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28 MARCH 2016 FOGHORN MEMBERNEWS Maintenance Management Program Cloud Based - Access from any Device with any browser Maintenance - Inventory - Documentation Intuitive User Interface Flagship Integration Turnkey Setup w w w . W h e e l H o u s e T e c h . c o m - 9 7 8 - 5 6 2 - 5 2 1 1 Foghorn_March_2015.indd 1 2202015 34342 PM On March 1 the Coast Guards new AIS carriage rule went into effect. Are you covered by it If so might you be able to request a waiver deviation The rule states that in order for many but not all passenger-carrying vessels to operate they must install Automatic Identification System AIS units. For a seasonal operator whose business opens later in the spring the effective date of the rule is when vessel operations resume. Affected vessels include 1 every passenger vessel with a capacity for 150 or more and 2 every passenger vessel regard- less of capacity that is 65 feet or more in length and that is in commercial service. Most affected passenger vessels must use a Class A AIS but the less expensive less capable Class B AIS is Waivers May be Available from New AIS Carriage Rule an option if the vessel is 65 feet or more in length and has a passenger capacity of less than 150 and if it doesnt operate in a VTS zone and if its speed does not exceed 14 knots. You may be able to obtain a 5-year deviation waiver of the AIS require- ment from the local Coast Guard Captain of the Port. Deviations may be granted in limited circumstances such as 1 the vessel is not likely to encounter another AIS-equipped vessel 2 the vessel operates on a short voyage less than one nautical mile on a fixed schedule such as a bank-to- bank river ferry 3 the vessel operates in a very confined area such as less than one nautical mile radius or 4 the vessels design or construction no elec- trical power exposed or open cabin submersible makes it impracticable to operate an AIS device. Several PVA members have already applied for and received a deviation. A template for a deviation request later can obtained by contacting PVA Headquarters. It must be fleshed out to address your vessels individual cir- cumstances. If you submit a request to your Captain of the Port for an AIS deviation please share a copy of that letter with PVA staff. Originally the Coast Guard proposed that the AIS carriage rule apply to any vessel with a passenger capacity of 50. PVA challenged that proposal and pointed out that the Coast Guards required cost-benefit ratio could not support such an expansive rule. As a result the Coast Guard had to produce a new cost-benefit evalu- ation resulting in the increase in the passenger capacity threshold to 150 and causing the final rule to be postponed for a number of years. During this time the price of AIS units dropped markedly. See the AIS regulation Section 164.46 of title 33 Code of Federal Regulations at www.ecfr.gov. Questions Contact Ed Welch Eric Christensen or Jen Wilk at PVA Headquarters at 1-800-807-8360 exten- sions 27 26 and 24 respectively. n