1625-0061_SS_r0_2021

1625-0061

Supporting Statement
for
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Regulations
OMB No.: 1625-0061
COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS: Instruction
A. Justification.
1) Circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
Congress promulgated the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (the Act) (Pub. L. 100424) to reduce the unacceptably high level of fatalities and accidents in the industry. Vessels must
comply with the provisions of 46 CFR Subchapter C, Part 25, which apply to all uninspected commercial
vessels, and the commercial fishing industry vessel-specific regulations in 46 CFR Subchapter C, Part 28.
The statutory authority for the requirements is 46 U.S.C. 2103, 3306, 3316, 4102, Chapter 45, 6104, 8103
and 46 U.S.C. 10603.
2) Purpose of the information collection.
The Coast Guard uses the information to ensure compliance with safety standards. Appendix A
describes each regulation–which provides a clear indication of its purpose–and the population it targets.
3) Consideration of the use of improved information technology.
There is no prescribed format for reporting requirements. Respondent’s submissions may be sent in any
formats. We estimate that 50 % of the submissions are sent electronically.
The recordkeeping requirements for this collection are primarily marking or posting requirements, such as
the marking of “lifesaving equipment” with the name of the vessel, or the posting of documents such as
“Emergency Instructions” and “Stability Instructions.” Other documents issued by the Coast Guard or
classification societies are for a variety of regulatory requirements that boarding Coast Guard officers can
then use to check compliance. Posting of these documents is not amenable to electronic technology.
For general commercial fishing vessel safety information, contact information the Coast Guard’s regional
Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinators and Specialists. A listing is at this LINK.
4) Efforts to identify duplication.
To date, no Federal, State or local regulatory program required equivalent information.
5) Methods to minimize the burden to small businesses if involved.
The burdens were minimized to the extent considered appropriate when the regulation was initially
implemented. As many of the requirements are one-time only requirements.
6) Consequences to the Federal program if collection were conducted less frequently.
The law mandates the specific frequencies of the information collection requirements of the
nondiscretionary items. From the description below, it is apparent that reducing the frequency of the
collection of these three items would hinder or degrade the administration of the marine safety goal it is
designed to achieve.
a) Acceptance letters for safety training courses are valid for five years, so that it allows the Coast
Guard to review the course curricula every five years to see if the courses are adhering to the
regulatory requirements if there were any changes, and to ensure that the courses are still using
current and acceptable training methods, etc.

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b) Letters of attestation and stability restrictions are required each time there is a major conversions
to an existing fishing vessel 79 feet or greater, with no load line requirements, that was built after
September 15, 1991.
c) Exemption letters are required to be submitted to the Coast Guard whenever a fishing vessel
wishes not to comply with a regulation for a relevant reason.
7) Special collection circumstances.
This information collection is conducted in manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8) Consultation.
A 60-day Notice was published in the Federal Register to obtain public comment on this collection (See
[USCG-2021-0046]; February 18, 2021, 86 FR 10118) and 30-Day Notice (April 28, 2021 86 FR 22446)
were published in the Federal Register to obtain public comment on this collection. The Coast Guard has
not received any comments on this information collection. .
9) Provide any payment or gift to respondents.
There is no offer of monetary or material value for this information collection.
10) Describe any assurances of confidentiality provided to respondents.
There are no assurances of confidentiality provided to the respondents for this information collection.
This information collection request is covered by the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement
(MISLE) Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and System of Records Notice (SORN). Links to the MISLE
PIA and SORN are provided below:
 https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy_pia_uscg_misle.pdf
 http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-14906.htm
11) Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.
There are no questions of sensitive language.
12) Estimated annual hour and cost burdens to respondents.
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The estimated annual number of respondents is 1,387.
The estimated annual number of responses is 1,387.
The estimated annual hour burden is 4,832 hours.
The estimated annual cost burden is $305,838.

