Page 12: of Marine News Magazine (February 2017)

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INSIGHTS

Assistant Commandant

Rear Admiral for Prevention Policy,

Paul Thomas

United States Coast Guard ear Admiral Paul Thomas develops and maintains ing. We understand that the independent laboratories are policy, standards and program alignment for wa- currently working with several manufacturers to complete

Rterways management, navigation safety, boating, testing and evaluation of additional systems. Based on this commercial vessels, ports and facilities, merchant mariner ongoing activity, we anticipate that we will receive addition- credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty in- al applications for type approval throughout the upcoming vestigation, inspection and port state control activities. He year. Vessels owners and operators should study these type serves as the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy approvals carefully and fully understand the technical con- overseeing three Coast Guard directorates: Inspections and straints associated with each. The Coast Guard recognizes

Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Com- that “one size does not ? t all” for BWMS. As such, it will mercial Regulations and Standards. A specialist in Marine take a variety of type approved systems to meet the needs of

Safety, Security and Environmental Protection, he has the global ? eet. We’ll continue to work toward additional served at the Marine Safety Center in Washington, DC and type approvals and to provide guidance to industry on fu- many others before that. His other tours include, among ture compliance date extension requests as appropriate.

others, service as Commanding Of? cer of USCGC CAPE

The Subchapter M towboat rules are ‘settled law’

ROMAIN. He is a graduate of the US Coast Guard Acade- at this point, but companies still must decide which my and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005 route that they will take to compliance. What’s your he completed a National Security Fellowship at Harvard sense on the numbers of ? rms that will opt for ‘the

University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and

Coast Guard’ option? in 2010 he served as a Senior Fellow to the Chief of Naval

The Coast Guard recently issued the “Third Party Or-

Operations Strategic Studies Group. This month, he weighs ganization (TPO) Guidebook.” This document intends to in on the entire spectrum of Coast Guard safety and regula- help organizations who want to provide third party services tory issues. It is an exciting time in this regard, and the buck and vessels operators considering the use of Third Parties stops at his desk. Listen in as he brings us up to speed: as a compliance strategy. We know the industry is studying the options, but we do not know how many TPOs will en-

With the ? rst BWTS approval out of the way, how many ter the market, or how many operators will chose the TPO more are in the pipeline and is there a sense of how option. There are many advantages to the TPO option soon you might be acting on additional applications?

We now have three systems with USCG Type Approval. over the Coast Guard option. Operators who chose the

TPO option will have much greater ? exibility with regard

Two are UV and one is EC. To date, we’ve received 45 let- to scheduling inspections, clearing de? ciencies, making re- ters of intent from manufacturers who plan to conduct test-

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