Strengthening U.S. Coast Guard Oversight and Support of Recognized Organizations: The Case of the Alternate Compliance Program (2021)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Committee on U.S. Coast Guard Oversight of Recognized Organizations Marine Board A Consensus Study Report of

Transportation Research Board Special Report 343 Subscriber Categories: Marine transportation Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering individual publications directly from the TRB Business Office, through the Internet at www. TRB.org or nationalacademies.org/trb, or by annual subscription through organi- zational or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for substantial discounts. For further information, contact the Transporta- tion Research Board Business Office, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001 (telephone 202-334-3213; fax 202-334-2519; or e-mail TRBsales@nas.edu). Copyright 2022 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America This publication was reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. This study was sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Contract Number: HSHQDC-17-A-B0001 Task Order: 70Z02320FMMC13500 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-27644-3 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-27644-6 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26450 Library of Congress Control Number: 2022933296

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institu- tion to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the char- ter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and ad- vice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence- based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of trans- portation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their exper- tise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.trb.org.

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typi- cally include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task. Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opin- ions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies. For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

v COMMITTEE ON U.S. COAST GUARD OVERSIGHT OF RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATIONS MARY R. BROOKS, Dalhousie University (Professor Emerita), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Chair HENDRIK BRUHNS, Herbert Engineering Corporation, Alameda, California VADM JAMES C. CARD (Coast Guard, retired), Independent Consultant, Spring, Texas VICTORIA DLUGOKECKI, Independent Consultant, Franklin Square, New York DONALD LIU (NAE), American Bureau of Shipping (retired), Seattle, Washington CAPT KYLE McAVOY (Coast Guard, retired), Robson Forensic, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania R. KEITH MICHEL (NAE), Webb Institute, Glen Cove, New York WILLIAM H. MOORE, Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Managers of the American Club, New York, New York KIRSI K. TIKKA (NAE), Independent Director and Advisor, Port Washington, New York Transportation Research Board Staff MARK S. HUTCHINS, Study Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies THOMAS R. MENZIES, JR., Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies ANUSHA JAYASINGHE, Program Officer, Consensus and Advisory Studies CLAUDIA SAULS, Program Coordinator, Consensus and Advisory Studies

vii Section 212 of the Save Our Seas Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-265) directed the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) to commission an independent review of its oversight of recognized organizations (ROs) that inspect merchant vessels. To fulfill this statutory mandate, the Coast Guard com- missioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies), through the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Marine Board, to conduct an independent assessment of the effective ness of the Coast Guard’s oversight of ROs and its impact on compliance and on the safety of vessels inspected by such organizations. In December 2020, the National Academies appointed a committee of nine experts in the fields of maritime safety, risk, third-party inspection, vessel design and marine engineering, and shipbuilding. Biographical informa- tion for the com mittee is provided in the Appendix. The committee’s full Statement of Task is discussed in Chapter 1. This report represents the consensus efforts of these individuals, who served uncompensated in the public interest. The committee met 15 times from January 2021 to October 2021 to gather information relevant to the study and to deliberate on the report contents, findings, and recommendations. Because of the COVID-19 pan- demic, the majority of the committee’s meetings were held virtually through Zoom. Although it was able to hold more frequent and more focused meet- ings, the committee found the virtual format often reduced the back-and- forth interactions with the speakers during the open meetings. Preface

viii PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The committee held open meetings with representatives from the Coast Guard, ROs, U.S. ship owners, and other flag states. The committee wishes to thank the following individuals for participating in the many briefings and discussions over the course of the study and for submitting other writ- ten material that contributed to the committee’s work. From the Coast Guard: CAPT Matthew Edwards, Chief, Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance; CDR Jamie L. Koppi, Chief, Flag State Control Division; CAPT Jason Neubauer, Chief, Office of Investigations and Analysis; John J. Hannon, Director, Military Sealift Vessel Inspection Policy and Program Manager, U.S. Flag Vessel Inspection; LCDR Lisa L. Woodman; LCDR Morgan Kelly; LCDR Chris F. Mercurio; LT Patrick B. Frain; David G. McCusker; John C. Quandt; Gary L. Strebe; Darren A. Drury; and Michael J. Simbulan. The committee especially thanks LCDR Bryana K. Nicholas, who served as the principal contact between the Coast Guard and the committee and coordinated the numerous information requests from the committee to offices within the agency. From the American Bureau of Shipping: Louis O’Donnell, Assistant Chief Surveyor; and Stephen D. Meesey, Director, Management Systems Certification. From Lloyd’s Register of Shipping: Tony Bush, Principal Specialist for Regulatory Affairs; Edilberto Peralta, Americas Regulatory Affairs Manager; and Theodosia Manousaki, Regional Internal Auditor. From Det Norske Veritas (DNV): Georgios Kasimatis, Director Regula- tory Affairs; Ricardo Mendes, Americas Production & QHSE Manager and Chief Surveyor; and Gilberto Tuñón, Flag Liaison Officer. From Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Class NK): Masaki Matsunaga, General Manager of External Affairs Department. From International Registries, Inc.: Bill R. Gallagher, President; Brian Poskaitis, Senior Vice President, Fleet Operations; and David Wamsley, Senior Vice President, Maritime Services. From Liberty Maritime Corporation: Philip J. Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer; Joshua M. Shapiro, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Theodore S. Makrinos, Vice President of Engineer- ing; Thomas F. Keenan, Executive Vice President, Marine Operations; and William Campbell, Vice President of Operations. From other domestic and international organizations: Peter Sutton, Vice President, HSSE & Operations Integrity, Crowley Shipping; David Moore, Senior Manager, OE/HES, Chevron Shipping Company, LLC; Manuela Tomassini, Head, Department of Sustainability and Technical Assistance, European Maritime Safety Agency; Stephan Assheuer, Managing Director, admaris GmbH; Lucinda McIntyre, Head of Section, Registration and

