The U.S. Coast Guard has published Policy Letter 02-21 which builds upon previous efforts to harmonize Personal Floatation Device (PFD) standards in cooperation with Transport Canada (TC) and members of the U.S. and Canadian PFD community.

The U.S. Coast Guard has determined that an inherently buoyant Level 100 lifejacket that meets the requirements of ANSI/CAN/UL 12402-4 provides equivalent performance to a non-standard lifejacket meeting the requirements of 46 CFR 160.055, and will accept this new harmonized standard as a basis for USCG approval.  

Level 100 lifejackets are intended for commercial vessels not subject to SOLAS, and may be used to meet lifejacket carriage requirements on a recreational vessels. These lifejackets provide face-up flotation with a level of support sufficient for open-water use that turns most users face-up, even when the user is unconscious.

Policy Letter 02-21 can be found at the following link: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/ENG/Policy/.

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