WASHINGTON - Rear Adm. Craig Bone, the Coast Guard’s director of port security, and other senior Coast Guard officials heard from members of the public today on the merchant mariner credentials proposal from the 2005 Coast Guard Authorization Act. Today’s session was scheduled by the Coast Guard to allow mariners and other affected members of the public to give their feedback on the proposal. Members of several seafarer unions, as well as industry groups, made comments at the session.

A public docket to receive written comments will remain open until June 29, 2005. It may be viewed by going to http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm and entering docket number 21187.

Remarks of Rear Adm. Bone as prepared for the meeting:

"Good morning. I am Rear Admiral Craig Bone, the Coast Guard Director of Port Security. On behalf of the Commandant, I welcome you to this public meeting on merchant mariner credentials. I also want to thank you for taking the time to be here and give us your feedback. Your insights will help us further improve the proposal.

"On April 12, the Commandant transmitted to Congress the President’s proposed Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2005. It included a complete update of the merchant mariner credentialing statutes in Title 46 of the United States Code. The proposed changes will enable us to heighten the security of all Coast Guard issued credentials in partnership with mariners and the maritime industry. We cannot, and must not, continue with business as usual. We must act to prevent the specter of a terrorist obtaining and using a merchant mariner credential for any purpose. Our proposal is one of many important steps we are taking to instill a culture of security within a system previously focused almost exclusively on safety and efficiency. The proposal will also accomplish the Coast Guard’s and the President’s goals of simplifying, clarifying, and modernizing the statutes.

"This proposal will improve the mariner credentialing statutes in five areas. In our Federal Register notice of this meeting we asked you to comment on those five areas of improvement.

"The first area is Homeland Security. The proposal will increase the security of credentials by ensuring the Coast Guard has authority to consider security in issuing credentials, as well as in suspending and revoking them. The 9/11 Commission found that the terrorists used government-issued identification to facilitate their attacks upon the United States. The Commission recommended that the security of such forms of identification be enhanced. Congress responded by enacting laws requiring that security be considered by credentialing agencies. Our proposal applies and expands upon those existing authorities in the reorganized new chapters and provides added flexibility to respond to developing security threats.

"The second area is modernization. The proposal will modernize the existing statutes which contain numerous outdated and obsolete provisions. Examples include the “coal passer” rating and six separate classifications of “able seaman.” The proposal eliminates this antiquated and redundant terminology and improves the Coast Guard’s ability to administer the credentialing statutes for the benefit of mariners. As the industry evolves, the proposal will allow us to respond with appropriate training and qualification requirements to meet future needs.

"The third improvement is organization. The proposal will improve the organization of the statutes by replacing the current five chapters of Title 46, which randomly intermingle credentialing requirements, with two focused chapters, one on issuance and one on suspension and revocation. We believe this format will be much easier for mariners and other users of the code to understand and apply, as well as easier for the Coast Guard to administer.

"The fourth area is clarification. The proposal will clarify the existing statutes, making them easier to understand and use, for mariners, industry and the Coast Guard alike. At first glance, because the proposal is so broad, it appears to change a lot. However, on closer reading, it is clear that most of the existing authorities are unchanged. We did not intend to remove any rights, benefits or duties of credentialed merchant mariners. The Coast Guard will not make any immediate changes to the existing credentials or regulations solely because of this proposal. Instead, we plan to work with mariners, industry and the public through the rulemaking process.

"The final area is harmonization. The proposal will allow the Coast Guard flexibility to harmonize U.S. merchant mariner credentials with other ongoing efforts, both domestically and internationally. Under the new statute, the Coast Guard will be able to work toward the goal of a single credential that will satisfy multiple safety, security and identity needs. Our proposal will harmonize the credentialing statutes with these efforts and improve our ability to implement both ongoing and future standards.

"We look forward to hearing your comments and also I urge you to file written comments to the docket, which will remain open for two weeks following this meeting. Thank you."