81 FR 49234 - Status of Overboard Detection Technology for Cruise Vessels

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 144 (July 27, 2016)

The Coast Guard is soliciting information on the status and availability of technology for immediately detecting cruise vessel passengers who have fallen overboard.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49234-49235]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17775]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2016-0492]


Status of Overboard Detection Technology for Cruise Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is soliciting information on the status and 
availability of technology for immediately detecting cruise vessel 
passengers who have fallen overboard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before October 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and supporting materials identified 
by docket number USCG-2016-0492 using our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email LT Paul Folino, Office of Design and Engineering 
Standards (CG-ENG-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters; 2703 Martin Luther 
King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593; telephone 202-372-1361, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments or related material on the 
status of overboard detection technology for cruise vessels. Your 
comments will help us prepare a report that accurately reflects the 
status and availability of overboard detection technology for use by 
the cruise line industry, and also help us better deliberate on 
international standards development for overboard detection technology. 
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice, indicate the specific section in this notice and the question 
number to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. At this time, we do not anticipate 
publishing a response to the comments received.
    We encourage you to submit comments to our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. Material 
submitted can be viewed by visiting http://www.regulations.gov and 
following that Web site's instructions. Additionally, if you go to the 
online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when 
comments or other documents are posted.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal 
Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal 
Register (70 FR 15086).

II. Purpose

    On February 8, 2016, the President signed the Coast Guard 
Authorization Act of 2015 into law. Section 608 of the Act requires the 
Coast Guard to provide a report to Congress on the status of technology 
for immediately detecting passengers who have fallen overboard (man 
overboard (MOB) incidents) within 18 months of the signing of the Act.
    Also, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 
Technical Committee 8 (TC8) Subcommittee 1 (SC1) is developing a 
standard for MOB detection systems. Input received in response to this 
notice could influence the Coast Guard's collaborative role in that 
process.
    The Coast Guard, therefore, solicits comments from the public on 
the status and availability of this MOB detection technology.

III. Information Requested

    The Coast Guard requests public comment on the following questions. 
It would be helpful if commenters answer

[[Page 49235]]

the questions as specifically as possible, and then provide 
explanations, if any, for the responses. The content of the questions 
is specifically directed to overboard detection technology providers 
and users.
    (1) If applicable, what is your position in the maritime community? 
(Please be as specific as possible, e.g., captain of a cruise of 
vessel, vessel security officer, owner/operator of a cruise vessel, 
past/future passenger, advocacy group, professional organization, 
technology provider etc.)
    If you are an MOB detection technology manufacturer or vendor, 
please answer questions 2 through 25 and 33 through 35. If not, please 
answer questions 26 through 35.

General

    (2) What is the MOB detection technology equipment that you 
manufacture and what is its status? (Please provide an overall 
description of the system including make, model, and other pertinent 
information.)
    (3) Is the MOB detection technology built to any recognized 
standards?
    (4) Has the MOB detection technology been tested on any vessels and 
is it currently used on any vessels?

Reliability/Testing

    (5) What is the testing regimen used to validate whether the MOB 
detection technology system is effective (including developmental lab 
testing and in-service testing performed on a floating platform)?
    (6) How reliable is the equipment? (In describing reliability, it 
is helpful to give specific, tested metrics instead of open-ended 
phrases such as ``reliable in all sea conditions.'')
    (7) Was the MOB detection technology tested in sea states, and if 
so, what states, and what were the subsequent false positive and false 
negative rates?
    (8) In what weather conditions was the MOB detection technology 
tested and what were the subsequent false positive and false negative 
rates?
    (9) How many times was the control test, described in questions 7 
and 8 conducted?
    (10) Did the expected reliability match the operational 
reliability?
    (11) In the case of a power outage, does the MOB detection 
technology system maintain operability?

Detection

    (12) What areas of the vessel is the MOB detection technology 
system designed to monitor?
    (13) Can the system detect the size of an object that is falling 
overboard, e.g., the size of an adult vs. a child or a human vs. a 
large bird? If so, what size objects can the system detect?
    (14) Can the system detect anything else (e.g., heat signatures for 
fire detection)?
    (15) How does the system eliminate false positives of birds and 
other items that fall overboard?

Maintenance

    (16) What is the suggested maintenance and inspection cycle of the 
MOB detection technology system to ensure its operability?
    (17) Does the system require calibration, and if so, what is the 
calibration interval?
    (18) What is the availability of technicians globally to install 
and service the MOB detection technology system?
    (19) Does the marine environment (i.e., sea salt spray) affect the 
reliability of the system?
    (20) What training will be required for use of the MOB detection 
technology system, and are there any refresher training requirements?

Retrofitting/Integration

    (21) Can existing cameras and systems be retrofitted with this MOB 
detection technology system or is it stand-alone?
    (22) How does the system integrate with the ship's existing safety 
command center?
    (23) Is the system designed with any automation features?
    (24) Does the system work in tandem with other technologies (i.e., 
wearable devices)?
    (25) How does the alarm system work, where do the alarms sound, and 
in what way are the alarms visible?
    If you are a cruise vessel owner or operator or if you represent a 
cruise line group or industry organization, please answer questions 26 
through 32.
    (26) How many cruise vessels use tested MOB detection technology 
that can detect passengers who have fallen overboard?
    (27) If you do not have vessels that use MOB detection technology, 
is there currently a plan to integrate this technology on cruise 
vessels?
    (28) Has anyone fallen overboard on a cruise vessel while the MOB 
detection technology was operating?
    (29) Did the system alert the crew that someone fell overboard?
    (30) How does the alarm system work, where do the alarms sound, and 
in what way are the alarms visible?
    (31) How many cruise vessels use image capture technology for 
passengers who have fallen overboard?
    (32) Did you receive any training on MOB detection technology? If 
so, please describe it.
    (33) What alternative source(s) for detecting persons falling 
overboard would you recommend? How would you rate the alternative 
source(s) in terms of: (a) User cost; (b) reliability; and (c) 
usefulness of the information?
    (34) Is there any other technology available that vessels can 
integrate to assist in facilitating the search and rescue of a 
passenger who has fallen overboard?
    (35) In Section 608 of the 2015 Coast Guard Authorization Act, 
Congress directs the Coast Guard to consider the cost of MOB detection 
technology systems when determining feasibility. Our current best 
available cost data regarding the installation of an MOB detection 
technology system on an average cruise vessel is $300,000 with annual 
system maintenance costs of $40,000 per year. Please provide 
information on the costs of MOB detection technology systems, including 
costs for equipment and labor for installation, integration, operation, 
and maintenance on a range of cruise vessel sizes.
    Comments regarding these questions and any other pertinent matters 
that you would like us to consider during the comment period will be 
taken into account in our future actions regarding the issues raised in 
this notice. We encourage you to provide your comments as we move 
forward with drafting the report to Congress.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: July 19, 2016.
B. Hawkins,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Design and Engineering 
Standards.
[FR Doc. 2016-17775 Filed 7-26-16; 8:45 am]
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