PREFACE ix Certification Registrar of Ships, Australian Maritime Safety Authority; Luc Tremblay, Executive Director, Domestic Vessels Regulatory Oversight, Marine Safety and Security, Transport Canada. Mark S. Hutchins managed the study and assisted the committee in the preparation of its report under the guidance of Thomas R. Menzies, Jr., Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies. Anusha Jayasinghe, Program Officer, and Claudia Sauls, Program Coordinator, provided extensive sup- port to the committee. Karen Febey, Senior Report Review Officer, managed the report review process. This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. The committee thanks the following individuals for their review of this report: THOMAS F. KEENAN, Liberty Maritime Corporation KEVIN D. ODITT, Intercontinental Terminals Company JOSEPH A. RIVA, American Bureau of Shipping (retired) JOSEPH A. SERVIDIO, J.A. Servidio TOR E. SVENSEN, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (retired) JEFFREY D. ULLMAN, Stanford University (retired) EUGENE VAN RYNBACH, Herbert Engineering JAMES A. WATSON, American Bureau of Shipping (retired) Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive com- ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. CHRIS T. HENDRICKSON (NAE), Carnegie Mellon University, and WALTER R. FRONTERA (NAM), University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, oversaw the review of this report. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was car- ried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

xi Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xiii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION 11 Study Origins and Charge, 20 Study Approach and Report Organization, 23 2 BACKGROUND OF THE U.S. FLAG FLEET AND THE ALTERNATE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM 27 Technical Oversight Program, 27 U.S. Flag Fleet Regulation and Inspection Programs, 28 Additional Background on the Alternate Compliance Program, 32 Profile of the Alternate Compliance Program and Maritime Security Program Select Fleets, 37 3 COAST GUARD ACTIONS TO SUPPORT AND OVERSEE RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATIONS AND THE ALTERNATE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM 47 Relevant Findings from the El Faro Investigations, 48 Investigation Recommendations and the Coast Guard’s Responses, 51 Implementation of Agreed-to Oversight Actions, 54 Summary, 63

xii CONTENTS 4 DATA, METRICS, AND RISK-INFORMED TOOLS FOR COMPLIANCE VERIFICATION AND OVERSIGHT OF RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATIONS 67 Data and Data Systems, 69 Performance Statistics and Metrics, 72 Risk-Informed Oversight, 83 Summary Assessment and Recommendations, 85 5 THE COAST GUARD WORKFORCE FOR ALTERNATE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM SUPPORT AND OVERSIGHT 89 Improving the Consistency and Quality of Vessel Inspections and Oversight Examinations, 90 Increasing Inspector Competencies and Experience, 92 Improving Recognized Organization Oversight Capacity and Expertise, 96 Conclusions and Recommendations, 97 6 DELEGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT BY FOREIGN MARITIME ADMINISTRATIONS AND OTHER U.S. SAFETY REGULATORY AGENCIES 101 European Maritime Safety Agency, 102 Australia, 103 Canada, 104 Marshall Islands, 106 Summary Comparison, 108 Addendum: Approaches to Compliance Verification by Other U.S. Safety Agencies, 110 7 BUILDING AND SUSTAINING A SAFETY PARTNERSHIP 121 Organizational Structures, Guidance, and Procedures, 122 Data and Analytic Systems, 125 Inspector Resources, Training, and Coordination, 128 Cooperation, Communications, Transparency, and Continuous Learning, 130 APPENDIX: STUDY COMMITTEE BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 135

xiii AAR Association of American Railroads ABS American Bureau of Shipping ACP Alternate Compliance Program BSEE Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (U.S. Department of the Interior) CFR Code of Federal Regulations COI Certificate of Inspection (issued by the Coast Guard to a regulated vessel) CVC-4 Coast Guard Flag State Control Division DNV Det Norske Veritas EMSA European Maritime Safety Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FMVSS Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FRA Federal Railroad Administration GAO U.S. Government Accountability Office IACS International Association of Classification Societies IMO International Maritime Organization ISM International Safety Management Acronyms and Abbreviations

xiv ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS KPI key indicator of performance LR Lloyd’s Register MISLE Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database (Coast Guard) MSC Marine Safety Center (Coast Guard) MSP Maritime Security Program (Coast Guard) NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board NVIC Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (issued by the Coast Guard) OCMI Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection OEM original equipment manufacturer OSV offshore supply vessel PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration PSC port-state control QMS quality management system RO recognized organization SMS safety management system TCC Tank Car Committee TPO third-party organization U.S. DOT U.S. Department of Transportation