Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32SEPTEMBER 2016 • FOGHORN 13 LEGAL making this report, especially when their operations are limited to one Coast Guard office, and the operator has developed a sound working rela- tionship with that office. The second required report is to prepare a written report on a form provided by the Coast Guard, called the “Report of Marine Casualty, Commercial Diving Casualty or OCS-Related Casualty,” form CG-2692. This form was recently revised in March 2016, and can readily be obtained online at www.uscg.mil/ forms/CG/CG_2692.pdf . Like the required oral report, this written report may be completed and submitted by the vessel’s “owner agent, master, operator, or person in charge.” Unlike the oral report, which must be made immediately after safety concerns are addressed, the written CG-2692 may be filed any time within 5 days of the casualty. The regulation (46 CFR sec. 4.05-10) also specifically states that if the CG 2692 is filed “without delay after the occurrence,” the oral report is not required. In July 2015, the Coast Guard issued Navigation and Vessel Information Circular (NVIC) No. 01-15.  Its purpose is to clarify when an event is a report- able casualty.  Among the circumstanc- es it addresses are:  (1) falls overboard that do not result in an injury, including deliberate rail jumping; (2) “bump and go” groundings; “(3) reduction in a vessel’s maneuverability; and (4) the definition of “treatment beyond first aid.”  PVA’s Regulatory Consultant Peter Lauridsen discussed NVIC 01-15 and the new Coast Guard Form 2692 in two articles published in the September 2015 andAugust 2016 issues of FOGHORN.  It should be noted here, although it is beyond the scope of this article, that mariners have other legal obliga- tions arising after a reportable incident apart from making the required reports. These additional obligations include: (1) providing immediate safety infor- mation to the Coast Guard, such as the location aboard the ship of a fire, flooding, etc; (2) disclosing the ship’s voyage records (i.e., official logs and navigation/ engineering  records kept in the ordinary course of the ship’s business) immediately to the  Coast Guard upon request (and the request will usually come at the time of the Coast Guard boarding after the first reporting of the casualty);  and  (3) co- operating with any Coast Guard in- vestigation. Mariners of course have a right to be represented by counsel, but they must comply with at least obligations (1) and (2) above immedi- ately, even if they have not had time to confer. Cooperation with the subse- quent course of a Coast Guard inves- tigation, and the preparation of any written report or statement, may await conferring with the mariner’s attorney. Misconduct Charges Are Very Possible Failure to comply with post-casual- ty reporting obligations can have poten- tially significant consequences for both the mariner and the vessel operator, in the form either of license actions filed against the mariner, and/or civil penalties assessed against either the