1625-0022_SS_r0_2014

1625-0022

Supporting Statement

for

Application for Tonnage Measurement Vessels

OMB No.: 1625-0022

COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS: CG-5397 & Instruction

A. Justification

1) Circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Title 46, United States Code, section 14104 requires a vessel to be measured for tonnage if the application of a law of the United States to that vessel is determined by its tonnage. Tonnages are used as a basis for vessel taxes, licensing, inspections, safety requirements and operating fees. The law prescribes four systems of tonnage measurement: the “Convention Measurement System,” the “Standard Measurement System,” the “Dual Measurement System,” and the “Simplified Measurement System.” Tonnage measurement under the “Simplified Measurement System” is an option available to owners of certain qualifying vessels and requires the least amount of information to be collected. The authorization for submitting the application for tonnage measurement under the “Simplified Measurement System” is cited in 46 CFR 69.205.

Additional information is required if an owner requests certain tonnage treatment. These information requirements are at:

(a) 46 CFR 69.117(f) (Request to exempt water-ballast space that is in excess of 30 per cent of the vessel gross tonnage);

(b) 46 CFR 69.121(d) (Request to treat certain framed-in engine room spaces as part of a propelling machinery space); and

(c) 46 CFR 69.19 (Request for remeasurement and adjustment of tonnage).

CFR cites can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title46-vol2/pdf/CFR-2013-title46-vol2-part69.pdf.

This information collection supports the following strategic goals:

Department of Homeland Security

• Prevention

Coast Guard

• Marine Safety

Prevention Policy Directorate (CG-5P)

• Reduce risk of maritime casualties

• Facilitate commerce

2) Purposes of the information collection.

The information required for the optional “Simplified Measurement System” is collected on forms that are available at the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC). Information required for measurement under other systems (referred to as “formal measurement”) is more complex in nature, and is submitted by the vessel owner to a third party organization delegated the authority by the Coast Guard to perform the service. The information being collected is used to establish a vessel’s register dimensions and gross and net tonnages. Without the information a vessel could not be assigned tonnages or documented as a vessel of the United States.

3) Consideration of the use of improved information technology.

Application forms for simplified measurement are available through the Internet at-- http://www.uscg.mil/hq/msc/interactive_tonnage.asp . The applicant has the choice of printing out the form, and then manually filling it in, or filling the form online using an online tonnage calculation tool. In either case, the completed forms may be transmitted to the NVDC by fax, mail, or as email attachments. For formal measurement, 100% of the reporting requirements can be accomplished electronically. We estimate that approximately 30% of the formal measurement responses (about 1% of the total tonnage measurement responses) are collected electronically. The NVDC e-mail is [email protected].

4) Efforts to identify duplication.

There is no duplication of information collected; only one submittal is required per vessel and each vessel is an individual case. The information collected is not adaptable for any other U.S. Coast Guard purpose. Tonnage measurement is frequently the first step required to document a vessel. There is no other source for this information at that time. The information necessary to process the submittal is available only from the applicant or vessel manufacturer.

5) Methods to minimize the burden to small business if involved.

There is potential impact on small businesses or entities, since designers, builders, owners, or operators of U.S.-flag vessels who submit tonnage related information are often small businesses or entities. To minimize this impact, considerable flexibility is allowed in the way data can be submitted. The Application for Simplified Measurement is available on a USCG Web site to facilitate access to this form

6) Consequences to the Federal program if collection were conducted less frequently.

The collection of information necessary to measure a vessel for tonnage is a one-time requirement for the documentation of a vessel and, therefore, cannot be reduced. Once a vessel is documented, there is no further measurement requirement unless the vessel is altered, or undergoes a change in service, number of passengers, or other factors that could affect the assigned gross or net tonnage.

7) Special collection circumstances.

This information collection is conducted in manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8) Consultation.

A 60-day Notice (See [USCG-2014-0666], September 18, 2014, 79 FR 56083) and 30-Day Notice (November 26, 2014, 79 FR 70540) were published in the Federal Register to obtain public comment on this collection. The Coast Guard has not received any comments on this information collection.

9) Provide any payments or gifts to respondents.

There is no offer of monetary or material value for this information collection.

10) Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents.