The burden to respondents is provided in Appendix B.
Impact by Requirement: The reporting and recordkeeping requirements are described in detail below,
along with the estimated annual burden hours and costs. Appendix B details the hour and cost
breakdowns.
(1) Marking of Lifesaving Equipment (§28.135): Requires lifesaving equipment – wearable personal
flotation devices (PFDs), immersion or exposure suits, ring life buoys, life floats, buoyant apparatus,
auxiliary craft, and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) – to be marked with the
name of the vessel and as specified in Table 28.135, in §28.135. Wearable PFDs must be marked
with either the name of the vessel, the owner of the device, or the individual to whom it is assigned,
and according to the specifications in Table 28.135. The number of vessels affected by this
requirement will be all new vessels (documented and undocumented). We assume that existing
vessels have already complied with the requirement -- the requirement is normally undertaken only
once, and is thus a one-time burden. The position assigned to this task is analogous to a

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crewmember. For the wage rate, we used the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) wage rate for Sailors
and Marine Oilers (53-5011) [May 2019, mean hourly wage, loaded 50%, and rounded].1
(2) Emergency Instructions (§28.265): Requires all documented commercial fishing industry vessels
to have emergency instructions “posted in conspicuous locations accessible to the crew”, the
exception being vessels which operate with less than 4 people on board – these vessels are
permitted to have emergency instructions readily available as an alternative to posting (§28.265(c)).
Furthermore, all vessels with more than 4 individuals on board are given the option of keeping readily
available a part of the emergency instructions, sections §28.265(d)(6), (d)(7), (d)(8), and (d)(9), while
sections §28.265(d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4) and (d)(5) must be posted as described above. For our
analysis here, we assume (conservatively) that (A) all documented commercial fishing vessels have
more than 4 people on board, as documented vessels are greater than 5 net tons and are likely to
have more than 4 people on board, and (B) all documented commercial fishing vessels post all the
emergency instructions covered in section §28.265(d). Since this is a one-time burden and is a
requirement that has been in place for several years, we assume that only new documented fishing
vessels will be affected. The position assigned to this task is analogous to a Captain or Mate. For
the wage rate, we used the BLS wage rate for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (535021) [May 2019, mean hourly wage, loaded 50%, and rounded].2
(3) Acceptance Letter for Instructors and Course Curricula (§28.275): Requires that acceptance
letters be issued to qualified instructors and for accepted course curricula. Additionally, if the
qualified instructors chose to, they could issue certificates of completion for the required training. The
position assigned to this task is analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS
wage rate for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(4) Letter of Certification for Training in Drills and Safety Orientation (§28.270): Each documented
fishing vessel is required to have a qualified person conduct the required training in accordance with
§28.270. The master or individual in charge of each vessel must ensure that drills are conducted and
instruction is given to each individual on board at least once each month. While there is no
requirement for the vessel to have on board certification confirming that the training was conducted,
the collection of information burden here is assessed for the qualified individuals who must maintain
on file a letter of acceptance or certification of training capacity. The position assigned to this task is
analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS wage rate for Captains, Mates,
and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(5) Letter of Attestation for Stability Evaluation (§28.505): Under §28.505, it is the owner’s
responsibility to select a qualified individual to perform tests and calculations to evaluate vessel
stability, and to maintain those test results and calculations developed in evaluating stability. This is
applicable to commercial fishing vessels 79 feet or more in length, that are not required to be issued a
load line, and undergo substantial alterations as described in §28.501. The position assigned to this
task is analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS wage rate for Captains,
Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(6) Stability Instructions (§28.530): Requires each new commercial fishing vessel and each fishing
vessel that undergoes major alterations (described in §28.500), to be provided with sufficient stability
information in a readily usable form to allow the master or individual in charge to determine the
conditions of loading and operations. Stability instructions must be developed by a qualified
individual, and must be developed based on the vessel’s individual characteristics. The position
assigned to this task is analogous to Marine Engineers and Naval Architects. For the wage rate, we
used the BLS wage rate for Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (17-2121) [May 2019, mean
hourly wage, loaded 50%, and rounded].3
(7) Uninspected Fish Processing Vessel Exam (§28.710): Requires all uninspected processing
vessels in service to be examined every 2 years for compliance with the regulations. This
examination must be conducted by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), by a similarly qualified
1
2
3

