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and three mariners: Captain William Mahoney of APL Maritime Ltd, Captain Robert Walter of Light Tackle Charters, Inc. and Michael Hochscheidt of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. The Coast Guard has asked the com- mittee to review the following prob- lems: The agency has been using broad guidelines (via the NVIC 04-08) bor-rowed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration rather than standards specific to merchant mariners; the current CG-719K Medical Evaluation Report Form is complex and long without providing all the tools required by medical exam- iners to efficiently conduct physicals;Proposed changes in the regulations refer to Designated Medical Examiners approved to conduct med- ical and physical examinations of mer-chant mariners, however there is cur- rently no training nor approval process in place for these examiners.?We [the AWO] want to work with the Coast Guard to try to clarify stan- dards and improve processes,? said Carpenter, but this work ?is in the very early stages.? OICNW REQUIREMENTS : HAWSEPIPE REOPENED The Coast Guard?s flip-flopping on the mate licensing scheme for Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) has caused a stir. The OICNW endorsement is required for all mariners holding an endorsementas Master or Mate 500 tons or higher. In 2002, NMC released a set of policy letters dictating that the OICNWendorsement required completion of approved courses, which could cost about $20,000 and take several months, rather than just practicalassessments completed on board a seagoing vessel. In June 2011, U.S. Coast Guard Policy Letter 11-07 can- celed these OICNW qualification pro- visions. While this may look like bad news for schools, Wayne Conwell of SeaSchool said ?schools are still a path many mariners choose in order to get assessments done.? Getting supervi- sors and other qualified mariners tosign off on assessments can sometimesbe difficult, Conwell said, because many fear liability if the aspiringOINCW should go on to cause sometype of accident underway. Some have expressed concerns that assessments are not as reliable a train- ing device as approved training cours- es, while others are happy to see the hawsepipe reopened for mariners seek- ing officer endorsements on seagoingvessels greater than 200 gross tons. At this point the Coast Guard has made no public plans to take further action on the issue. THECOSTOF DOINGBUSINESSKeeping track of federal proposed and final rulemakings, compliance dates and other details is a significantburden. It is also part of the cost of doing business. Arguably, the Coast Guard has improved its processes and is (today) better overall at working with the industry. Further progress is needed, especially with the marinermedical review process and some of the impractical requirements proposed in the new towing vessel safety regula- tion. Beyond this, dealing with other agencies ? EPA for example ? that have little or no maritime knowledge, is especially challenging. In the mean- time, industry organizations ? AWO, for example ? continue to educate thepublic and regulatory agencies about the workboat industry, guiding the process toward fair and reasonable solutions. That said, the regulatory seascape remains choppy and it is very much a work in progress. Download complete catalog www.aluminumandstainless.com Building an aluminum boat? Aluminum and Stainless, Inc. has all the metal.MARINE ALUMINUM5086 50835052 60615456Plate ? Sheet ? Rod ? BarPipe ? Tube ? Shapes Weld Wire ? Fittings STAINLESS STEEL 304L 316L 303 17-4BOAT SHAFTS 17-4 condition H1150Two locations: Lafayette, LA 800-252-9074New Orleans, LA 800-562-9022Aluminum and Stainless, Inc. Marine metals specialists since 1969.Lafayette New Orleans MN#5 (32-49):MN 2011 Layouts 5/7/2012 10:13 AM Page 48