As a courtesy to our audience, Maritime Commons will provide a daily compilation of nationally-relevant Federal Register Notices, or those notices that may impact a large segment of our readers. To provide comments for the public record, follow the Federal Register link for each individual notice. Please note, the Coast Guard cannot respond to comments on these notices outside of the Federal Register.

The Coast Guard has announced in the Federal Register a proposal to extend the maximum period of validity of merchant mariner medical certificates issued to first-class pilots and masters or mates serving as pilot from 2 years to 5 years.

This proposed rule would reduce the frequency of medical certification application submissions to the Coast Guard. First-class pilots and masters and mates who serve as pilot on vessels of 1,600 gross registered tons or more would be required to submit the results of their annual physical examinations to the Coast Guard between medical certificate applications if: The mariner does not meet the physical ability requirements; the mariner has a condition that does not meet the medical, vision, or hearing requirements; the mariner is deemed “not recommended” by a medical practitioner for a medical certificate; or upon request by the Coast Guard. The proposed rule will not compromise safety because it maintains the requirement for pilots to obtain annual physicals and because it provides the Coast Guard opportunity to review the medical examination of pilots who may become medically unqualified between medical certificate applications.

Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before October 26, 2021.

You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2020-0069 using the Federal Decision Making Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. 

For information about this notice, call or email Eric Malzkuhn, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1425, email eric.f.malzkuhn@uscg.mil.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official publications, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These publications remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.