[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-17275] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: July 15, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Coast Guard 46 CFR Part 68 [CGD 94-050] Deep Frames in Vessel Admeasurement AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT. ACTION: Policy statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is issuing this policy statement to address the variances in its practices related to the use of deep-frames in vessel admeasurement. Recent decisions applying the rules of practice regarding deep-frames to existing vessels during remeasurement have raised questions of fairness in application of the practices. This policy addresses the acceptance of deep-frames used in the construction of vessels under previously accepted practices. EFFECTIVE DATE: July 15, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth C. Hixson, Vessel Documentation and Tonnage Survey Branch at (202) 267-1492. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The admeasurement of vessels has a long history. Indeed, the earliest admeasurement statute was enacted by the First Congress in 1789. Over the years, as the Nation's maritime law developed, various Federal statutes used vessel tonnage as a parameter for certain requirements. As a vessel's tonnage became increasingly important as a parameter, the marine industry developed a number of artificial construction techniques which had the effect of reducing tonnage. The use of deep-frames was one of these techniques. The method of measuring under the standard or regulatory tonnage system allows deep-frames to work as a tonnage reduction technique. This method calls for the hull dimension measurements to be taken from the inner face of the deep-frame rather than the interior wall of the hull. Therefore, a deep-frame excludes more space from the tonnage calculation and lowers the resulting tonnage. In this manner a vessel may avoid having to meet certain regulatory requirements that are based on the vessel's tonnage. In the past, several different interpretations existed regarding the use of deep-frames in tonnage measurement. Some interpretations permitted deep-frames to be notched in a way that permitted more area to be excluded, resulting in lower tonnage, others did not permit notching in the same manner; some required deep-frames to begin and terminate on a bulkhead, others did not; and so forth. Each of these interpretations served as a local rule of practice for constructing a deep-frame in the particular Coast Guard District where used. Vessel owners, as a matter of business practice, constructed their vessels with deep-frames meeting the least onerous locally acceptable practice. Although deep-framing techniques were developed with the general intent that they be consistently applied, no effort was ever made to achieve consistency in application or to disseminate the existing interpretations or practices. In addition, since the nuances of the practices did not detract from nor contribute to the safe construction of the vessel, no urgency was present to make the practices consistent. Therefore, numerous vessels were constructed using different practices regarding deep-frames, each of which was locally acceptable as a deep- frame technique for tonnage measurement purposes. Many of those vessels are still in service today. On December 23, 1983, the Coast Guard entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that delegated certain aspects of the tonnage measurement function to the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Since that time, the rules of practice regarding the use of deep-frames in construction have been applied with greater consistency. A vessel which was constructed before the 1983 MOU recently underwent extensive shipyard work. The scope of the work performed resulted in a requirement that the vessel be readmeasured. During the measurement process, existing deep-frames in the vessel were not accepted as deep-frames for tonnage measurement purposes because they did not conform to the rules of practice as currently interpreted. To modify the deep-frames on this one vessel to conform to the current rules of practice would cost approximately $250,000. Since the deep- frames on the vessel as configured at construction were accepted as such for tonnage measurement purposes, and since modification of the deep-frames would not contribute to the safe construction or operation of the vessel, the Coast Guard will not require the deep-frames to be modified to meet the current interpretation of the rules of practice. The purpose of this policy statement is to preserve the acceptance of deep-frames used in the construction of vessels under previously accepted practices. The Coast Guard's opinion is that to require vessel owners to now modify deep-frames that met acceptable practices when originally installed, would subject them to unnecessary costs. The alternative for the vessel owners is to remeasure their vessels without the benefit of the deep-frames. This alternative could subject the vessel to various regulatory and operational requirements for which it was not designed. The Coast Guard's policy is that all deep-frames installed during construction of a vessel delivered before December 23, 1983, and accepted under local rules of practice as deep-frames for original measurement of the vessel, will be accepted as deep-frames for all tonnage measurement purposes under current rules of practice. Any vessel delivered on or before December 23, 1983, must meet the current rules of practice for deep-frames. In addition, any new or additional deep-frames installed after the effective date of this policy statement on vessels delivered before December 23, 1983, must meet the current rules of practice for deep-frames. Dated: July 11, 1994. J.C. Card, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Chief, Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. [FR Doc. 94-17275 Filed 7-14-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-14-M
