As of May 27, the Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing will cancel Policy Letter 01-17, Guidelines for Issuing Endorsements for Tankerman PIC Restricted to Fuel Transfers on Towing Vessels.
The policy letter, published in March 2017, was a temporary measure that allowed those on newly inspected towing vessels to use a company-issued Letter of Designation to qualify serving as a PIC of a fuel transfer. This alternative satisfied the full requirements for an MMC endorsement as Tankerman PIC and offered flexibility while a rule was being crafted to include an LOD option on inspected vessels.
The final rule published this month (USCG-2018-0493) now gives mariners two ways to be a qualified PIC of Fuel Transfers for the transfer of fuel oil on both inspected and uninspected vessels.
Now mariners can either have an eligible MMC with either an officer or Tankerman-PIC endorsement (not solely to fuel transfers) or designate a PIC with an LOD as described in 33 CFR 155.715 for inspected vessels, according to a letter from Mayte Medina, chief of Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing.
“Mariners with existing endorsements as Tankerman PIC Restricted to Fuel Transfers on Towing Vessels will be notified at renewal that the endorsement is no longer an option for serving as PIC of fuel transfers,” Medina wrote, “and that the endorsement Tankerman PIC Restricted to Fuel Transfers on Towing Vessels will no longer be issued or renewed by the Coast Guard.”
For more on the final rule, visit https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/5ps/MMC/CG-MMC-2%20Policies/PIC-Final-RULE-5-27-2020.pdf
For more information, email MMCPolicy@uscg.mil.
Friday, May 28, 2021
