The U.S. Coast Guard has published new guidance setting forth its interpretation of when a vessel's keel is considered laid and building progression standards to determine what may be accepted in establishing the build date for a vessel. Shipyards and prospective shipowners and operators should be cognizant of this new guidance and its significant implications on the regulatory requirements applicable to a vessel.

New Development

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a Work Instruction providing guidance on when a vessel's keel is considered to be laid or the vessel is at a similar stage of construction. This guidance is intended to address law and regulations that refer to when a vessel is "new" or "existing," "built," or "constructed." The Work Instruction, "Determinations for a Vessel's Keel Laid Date or Similar Stage of Construction," CVC-WI 015(1), was published on August 27, 2019, and is available here.

Background

U.S. law and regulation often refers to new or existing vessels or when a vessel is built or constructed to determine the applicability of newer construction, safety, and environmental standards. The definitions of these terms invariably discuss the vessels' keel laid date or similar stage of construction. However, there has historically been scant guidance addressing when a vessel's keel is considered laid or when a vessel can be considered at a similar stage of construction and how these terms should be applied for different regulatory purposes.

The Coast Guard has identified issues in the past with undefined structural members being placed in a shipyard without vessel construction plans in place or even intent to build a specific vessel to act as a regulatory placeholder. This is particularly a problem in the period before a newer, more stringent standard will come into effect, and shipbuilders or other companies seek to claim a keel laid date before a new standard takes effect by taking some action to start the building of a vessel with no firm planned completion date.

Please click  here for the full client alert. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.