A consensus study committee will review the constraints and challenges faced by the U.S. Coast Guard in ensuring that its certificate of compliance (COC) examination program for gas carriers is designed and carried out efficiently and effectively. Informed by the review, the committee will consider opportunities for the Coast Guard to maintain and potentially increase the efficiency and safety effectiveness of the program in the face of growing liquefied gas carrier (LGC) activity and changing traffic patterns.
While having discretion to consider the various ways in which Coast Guard could ensure program efficiency and effectiveness, the committee will include the following among the options studied:
• Changing the location of marine inspection units for gas carriers, including the establishment of a unit near the Panama Canal that specializes in these vessels and that can concentrate on traffic bound for the U.S;
• Changing how marine examiners with gas carrier qualifications are managed and deployed, including placing all qualified examiners under the command of a single Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) in each District and extending the duration of their assignments in units that frequently examine these vessels;
• Using more civilians to conduct and support COC exams;
• Increasing the staffing of the Coast Guard’s LGC National Center of Expertise to enable more National Verifying Officers to be deployed to lead COC exams;
• Extending the duration of certificates of compliance for vessels that are less than 10 years old and participate in a Coast Guard vessel quality assurance program; and,
• Making other revisions to the COC examination program and its requirements, including those that apply to cargo-restricted gas carriers, on the basis of risk assessments that take into account factors such as a vessel’s age, the inspection and incident history, and participation in a quality assurance program.
When evaluating options, the committee will consider their potential impacts on the Coast Guard’s marine inspection workforce and program generally. The committee may make recommendations to the Coast Guard and Congress on options that warrant more attention, including steps that may be needed to further each such as through changes in resourcing, regulations, policies, and protocols.