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‘‘(k)(1) Each vessel of the United States that is con-
structed under a contract entered into after the date of 
enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008, 
or that is delivered after August 1, 2010, with an aggre-
gate capacity of 600 cubic meters or more of oil fuel, shall 
comply with the requirements of Regulation 12A under 
Annex I to the Protocol of 1978 relating to the Inter-
national Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from 
Ships, 1973, entitled ‘Oil Fuel Tank Protection.’ 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may prescribe regulations to 
apply the requirements described in Regulation 12A to 
vessels described in paragraph (1) that are not otherwise 
subject to that convention. Any such regulation shall be 
considered to be an interpretive rule for the purposes of 
section 553 of title 5. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection the term ‘oil fuel’ means any 
oil used as fuel in connection with the propulsion and aux-
iliary machinery of the vessel in which such oil is carried.’’. 
SEC. 319. REGISTRY ENDORSEMENT FOR LNG VESSELS. 
Section 12111 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d)(1) A vessel for which a registry endorsement is 
not issued may not engage in regasifying on navigable wa-
ters unless the vessel transported the gas from a foreign 
port. 
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‘‘(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) or any other provision 
of this title may be construed as— 
‘‘(A) applying to such paragraph a definition of 
the term ‘vessel’ that includes any structure on, in, 
or under the navigable waters of the United States 
that the Coast Guard regulates as a waterfront facil-
ity handling liquified natural gas under part 127 of 
title 33, Code of Federal Regulations; or 
‘‘(B) having any effect on the jurisdiction of the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under sec-
tion 3(e)(1) of the Natural Gas Act. 
‘‘(3) Paragraph (2)(A) does not affect the authority 
of the Coast Guard to modify the provisions of part 127 
of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 
SEC. 320. OATHS. 
Sections 7105 and 7305 of title 46, United States 
Code, and the items relating to such sections in the anal-
ysis for chapters 71 and 73 of such title, are repealed. 
SEC. 321. DURATION OF CREDENTIALS. 
(a) MERCHANT MARINER’S DOCUMENTS.—Section 
7302(f) of title 46, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(f) PERIODS OF VALIDITY AND RENEWAL OF MER-
CHANT MARINERS’ DOCUMENTS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (g), a merchant mariner’s document issued 
under this chapter is valid for a 5-year period and 
may be renewed for additional 5-year periods. 
‘‘(2) ADVANCE
RENEWALS.—A renewed mer-
chant mariner’s document may be issued under this 
chapter up to 8 months in advance but is not effec-
tive until the date that the previously issued mer-
chant mariner’s document expires.’’. 
(b) DURATION OF LICENSES.—Section 7106 of such 
title is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 7106. Duration of licenses 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A license issued under this part 
is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for addi-
tional 5-year periods; except that the validity of a license 
issued to a radio officer is conditioned on the continuous 
possession by the holder of a first-class or second-class ra-
diotelegraph operator license issued by the Federal Com-
munications Commission. 
‘‘(b) ADVANCE
RENEWALS.—A renewed license 
issued under this part may be issued up to 8 months in 
advance but is not effective until the date that the pre-
viously issued license expires.’’. 
(c) CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRY.—Section 7107 of 
such title is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘§ 7107. Duration of certificates of registry 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A certificate of registry issued 
under this part is valid for a 5-year period and may be 
renewed for additional 5-year periods; except that the va-
lidity of a certificate issued to a medical doctor or profes-
sional nurse is conditioned on the continuous possession 
by the holder of a license as a medical doctor or registered 
nurse, respectively, issued by a State. 
‘‘(b) ADVANCE RENEWALS.—A renewed certificate of 
registry issued under this part may be issued up to 8 
months in advance but is not effective until the date that 
the previously issued certificate of registry expires.’’. 
SEC. 322. FINGERPRINTING. 
(a) MERCHANT MARINER LICENSES
AND DOCU-
MENTS.—Chapter 75 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 7507. Fingerprinting 
‘‘The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 
Guard is operating may not require an individual to be 
fingerprinted for the issuance or renewal of a license, a 
certificate of registry, or a merchant mariner’s document 
under chapter 71 or 73 if the individual was fingerprinted 
when the individual applied for a transportation security 
card under section 70105.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘7507. Fingerprinting.’’. 
SEC. 323. AUTHORIZATION TO EXTEND THE DURATION OF 
LICENSES, CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRY, AND 
MERCHANT MARINERS’ DOCUMENTS. 
(a) MERCHANT MARINER LICENSES
AND DOCU-
MENTS.—Chapter 75 of title 46, United States Code, as 
amended by section 322(a) of this Act, is further amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 7508. Authority to extend the duration of licenses, 
certificates of registry, and merchant 
mariner documents 
‘‘(a) LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRY.— 
Notwithstanding sections 7106 and 7107, the Secretary 
of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 
may extend for one year an expiring license or certificate 
of registry issued for an individual under chapter 71 if 
the Secretary determines that extension is required to en-
able the Coast Guard to eliminate a backlog in processing 
applications for those licenses or certificates of registry. 
‘‘(b) MERCHANT MARINER DOCUMENTS.—Notwith-
standing section 7302(g), the Secretary may extend for 
one year an expiring merchant mariner’s document issued 
for an individual under chapter 71 if the Secretary deter-
mines that extension is required to enable the Coast Guard 
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