The US Coast Guard issued a notice informing that it is finalizing an interim final rule that applied the changes made by the 2016 final rule, “Harmonization of Standards for Fire Protection, Detection, and Extinguishing Equipment,” to inspected towing vessels. This final rule is effective from 26 November 2018.
The interim final rule, published on 26 February in the Federal Register, aligned fire protection and equipment regulations for inspected towing vessels with other commercial vessel regulations.
Prior to the publication of the interim final rule, inspected towing vessels were subject to older, less modern fire protection regulations for fire extinguishers than uninspected towing vessels and other commercial vessels.
The interim final rule corrected the inconsistent situation where a towing vessel transitioning from uninspected to inspected status would be required to comply with the previous standards instead of the newer standards. The interim final rule provided uniformity in fire protection equipment requirements across uninspected and inspected towing vessel fleets.
This final rule will implement the interim final rule’s update to the fire safety rules in subchapter M with one change: The addition of clarifying language to § 142.215(d). This RA presents the costs and benefits of this one change.
In the final rule, USCG adds clarifying language to 46 CFR 142.215(d) to eliminate possible ambiguity as to whether existing firefighting equipment must meet the requirements of part 142. The additional language in § 142.215(d) clarifies that this paragraph applies only to excess existing firefighting equipment and installations.
