The US Coast Guard has announced proposed rules that would establish special programs for towing vessel operators. The proposed rules are based on determinations by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Under the proposed rules, the Coast Guard would establish comprehensive new standards for towing vessel operations that would include all aspects of these operations from equipment maintenance to human factors. Under the new standards, companies would also be required to establish a safety management system. This is one of the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board that the Coast Guard wants to implement. Those companies that do not choose to establish a safety management system would be put through annual Coast Guard inspections.
Further, the rules would also require that the Coast Guard use third parties approved by the agency to verify towing vessel company compliance with the new rules. By doing this, the Coast Guard wants to ensure compliance with the limited resources it has, while ensuring that “rogue” towing vessel companies with frequent violations are kept under scrutiny.
The proposals have been already supported by the American Waterways Operators. The group has been working together with the Coast Guard to improve towing vessel safety and enhance environmental protection. Currently, the rules do not include any special proposals governing crewmembers’ hours of service nor a crew endurance management system. However, the Coast Guard has invited comments on these topics too, and will consider whether these issues need to be addressed in the future.
The maritime lawyers at Maintenance and Cure represent towboat crewmembers, towboat operators and other types of maritime workers injured in accidents across the country.
