Sec. 318. Fishing vessel and fish tender vessel certification
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Section 4503 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— in subsection (a), by striking this section and inserting this subsection ; in subsection (b), by striking This section and inserting Except as provided in subsection (d), subsection
(a); in subsection (c)— by striking This section and inserting
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), subsection
(a); and by adding at the end the following: Subsection
(a)does not apply to a fishing vessel or fish tender vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies, if the vessel— is at least 50 feet overall in length, and not more than 79 feet overall in length; and is built after January 1, 2016, and complies with the alternative safety compliance program established under subsection (e); or is built after the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 and before the establishment of the alternative safety compliance program required under subsection (e), and complies with the requirements described in subsection (f). ; and by redesignating subsection
(e)as subsection (g), and inserting after subsection
(d)the following: Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, the Secretary shall establish an alternative safety compliance program for fishing vessels or fish tender vessels (or both) that are described in subparagraphs
(A)and (B)(i) of subsection (c)(2). The alternative safety compliance program established under paragraph
(1)shall include requirements for— vessel construction; a vessel stability test; vessel stability and loading instructions; an assigned vessel loading mark; a vessel condition survey at least biennially; an out-of-water vessel survey at least once every 5 years; maintenance of records to demonstrate compliance with the program, and the availability of such records for inspection; and such other aspects of vessel safety as the Secretary considers appropriate. The requirements referred to in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii) are the following: The vessel is designed by an individual licensed by a State as a naval architect or marine engineer, and the design incorporates standards equivalent to those prescribed by a classification society to which the Secretary has delegated authority under section 3316 or another qualified organization approved by the Secretary for purposes of this paragraph. Construction of the vessel is overseen and certified as being in accordance with its design by a marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary. The vessel— completes a stability test performed by a qualified individual; has written stability and loading instructions from a qualified individual that are provided to the owner or operator; and has an assigned loading mark. The vessel is not substantially modified or changed without the review and approval of an individual licensed by a State as a naval architect or marine engineer before the beginning of such substantial modification or change. The vessel undergoes a condition survey at least biennially to the satisfaction of a marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary. The vessel undergoes an out-of-water survey at least once every 5 years to the satisfaction of a certified marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the Secretary. Once every 5 years and at the time of a modification or substantial change to such vessel, compliance of the vessel with the requirements of paragraph
(3)is reviewed and updated as necessary. For the life of the vessel, the owner of the vessel maintains records to demonstrate compliance with this subsection and makes such records readily available for inspection by an official authorized to enforce this chapter. . Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on commercial fishing vessel safety. The report shall include— national and regional trends that can be identified with respect to rates of marine causalities, human injuries, and deaths aboard or involving fishing vessels greater than 79 feet in length that operate beyond the 3-nautical-mile demarcation line; a comparison of United States regulations for classification of fishing vessels to those established by other countries, including the vessel length at which such regulations apply; the additional costs imposed on vessel owners as a result of the requirement in section 4503(a) of title 46, United States Code, and how the those costs vary in relation to vessel size and from region to region; savings that result from the application of the requirement in section 4503(a) of title 46, United States Code, including reductions in insurance rates or reduction in the number of fishing vessels or fish tender vessels lost to major safety casualties, nationally and regionally; a national and regional comparison of the additional costs and safety benefits associated with fishing vessels or fish tender vessels that are built and maintained to class through a classification society to the additional costs and safety benefits associated with fishing vessels or fish tender vessels that are built to standards equivalent to classification society construction standards and maintained to standards equivalent to classification society standards with verification by independent surveyors; and the impact on the cost of production and availability of qualified shipyards, nationally and regionally, resulting from the application of the requirement in section 4503(a) of title 46, United States Code. In preparing the report under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall— consult with owners and operators of fishing vessels or fish tender vessels, classification societies, shipyards, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Coast Guard, academics, and marine safety nongovernmental organizations; and obtain relevant data from the Coast Guard including data collected from enforcement actions, boardings, investigations of marine casualties, and serious marine incidents. In preparing the report under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall— disaggregate data regionally for each of the regions managed by the regional fishery management councils established under section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1852 ), the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission; and include qualitative data on the types of fishing vessels or fish tender vessels included in the report.
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Sec. 318
Fishing vessel and fish tender vessel certification
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