There are no assurances of confidentiality provided to the respondents for this information collection.

11) Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.

There are no questions of sensitive language.

12) Estimate of annual hour and cost burdens to respondents.

• The estimated annual number of respondents is 6,801.

• The estimated annual number of responses is 6,801.

• The estimated annual hour burden is 14,610 hours.

• The estimated annual cost burden is $715,890.

The burden to respondents is provided in Appendix A. This collection accounts for two different methods of tonnage measurement—

(a) Simplified Measurement System

(b) Convention Measurement System, Standard Measurement System or Dual Measurement System

(a) For all vessels that an owner elects to have the tonnages assigned under the “Simplified Measurement System” method, a form is provided by the Coast Guard. The burden estimate is based on previous years. The maximum response time of respondents is estimated at 2.0 hours (0.5 hours to acquire the form; 0.5 hours to research; 0.5 hours to determine vessel dimensions; and 0.5 hours to complete the application). The annual burden hours are computed as the product of the number of respondents per year, the frequency (one time), and maximum response time (2.0 hours).

We expect that a vessel owner would complete the application. We estimate that a vessel owner’s wage rate is equivalent to an individual at pay grade WG-08. The wage rate used is in accordance with the current edition of COMDTINST 7310.1(series) for “Out-Government” personnel.

(b) For vessels that have tonnages assigned under the “Convention Measurement System,” the “Standard Measurement System,” or the “Dual Measurement System,” burden could be as little as that required under the “Simplified Measurement System” or much greater if the owner requests certain options that may require preparation of special plans and/or water ballast justification calculations. There is considerable variance in the amount of information required, since it is not always directly related to vessel size or service. Accordingly, an average response time is estimated by considering the time required to prepare, assemble, and submit all special plans and other information required for a "typical" vessel. This method yields an estimated burden of 5 hours per vessel. The estimated number of respondents per year is based on data from previous years. The annual burden hours are computed as the product of the number of respondents per year, the frequency (one time), and average response time (5 hours).

We expect that a vessel owner would complete the application. We estimate that a vessel owner’s wage rate is equivalent to an individual at pay grade WG-08. The wage rate used is in accordance with the current edition of COMDTINST 7310.1(series) for “Out-Government” personnel.

13) Total annualized capital and start-up costs.

There are no recordkeeping, capital, start-up or maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

14) Estimates of annualized Federal Government costs.

The estimated annual Federal Government cost is $81,504 (See Appendix B).

(a) Processing applications for measurement under the “Simplified Measurement System” requires 0.25 person-hours each. The annual burden hours are computed as the product of the number of responses per year and the time required to process each application (0.25 hours). The estimated annual cost to the Federal Government is based on the equivalent pay grade WG-04 from COMDTINST 7310.1(series) for “In-Government” personnel.

(b) Authority to issue tonnage assignments to all vessels under the “Convention Measurement System,” the "Standard Measurement System,” and the “Dual Measurement System" was delegated to third party organizations. The estimated cost to the government for oversight is based on the equivalent pay grade GS-13 from COMDTINST 7310.1(series) for “In-Government” personnel.

15) Reasons for the change in burden.

The change (i.e., decrease) in burden is an ADJUSTMENT due to a decrease in the estimated annual number of responses (i.e., vessels being documented). The Coast Guard does not collect the information needed to explain this documentation trend. There is no proposed change to the reporting requirements of this collection. The reporting requirements, and the methodology for calculating burden, remain unchanged.

16) Plans for tabulation, statistical analysis, and publication.

This information collection will not be published for statistical purposes.

17) Approval for not explaining the expiration date for OMB approval.

The Coast Guard requests an exemption from the requirement to display the OMB expiration date on form CG-5397 “Application for Simplified Measurement.” As stated in the instructions section at the top of page 2, the form may be retained, at the vessel owner's option, as evidence of the tonnage measurement for an undocumented vessel. Because the validity of the tonnage measurement is independent of an expiry date on the form, the presence of an OMB expiration date may cause confusion with vessel owners. For this reason, we request that the OMB expiration date be omitted from form CG-5397. However, the OMB expiration date will be displayed on the Instruction sheet.

18) Explain each exception to the certification statement.

The Coast Guard does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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