TVIB News U.S. Coast Guard

USCG: Meritorious Public Service Award for HOGANSAC and LSHSC

Today the Lone Star Harbor Safety Committee (LSHSC) and its predecessor federal advisory committee Houston-Galveston Navigation Safety Advisory Committee (HOGANSAC) were presented with a Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service award to recognize the 40th anniversary of the group. The previous chairs, COTPs, DFOs, and members were recognized by the current Sector Commander for Sector Houston-Galveston Capt. Smith and Congressman Randy Weber of Texas’ 14th Congressional District. Capt. Smith shared with the group that the model of HOGANSAC and LSHSC has been used in several ports for the development and establishment of other harbor safety committees.

This recognition was to celebrate 40 years of port stakeholders and the community working in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard to address issues in the Marine Transportation System (MTS) within the ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City, and Freeport including the associated waterways of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and offshore lightering zones. We watched the ushering in of maritime security regulations following 9-11 and saw the formation of the first Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC). The group has been twice recognized on the national stage as Harbor Safety Committee of the year by the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Initiatives such as Brownwater University, Brownwater-Bluewater Symposium, and the Mariner Guide to Navigating the Houston-Galveston Area Waterways are but of few of the ongoing initiatives that were born out of this group.

As a previous chair of HOGANSAC, I was proud to be among this group and pleased to see that many of us have been involved for over 20 years with this group and its various committees and to see so many new faces that will carry on this important work.

#lonestarharborsafetycommittee #lshsc #hogansac #uscg #harborsafetycommittee #portofhouston #portofgalveston #portoftexascity #portoffreeport

USCG: SUB M – Pilot House Alerter and Towing Machinery Requirements

Originally posted on Coast Guard Maritime Commons on 09/22/2022

The Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CG-CVC) would like to remind all Subchapter M – Towing Vessel owners and operators that while the phase-in allowance to get your Certificate of Inspection (COI) has past, as of July 19, 2022, there are some other requirements for existing vessels that are a prerequisite prior to obtaining the next Renewal COI.  In accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §143.200(c) no later than 5 years after the issuance of the first COI for the vessel, all existing towing vessels inspected under Subchapter M must meet the Pilothouse Alerter (46 CFR §143.450) and Towing Machinery requirements (46 CFR §143.460).

Failure to meet these requirements could result in issuance of a CG-835V vessel deficiency and possibly non-renewal of the 5 year COI per 46 CFR §136.215.

If you have any questions regarding the requirement noted above, or an inspection for your towing vessel, please seek your local Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.  For any questions regarding this blog post, please contact CGCVC@uscg.mil.

 

 

 

SUB M: Letter from RDML Arguin to TVIB

TVIB is only as strong as its members which is made up of our TPO customers, certified auditors and surveyors, and our supporting organizations.  Thank you all for being a part of the successful implementation of Subchapter M to usher in the inspected towing vessel regulations. We owe a big thank you to our TVIB staff that work diligently every day to support our mission, our customers and the U.S. Coast Guard in our efforts.

The attached letter was presented to TVIB leadership yesterday, signed by Admiral Arguin. This is something we can all be very proud of.

Click here to download.