Since 1986 those in the maritime industry have been required by law to submit to the US Coast Guard a Report of Marine Casualty, commonly known as a “2692,” when a marine casualty or accident occurs. The regulations broadly define “marine casualty or accident” in order to capture a wide variety of occurrences. These occurrences provide the Coast Guard with the appropriate authority and jurisdictional latitude to investigate a wide range of occurrences irrespective of reporting requirements. These occurrences include both commercial and recreational vessel activities. Casualty reporting criteria for state registered vessels is found in 33 CFR Part 173 and for federally registered vessels in 46 CFR Part 4.
Historically, the Coast Guard has relied upon the language found in Part 4 to assist regulated industry stakeholders in determining if an occurrence is a reportable marine casualty. Information and data collected by the Coast Guard during marine casualty investigation are used by a wide audience for many purposes from enforcement of laws to enhancement of prevention activities (i.e. safety alerts and standards). However, since inception there has been confusion in the industry as to when exactly submission of a 2692 report is necessary. This becomes problematic for those in the maritime industry since civil penalties can be levied against the vessel owner/operator should the Coast Guard later conclude that a report should have been submitted when none was.
The Coast Guard has finally officially recognized that in order to achieve consistency and to assist industry time has come to address the problem. The Coast Guard has issued a Notice of Availability and Request for Comments (Notice) on January 14, 2014 on a draft Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular to provide guidance for the identification and reporting of marine casualties and provide clear policy interpretations to facilitate compliance with marine casualty reporting requirements. 79 Fed. Reg. 2466 (January 14, 2014). Specifically, the draft NVIC assists responsible parties in the proper evaluation of occurrences that constitute a reportable marine casualty and subsequently require action by both Coast Guard and Industry.
The NVIC contains the existing regulations and provides amplifying information to assist reporting parties to determine whether an occurrence is a reportable marine casualty.
The proposed interpretations are extensive and comprehensive and cannot be reviewed in the space of this article. They are helpful and are an improvement to the regulations as they presently exist. For instance, the regs currently state that an injury needs to be reported if it “requires professional medical treatment (treatment beyond first aid). In an attempt to provide clarification the suggested interpretation suggests that such is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body as a result of an outside physical agent or force. The Coast Guard considers injuries and illnesses as separate types of occurrences. As such, damage or harm caused by illness, including but not limited to communicable illness, food poisoning, heart attack, stroke or other pre-existing medical condition is not considered an injury and does not fall within the definition of the regulation. To assist in determination of what constitutes “professional medical treatment” the Coast Guard has adopted the definitions of medical treatment and first aid established by OSHA in 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(5) as well as the explanation regarding medical treatment provided therein. This regulation can be viewed online at www.ecfr.cov.
Those with a stake in this should take time to read the NVIC and referenced OSHA regs. With this clarification comes the recognition that the Coast Guard is increasing its expectations of industry and will step up enforcement of its reporting requirements.