Technical Circular No: 07/2020
Download PDF- United States Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Center (MSC) requires foreign flagged vessels entering US ports and carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk:
- Hold a valid International Maritime Organization (IMO) Certificate of Fitness issued under the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code); and
- Receive an endorsed Certificate of Compliance (COC), including a Subchapter O Endorsement (SOE) issued by the USCG.
- Prior to scheduling a COC exam, the vessel owners must apply for an SOE from MSC.
- The procedures for applying for the SOE are available on the USCG website at the following link, where an SOE checklist is provided: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/lgcncoe/carrier/sub-o/.
- The submission should be made electronically to the email address or, if via hard copy, in triplicate to the MSC’s address found on the above website. To facilitate plan review and project management, all plans and information specified in these guidelines should be submitted as one complete package through a single point of contact for the project.
- Owners and Agents should be aware that MSC’s policy is a 30-day working time to respond to requests for the plan review required to issue an SOE.
- Once notified that the plan review is complete, the Owner or Agent should contact the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) at the vessel’s first US port of call in advance of the scheduled arrival to confirm the COC examination. This COC exam is generally performed at anchorage and requires one day to complete. The OCMI will issue the SOE upon successful completion of the COC exam.
- USCG MSC Bulletin 01-15 provides the requirements for submitting drawings and supporting calculations to the MSC.
- Ship owners/ operators and masters of Gas Carriers and bound for U.S. ports are advised to be guided by above.
Enclosure:
Disclaimer:
This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.