On Aug. 8, 2023, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Federal Register (FR) Notice titled Bureau of Transportation Statistics OST-2023-0115. This notice identifies a new information collection effort requested under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This Act, under the authority of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), manages the government’s collection of information and data burden on the government and the public. No such collection occurs without the OMB’s authorization and effective date/expiration date noted on the collection form.
The data collection intended herein comes from an Interagency Authorization Agreement (IAA) signed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to develop and implement SafeMTS. This is a voluntary program for confidential reporting of near misses occurring on vessels within the Maritime Transportation System. The goal is early warning of safety problems and potential safety issues by uncovering hidden at-risk conditions not previously exposed from analysis of reportable accidents and incidents.
The goal is early warning of safety problems and potential safety issues by uncovering hidden at-risk conditions not previously exposed from analysis of reportable accidents and incidents.
This is the activity wherein the requesting organization DOT will provide OMB information on public and government burdens, i.e., time and other costs of the information collection.
“The scope of SafeMTS includes a broad range of data categories to promote safe operations and appropriate risk management, which adds a learning component to assist the maritime industry in achieving improved safety performance.”
Information from which “BTS will publish aggregated analyses providing information on potential causal factors and trends or patterns before safety is compromised and affording continuous improvement opportunities by focusing on repairing impediments to safety”.
The notice provides a general description of the report to be submitted to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). “Respondents will submit the report electronically to BTS. Respondents will be asked to provide information such as: time and location of the event; a short description of the event and operating conditions that existed at the time of the event; contributing factors to the event; results of an investigation or safety analysis report; any corrective actions taken as a result of the event; and any other information that might be useful in determining ways to prevent such events from occurring”.
The purpose of the FR notice is to seek public assistance for the DOT in its request seeking approval for the public reporting necessary to accomplish its goals of near-miss events to support SafeMTS. “Public Comments Invited:
You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including:
- Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the performance of BTS’s functions;
- The accuracy of the estimated burden;
- Ways for BTS to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and
- Ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected information.
Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable”.
The Regulatory Committee will consider PVA’s response to the notice and encourages individual member interest.
Download the entire DOT notice here
Peter Lauridsen is a regulatory affairs consultant with the Passenger Vessel Association.