The US Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance reminds all Subchapter M – Towing Vessel owners and operators that while the phase-in allowance to get their Certificate of Inspection (COI) has past, as of July 19, 2022, there are some other requirements for existing vessels.
These are a prerequisite prior to obtaining the next Renewal COI. More specifically, in accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulations, no later than 5 years after the issuance of the first COI for the vessel, all existing towing vessels inspected under Subchapter M must meet the Pilothouse Alerter and Towing Machinery requirements.
Failure to meet these requirements could result in issuance of a CG-835V vessel deficiency and possibly non-renewal of the 5 year COI per 46 CFR §136.215
USCG informed.
With the conclusion of the certificate of inspection phase-in period, existing towing vessels were given two years to comply with the regulations, while a phased-in period gave owners and operators until July 19, 2022 to have 100% of their fleets with a valid Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection (COI) ensuring compliance.
The end of the COI phase-in period means more than 5,000 towing vessels have now received U.S. Domestic inspected status.
