[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 224 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63773-63774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30373]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 175
[USCG-1998-4447]
Federal Requirements To Carry Ground Tackle on Recreational
Vessels
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of petition for rulemaking and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard seeks comments from interested people, groups
and businesses in response to a petition for rulemaking submitted by
the National Boating Federation (NBF). The petition requests that the
Coast Guard require that all recreational vessels in the United States
carry proper anchoring gear and that the gear be in useable condition.
Currently, Federal regulations do not require that ground tackle
(anchor and line or chain) be carried on recreational vessels as safety
equipment. This notice describes the Coast Guard's policy for
establishing National minimum safety equipment carriage requirements
for recreational vessels, and related issues, to assist interested
persons with providing helpful comments as to whether the Coast Guard
should initiate a regulatory project.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before May 22, 2000.
ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material (referred to
USCG-1998-4447) are not entered more than once in the docket, please
submit them by only one of the following means:
(1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC
20590-0001.
(2) By hand-delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
(3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
(4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this
notice. Comments and material received from the public, as well as
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket,
will become part of this docket and will be available for inspection or
copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, at
the same address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. You may also find this docket on the Internet
at http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice contact
Carlton Perry, Project Manager, Office of Boating Safety, by telephone
at 202-267-0979 or by e-mail at cperry@comdt.uscg.mil. For questions on
viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Dorothy Walker,
Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.
You may obtain a copy of this notice by calling the U.S. Coast
Guard Infoline at 1-800-368-5647, or read it on the Internet at the Web
Site for the Office of Boating Safety at http://www.uscgboating.org or
at http://dms.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Boating Federation (NBF) has submitted a petition to
the Coast Guard (included in the public docket for this notice). The
petition requests that we require that all recreational vessels in the
United States carry proper anchoring gear and that the gear be in
useable condition. Currently, Federal regulations do not require that
ground tackle (anchor and line or chain) be carried on recreational
vessels as safety equipment. The NBF suggests that because we urge
boaters experiencing a loss of maneuverability during near-shore
boating to set their anchor, we should also require boaters to carry
appropriate ground tackle. The NBF did not identify or describe any
incidents where the lack of an anchor contributed to, or the presence
of an anchor may have prevented, a boating accident resulting in a
fatality, injury or property damage.
We maintain a boating accident report database (BARD) on reported
boating accidents involving deaths, injuries requiring medical
treatment beyond first aid, and property damage greater than $500. We
searched the 1997 database on
[[Page 63774]]
the root terms ``anchor'', ``drift'' and ``ground'' and found 1,607
incidents out of 8,047 reported accidents, where one or more of the
terms were mentioned in the report narrative.
The vast majority (1,593) of reported accident narratives indicated
that a factor other than ground tackle was the cause of the accident.
The following list describes the number of cases and the general factor
categories leading to the 1607 reported accidents.
1. 651--Operator inexperience, failure, or inattention.
2. 412--Machinery failure, no details, or miscellaneous.
3. 125--Alcohol.
4. 115--Poor weather or hazardous water conditions.
5. 111--Excessive speed.
6. 73--Jet-ski or canoe.
7. 65--Vessel at anchor and hit or upset by wake from passing
vessel.
8. 20--Drifting on purpose or accident while pulling anchor.
9. 14--Improper lights.
10. 11--Insufficient anchor or improperly anchored.
11. 10--Ran aground while setting anchor or ran aground with anchor
down.
Only 14 of the 1,607 report narratives described an incident where
the lack of an anchor contributed to, or that the presence of an anchor
may have prevented, the reported accident. Listed below are five
samples of report narratives from our database that reflect cases where
the accident may have been prevented if the operator had carried
appropriate ground tackle.
1. ``The operator didn't pay attention to the fuel level and the
vessel ran out of gas. Then he tried to anchor but had an improper
anchor for sea conditions and the rough water forced the vessel onto
the beach totaling it.''
2. ``Due to hazardous weather conditions the operator attempted to
anchor the vessel. The anchor line was insufficient and broke and the
vessel grounded, causing damage. The vessel then sank.''
3. ``The boat broke free from the dock and drifted across the creek
into a marsh. In an effort to recover the boat, both occupants stayed
on the boat and tried to get back to the dock. Both occupants were
exposed to the weather elements and died from hypothermia.''
4. ``Operator's engine stalled and wouldn't restart. The vessel
grounded onto the jetty, causing major damage.''
5. ``The operator was returning from fishing when the engine died
and the vessel was sucked into shore.''
Under 46 U.S.C. 4302, we may prescribe regulations to require the
installation, carrying or use of associated equipment (including fuel
systems, ventilation systems, electrical systems, sound-producing
devices, fire fighting equipment, life saving devices, signaling
devices, ground tackle, life- and grab-rails, and navigational
equipment) on recreational vessels. In prescribing such regulations, we
must consider the need for and the extent to which the regulations will
contribute to recreational vessel safety and relevant available
recreational vessel safety standards, statistics, and data, including
public and private research, development, testing, and evaluation. We
have done so for fuel systems (33 CFR part 175, subpart J), ventilation
systems (33 CFR parts 175, subpart C and 183, subpart K and 46 CFR part
25, subpart 25.40), electrical systems (33 CFR part 183, subpart I),
fire fighting equipment (46 CFR part 25, subpart 25.30), life saving
devices (33 CFR part 175, subpart B), and signaling devices (33 CFR
part 175, subpart C). The Navigation Rules prescribe requirements to
carry sound-producing devices (33 CFR part 86). We have not prescribed
requirements to carry ground tackle, life- and grab-rails, or
navigational equipment on recreational vessels.
Public Meeting
We do not plan to hold a public meeting in response to this
petition. You may request one by submitting a request to the Docket
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES explaining why one
would be beneficial. If we determine that one would aid the
consideration of this petition, we will hold one at a time and place
announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.
Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate in this petition for rulemaking by
submitting comments and related material, answering the following
questions, as well as other comments in connection with this notice.
Please include with your submission your name and address, identify the
docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-1998-4447), indicate the
specific question of this document to which each comment applies, and
give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and
material by mail, hand-delivery, fax, or electronic means to the Docket
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit
your comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by
mail or hand-delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than
8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you
submit them by mail and would like to know they reached the Facility,
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will
consider all comments and material received during the comment period.
Your comments will help us to determine whether to initiate a
rulemaking project in accordance with the petitioner's request.
We will summarize all the comments we receive during the comment
period, place a copy of the summary in the public docket, and provide
copies to the members of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council
(NBSAC) for them to consider at their next meeting. We will consider
all relevant comments and material received during the comment period
in proposing any regulatory or nonregulatory measures that may follow
from this notice.
Please consider and respond to the following questions:
1. Should the Coast Guard propose regulations for all recreational
vessels operated on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States to carry appropriate ground tackle as required safety equipment?
Why or why not?
2. If not all vessels, should the Coast Guard propose regulations
for any class, type or size of recreational vessels to carry
appropriate ground tackle?
3. If not on all waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, should the Coast Guard propose regulations for recreational
vessels on any such waters?
4. If the Coast Guard should propose any ground tackle carriage
requirements, how should we address the variety of anchor sizes and
styles, the various lengths of chain or line, and the various sizes and
types of recreational vessels that would be subject to such
requirements?
5. Please describe any nonregulatory ways to reduce the number of
recreational boating accidents that are achievable at lower cost or
with less burden than by Federal rules for carrying ground tackle.
6. Are you aware of any additional information about boating
accidents involving the use or absence of anchors or ground tackle,
which you think we should consider?
Dated: November 15, 1999.
Ernest R. Riutta,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 99-30373 Filed 11-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P
