Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2018 may be over, but Maritime Commons continues to bring you coverage of Coast Guard presentations from the conference. In this post, the chief of the Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing discusses autonomous vessel technology and the regulatory approval process.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/29/2018: CMA Shipping 2018 – The critical role of integrating new technology within the regulatory approval process

The following products are available from the Navigation Center website:

• The Eighth (Gulf) Coast Guard District Local Notice to Mariners (13-2018): https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lnms/lnm0813g2018.pdf
• The weekly update to the 2018 USCG Light List, Volume Four: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lightListWeeklyUpdates
  
• The Summary of Corrections: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/corrections/V4D08GM.pdf

If the links above do not work, you should either copy and paste the links into your web browser or follow the LNM links from the Navigation Center LNM page.

The Local Notice to Mariners, Light List, and Summary of Corrections are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and viewing them requires a PDF reader.  PDF readers are readily available on the internet, generally free of charge.

To download the latest information:

• Place your mouse over the “PDF” symbol next to the corresponding week.
• Right click for PC / Control click for Mac.
• Choose “Save Target As”.
• Save the PDF to your computer and open using your PDF reader.

If you have questions regarding this message, please contact the Navigation Center (use “LNMs, Charts, Chart Corrections, or Light Lists” as the subject from the pull down menu).

Source: LNM District 8
Link: District 08 (GULF) Week 13 LNM Now Available on Navigation Center Website

Committee members met and discussed items such the Coast Guard’s regulatory reform tasking, the Extremely Hazardous Cargo Strategy, and cyber security. Additionally, the Committee welcomed five new members.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/26/2018: National Maritime Security Advisory Committee holds Spring meeting, welcomes five new members

The staged reduction of the remaining Coast Guard DGPS broadcast sites will begin in 2018 and end with the last broadcast of GPS corrections over medium frequency in 2020.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/23/2018: Remaining DGPS sites to be discontinued over the next 3 years

The current NOAD Schema 3.5 has been in effect since May 26, 2015. NOAD Schema 3.4 is missing required information fields and will no longer be supported. Any submitted NOAD form utilizing Schema 3.4 after the retirement date (to be determined) will be rejected.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/23/2018: Reminder – NOAD Schema 3.4 to be retired

During a recent inspection, U.S. Coast Guard Port State Control examiners discovered a significant flaw involving almost all of a vessel’s immersion suits. The examiners noted that the glue used to attach the main zipper to the body of the suit had failed.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/22/2018: Marine Safety Alert 03-18 – Zipper adhesive failure impacting immersion suits

The following products are available from the Navigation Center website:

• The Eighth (Gulf) Coast Guard District Local Notice to Mariners (12-2018): https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lnms/lnm0812g2018.pdf
• The weekly update to the 2018 USCG Light List, Volume Four: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lightListWeeklyUpdates
  
• The Summary of Corrections: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/corrections/V4D08GM.pdf

If the links above do not work, you should either copy and paste the links into your web browser or follow the LNM links from the Navigation Center LNM page.

The Local Notice to Mariners, Light List, and Summary of Corrections are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and viewing them requires a PDF reader.  PDF readers are readily available on the internet, generally free of charge.

To download the latest information:

• Place your mouse over the “PDF” symbol next to the corresponding week.
• Right click for PC / Control click for Mac.
• Choose “Save Target As”.
• Save the PDF to your computer and open using your PDF reader.

If you have questions regarding this message, please contact the Navigation Center (use “LNMs, Charts, Chart Corrections, or Light Lists” as the subject from the pull down menu).

Source: LNM District 8
Link: District 08 (GULF) Week 12 LNM Now Available on Navigation Center Website

The 5th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Sub-Committee on Pollution, Prevention and Response was held at IMO Headquarters in London from February 5-9, 2018. This post provides a summary of the work completed by PPR 5 and its working groups on air quality, ballast water management, safety of pollution hazards of chemicals, and oil pollution, preparedness, response and co-operation.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/20/2018: Recap of the 5th Session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Pollution, Prevention and Response

Public subcommittee meetings were held March 6-7, culminating in the full committee meeting March 8. This post provides an overview of the activities of the security, liquefied gas, hazardous substance response plan, and regulatory reform subcommittees.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/16/2018: Summary of latest Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee meeting

The Office of Navigation Systems is seeking input from interested mariners and maritime stakeholders for a study of navigation requirements for the entire Western Rivers System. This post provides details on the study and a link to an online survey. The survey is available until July 1, 2018.
Source: USCG
Link: 3/16/2018: Coast Guard seeks mariner input for Western Rivers study