documented in the United 
States; and 
(3) recommendations on whether to harmonize any 
such differences. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the assessment under 
subsection (a), the Commandant may consider the views of 
representatives of the owners or operators of vessels docu-
mented in the United States and the organizations rep-
resenting the employees employed on such vessels. 
SEC. 721. ARCTIC DEEPWATER SEAPORT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Commandant of the Coast Guard, in 
consultation with the Commanding General of the Army 
Corps of Engineers, the Maritime Administrator, and the 
Chief of Naval Operations, shall conduct a study on the feasi-
bility of establishing a deepwater seaport in the Arctic to pro-
tect and advance strategic United States interests within the 
Arctic region. 
(b) SCOPE.—The study under subsection (a) shall in-
clude an analysis of— 
(1) the capability provided by a deepwater seaport 
that—
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(A) is in the Arctic (as that term is defined in 
the section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy 
Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111)); and 
(B) has a depth of not less than 34 feet; 
(2) the potential and optimum locations for such 
deepwater seaport; 
(3) the resources needed to establish such deep-
water seaport; 
(4) the timeframe needed to establish such deep-
water seaport; 
(5) the infrastructure required to support such 
deepwater seaport; and 
(6) any other issues the Secretary considers nec-
essary to complete the study. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR SUBMISSION
OF FINDINGS.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commandant shall submit the findings of the study under 
subsection (a) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 722. RISK ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORTING CANADIAN OIL 
SANDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall assess the increased vessel traffic in the Salish 
Sea (including Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, Haro
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Strait, Rosario Strait, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca), that 
may occur from the transport of Canadian oil sands oil. 
(b) SCOPE.—The assessment required under subsection 
(a) shall, at a minimum, consider— 
(1) the extent to which vessel (including barge, 
tanker, and supertanker) traffic may increase due to Ca-
nadian oil sands development; 
(2) whether the transport of oil from Canadian oil 
sands within the Salish Sea is likely to require naviga-
tion through United States territorial waters; 
(3) the rules or regulations that restrict super-
tanker traffic in United States waters, including an as-
sessment of whether there are methods to bypass those 
rules or regulations in such waters and adjacent Cana-
dian waters; 
(4) the rules or regulations that restrict the amount 
of oil transported in tankers or barges in United States 
waters, including an assessment of whether there are 
methods to bypass those rules or regulations in such 
waters and adjacent Canadian waters; 
(5) the spill response capability throughout the 
shared waters of the United States and Canada, includ-
ing oil spill response planning requirements for vessels 
bound for one nation transiting through the waters of 
the other nation;
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(6) the vessel emergency response towing capability 
at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca; 
(7) the agreement between the United States and 
Canada that outlines requirements for laden tank vessels 
to be escorted by tug boats; 
(8) whether oil extracted from oil sands has dif-
ferent properties from other types of oil, including tox-
icity and other properties, that may require different 
maritime clean up technologies; 
(9) a risk assessment of the increasing supertanker, 
tanker, and barge traffic associated with Canadian oil 
sands development or expected to be associated with Ca-
nadian oil sands development; and 
(10) the potential costs and benefits to the United 
States public and the private sector of maritime trans-
portation of oil sands products. 
(c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In conducting the 
assessment required under this section, the Commandant 
shall consult with the State of Washington, affected tribal 
governments, and industry, including vessel operators, oil 
sands producers, and spill response experts. The Com-
mandant may consult with the Secretary of State. 
(d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com-
mandant shall submit the assessment required under this sec-
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tion to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 
Attest: 
Clerk.