Oct. 25, 2022

Federal Register Notice: Notice of Shipping Coordinating Committee Meeting in Preparation for International Maritime Organization MEPC 79 Meeting

The Department of State announced in the Federal Register that it will conduct a public meeting of the Shipping Coordinating Committee at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, by way of both in-person at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC and teleconference. The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the seventy ninth session of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 79) to be held at IMO Headquarters from Monday, December 12, 2022 to Friday December 16, 2022.

Oct. 25, 2022

Federal Register Notice: Notice of Shipping Coordinating Committee Meeting in Preparation for International Maritime Organization MSC 106 Meeting - (Oct 26)

This is a meeting reminder that the Department of State will conduct a public meeting of the Shipping Coordinating Committee at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, by way of both in-person at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC and teleconference. The primary purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the one-hundred sixth session of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 106) to be held at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom from Wednesday, November 2, 2022 to Friday November 11, 2022.

Oct. 19, 2022

Federal Register: National Chemical Transportation Safety Advisory Committee; November 2022 meeting

The Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register that the National Chemical Transportation Safety Advisory Committee will conduct a series of meetings over 3 days in Houston, TX, to discuss matters relating to the safe and secure marine transportation of hazardous materials. The subcommittee meetings will also be available by videoconference for those unable to attend in person, however the full committee meeting will be held in person only. All meetings will be open to the public.

Oct. 17, 2022

Update to CG CVC-WI-018(2) Laid up Inspected/Examined Vessels

​The Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CVC) would like to announce the publication of CG CVC-WI-018(2), Laid up Inspected/Examined Vessels.  This Work Instruction (WI) was updated to clarify industry notification requirements for vessels going into inactive vessel status and explain when a Third Party Organization (TPO) can issue specific non-conformities (or deficiencies) to Subchapter M TSMS option vessels, while in an inactive vessel status.  A complete list of changes can be found at the beginning of the document which has been posted here.

Sept. 26, 2022

Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, Chapter 4 Entering in to Force November 1, 2022

​The International Maritime Organization adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships in 2018.  This initial strategy is the first milestone set out in the IMO Roadmap for developing a comprehensive strategy for the reduction of GHG emissions from ships.  Consistent with this initial strategy, IMO adopted Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI.  Important amendments to Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI, concerning energy efficiency of existing ships and carbon intensity of international shipping, were most recently adopted and will enter into force on November 1st, 2022.   These amendments focus on goal-based (also known as “performance-based”) technical and operational measures to reduce the operational carbon intensity of certain international shipping vessels.   The full text of MARPOL Annex VI, Chapter 4, can be found in Resolution MEPC.328(76), which can be found at https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Environment/Documents/Air%20pollution/MEPC.328(76).pdf.