Action
Interim rule with request for comments.
Summary
The Coast Guard is revising the current domestic rules on licensing and documentation of personnel serving on U.S. seagoing vessels. This interim rule implements the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, as amended in 1995. Issuing a rule at this time is necessary because the 1995 Amendments to STCW came into force on February 1, 1997. The Coast Guard is inviting public comments on this rule because the ones it got on its proposed rule earlier this year were so useful that this rule differs appreciably from that rule.