The Passenger Vessel Association has produced a template for passenger vessel operators to use in writing a non tank-vessel response plan (NTVRP) to meet Coast Guard regulatory requirements.
The purpose of the PVA NTRVP template is to assist those PVA members who must comply with the U.S. Coast Guard's final rule entitled "Nontank Vessel Response Plans and Other Response Plan Requirements." While many vessels operated by PVA members are not be subject to the NTVRP regulatory requirement, some do fall within its scope.
"By using the PVA NTRVP template, a vessel operator is spared either the arduous task of interpreting the complex rule and converting its provisions into a workable document or the costs of paying someone else to do it," said PVA Executive Director John Groundwater.
Compared to the previous non tank-vessel response plan guidance provided by the Coast Guard, the final rule has more specific requirements for training, exercises and cooperative agreements with an oil spill response organization (OSRO) and a marine salvor.
The NTVRP rule applies to a passenger-carrying vessel that:
- is 400 gross tons or more measured under the international tonnage convention (ITC) measurement system (or 400 gross registered tons under the domestic regulatory tonnage system if the vessel does not have a convention tonnage measurement);
- carries oil of any kind as fuel for main propulsion; and
- operates on the navigable waters of the United States.
The non tank-vessel response plan rule is the result of a law that Congress passed several years ago taking existing response requirements for oil tankers and applying it to other types of vessels, including passenger vessels.