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes535011.htm
https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes535021.htm
https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes172121.htm

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organization, or by a surveyor of an accepted organization. Each individual conducting the
examination, upon finding the vessel in compliance, must provide a written certification of compliance
to the owner or operator of the vessel. The position assigned to this task is analogous to a Captain or
Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS wage rate for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water
Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(8) Uninspected Fish Processing Vessel Certification of Classification (§28.720): Requires that fish
processing vessels built after or that underwent a major conversion completed after July 27, 1990,
must be classed by the ABS or a similarly qualified organization. The vessel must have on board a
certificate of class issued by the organization that classed the vessel, and meet all survey and
classification requirements prescribed by that organization. While the cost of the certificate is
included in the fees collected by the classification society and is negligible compared to the other
costs for classification, a nominal burden is calculated here for the actual drafting of the certificate.
The position assigned to this task is analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the
BLS wage rate for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(9) Exemption Letter Requirement (§28.60): Requires that an exemption letter be carried on board
each vessel that has been granted an exemption from a part of the regulations. The Coast Guard
estimates that approximately 0.5 percent of the fishing fleet will request exemptions annually. The
position assigned to this task is analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS
wage rate for Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
(10) Citizenship Waiver (§28.1105 & .1110): Details the process to apply for a waiver relieving
vessel owners or operators of the requirement that no more than 25% of the total number of
unlicensed seamen on a U.S. documented vessel may be aliens lawfully admitted to the United
States under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The position assigned to this task is
analogous to a Captain or Mate. For the wage rate, we used the BLS wage rate for Captains, Mates,
and Pilots of Water Vessels (53-5021) [as calculated above].
13) Total annualized capital and start-up costs.
There are no capital, start-up or maintenance costs associated with this information collection.
14) Estimates for annualized Federal Government costs.
The estimated annual Federal Government cost is $294,111 (see Appendix C).
Impact by Requirement: Several reporting and recordkeeping requirements have a Federal Government
cost. Appendix C details the cost breakdown.
(3) Acceptance Letter for Instructors and Course Curricula (§28.275): Requires that acceptance
letters be issued to qualified instructors and for accepted course curricula. Additionally, if the
qualified instructors chose to, they could issue certificates of completion for the required training. The
Coast Guard is expected to review and issue a letter of acceptance (or rejection). The position
assigned to this task is analogous to a Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG, O-2). The military wage rate
used is in accordance with the current edition of COMDTINST 7310.1(series) for “In-Government”
personnel.
(9) Exemption Letter Requirement (§28.60): Requires that an exemption letter be carried on board
each vessel that has been granted an exemption from a part of the regulations. The Coast Guard
estimates that approximately 0.5 percent of the fishing fleet will request exemptions annually. The
Coast Guard is expected to review an application and draft a response. The position assigned to this
task are analogous to a GS-13. For the wage rate, we used Office of Personnel Management data
[2020-RUS Salary Table, GS-12-Step 5, hourly basic rate, loaded 66%, and rounded].4
(10) Citizenship Waiver (§28.1105 & .1110): Details the process to apply for a waiver relieving
4

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/RUS_h.pdf

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vessel owners or operators of the requirement that no more than 25% of the total number of
unlicensed seamen on a U.S. documented vessel may be aliens lawfully admitted to the United
States under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The Coast Guard is expected to review
each waiver request. The position assigned to this task is analogous to a GS-13 (wage rate same as
above).
15) Reasons for the change in burden.
There is no change in burden. There is no proposed change to the reporting or recordkeeping
requirements of this collection. The reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and the methodology for
calculating burden, remain unchanged.
16) Plans for tabulation, statistical analysis and publication.
This information collection will not be published for statistical purposes.
17) Approval for not explaining the expiration date for OMB approval.
The Coast Guard will display the expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection.
18) Exception to the certification statement.
The Coast Guard does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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