In the light of OceanSaver’s recent bankruptcy, the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued guidance on what happens if a manufacturer of approved equipment goes out of business.
All equipment manufactured during the validity of the type approval certificate remains “Approved” as long as it is manufactured, installed, and operated according to the terms of the type approval certificate. Any maintenance and repairs to this equipment must also be performed in accordance with the manuals and components specified as part of the type approval. If the equipment fails to operate and parts from the original equipment manufacturer are no longer available, then the equipment is no longer operating under its type approval and must be replaced.
Type approval certificates are issued for five years. After five years, only the manufacturer listed on the certificate can request renewal, unless otherwise transferred as noted below. After a period of five years, if not renewed, the certificate will be placed in an “Expired” status. At this point, the product is no longer approved for production, but items manufactured prior to the expiration of the approval remain “Approved” as described above.
If another company purchases the original manufacturer and wants to retain type approval, the company must contact the Coast Guard to request that the certificate be updated to reflect the name and address of the new company.
The certificate will be updated with a revision number, and the previous number issued to the original manufacturer will be marked “Former-May Use.” This allows any equipment manufactured by the original manufacturer during the period of validity of the certificate to continue to be installed.
Further, the new entity can continue to produce the system, as long as it is manufactured, installed, and operated according to the terms of the type approval certificate. If the new entity intends to make changes to the design, then they must do so in accordance with the requirements for changes to approved systems in 46 CFR 162.060-16.
