Some members of the offshore workboat industry are trying to change a new Coast Guard rule that requires vessels to give 24-hour notice on their movements between domestic ports, a requirement they say is nearly impossible to meet given the fast-changing schedules of the industry.
The issue stems from a law passed by Congress that requires both U.S.-flagged and foreign vessels entering the Outer Continental Shelf to give “Notice of Arrival” to the Coast Guard when they enter American waters and provide specifics on the crew and cargo. But the regulations that were written for that law and released in the past few months also require the offshore-service vessels to give the same notice when traveling between domestic ports.
Groups like the members of the Offshore Marine Service Association [say that] the domestic reporting requirement simply isn’t practical.