Support the U.S. Coast Guard in Establishing a 21st Century Towing Vessel Inspection Program

Background

The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-293) ushered in a historic change in the Coast Guard's approach to the regulation of towing vessels. Section 415 of the law adds towing vessels to the list of vessels subject to Coast Guard inspection and authorizes the agency to establish a safety management system appropriate for the characteristics, methods, and nature of service of towing vessels. This landmark legislation was proposed by the Department of Homeland Security with the strong support of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for America's tugboat, towboat, and barge industry. AWO shares the Coast Guard's view that establishing an inspection program for towing vessels based on the modern, 21st century mechanism of a safety management system is the right next step to improve safety, security, and environmental protection in the largest segment of the U.S. domestic fleet.

The Coast Guard is moving forward with a regulatory project to implement this new legislative authority with the assistance of the congressionally established Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). At four public meetings in winter 2005 and an initial round of written comments to the rulemaking docket, a diverse array of commenters - including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the oil, grain, coal, cement, and electric utility customers who depend on safe and efficient barge transportation -- voiced strong support for making a safety management system the centerpiece of the new inspection regime. Commenters urged the Coast Guard not to be limited by decades-old models of vessel inspection, but to seize the opportunity to create an effective, modern inspection regime targeted on the real causes of towing vessel casualties.

In October 2005, TSAC overwhelmingly approved a comprehensive report making recommendations to the Coast Guard on the content of a new inspection regime for towing vessels. Key components of the TSAC-proposed inspection regime include: 1) establishment of a new subchapter of the Code of Federal Regulations that contains, to the maximum extent possible, all of the Coast Guard requirements for inspected towing vessels; 2) a requirement that all towing vessels be operated in compliance with a Coast Guard-accepted safety management system; 3) regulatory standards for vessel hull machinery, firefighting, lifesaving, pollution prevention, navigation and communication equipment, towing gear and rigging, required documents and publications, manning and watchstanding, crew training, and occupational safety and health; and 4) a multi-layered audit and oversight system that combines internal audits conducted by trained company personnel, external management and vessel audits conducted by Coast Guard-approved third parties, and Coast Guard oversight that encompasses all companies and all vessels but is targeted to focus the greatest share of agency resources on those companies and vessels whose performance warrants closest scrutiny.

AWO strongly supports the establishment of an innovative inspection program for towing vessels as recommended by the Towing Safety Advisory Committee. Over the past decade, AWO members have demonstrated a deep commitment to leadership in marine safety and environmental protection. The AWO Responsible Carrier Program, a third-party-audited safety management system with which all AWO members must comply as a condition of association membership, and the first-of-its-kind Coast Guard -AWO Safety Partnership are tangible examples of this commitment. Establishing an inspection program for towing vessels based on a safety management system is the best way to build on these achievements and insert a needed layer of judiciously deployed, carefully targeted governmental oversight that will enhance industry safety across the board.

Congressional Action Needed

• Support the Coast Guard in establishing an innovative, 21st century approach to towing vessel inspection as recommended by the congressionally established Towing Safety Advisory Committee. Encourage the Coast Guard to seize the opportunity to create an inspection regime "from scratch" based on risk, casualty history, and the unique characteristics of the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry.