Policy and Guidance - Vessels involved in OCS Activities (Oil, Gas and Minerals)

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Information pertaining to support vessels involved in non-mineral OCS activities can be found via our "Non-Mineral Support Vessels" page.

The content listed below is available on this page. Use the tabs above to view the following categories:

  1) COMDTINST 16000.7x series, Marine Safety (previously MSM Volume II);

  2) Reference Books and Guides (compiled by subject);

  3) Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs), including "Old" CFRs;

  4) National Policy;

  5) District Eight (Gulf of Mexico) Policy;

  6) Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars (NVICs);

  7) USCG Mission Management System (MMS) Work Instructions (WIs);

  8) Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIBs); and

  9) Inspection job aids (replaced CG-840 books).

COMDTINST 16000.76, Marine Safety: OCS Inspections (previously Section G of the Marine Safety Manual, Volume II)

Vessels that support or conduct OCS Activities fall under numerous vessel types and categories. The majority of the vessels that are involved in this work are Offshore Supply Vessels (OSVs), Industrial Vessels or Small Passenger Vessels. These vessels are mostly regulated under 46 CFR Subchapters L, I and T, respectively. 46 CFR Subchapters D, F, J, O and S and 33 CFR also have applicabilities to these vessel types. For vessels involved in OCS Activities, the following chapters of COMDTINST 16000.76, Marine Safety: Outer Continental Shelf Inspections apply:

• Chapter 1, Regulations, Policy and Guidance for a Unit Conducting an OCS Activity, and
• Chapter 6, Procedures Applicable to Other Vessels Engaged in OCS Activities.

This Commandant Instruction replaced Marine Safety Manual (MSM), Volume II: Section G - OCS Activities (cancelled 20Sep2021 and listed here for historical reference only). Note that there was no content change with the republishing of MSM Vol II Section G as a separate Commandant Instruction on 20Sep2021, but future content revisions are planned.

Additional sections of the marine safety series that may apply to support vessels that conduct OCS activities follow (e.g, U.S. flagged OSVs, foreign units entering port, etc.).

• COMDTINST 16000.70, Marine Safety: Marine Inspection Administration
• COMDTINST 16000.71, Marine Safety: Domestic Inspection Programs
• COMDTINST 16000.72, Marine Safety: Inspection of Engineering Systems, Equipment and Materials
• COMDTINST 16000.73, Marine Safety: Port State Control
• COMDTINST 16000.74, Marine Safety: International Conventions, Treaties, Standards and Regulations
• COMDTINST 16000.75, Marine Safety: Carriage of Hazardous Materials

Reference Books and Guides (compiled by subject)

Reference "Books" and Guides (by subject):

  ○  Accommodations

  ○  Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Guide

  ○  Introduction to Dynamic Positioning (DP) Systems

  ○  Vessel General Permit

Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs)

CFRs that pertain to support vessels are as follows:

Primary subchapters for the vessel type -
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter I - Cargo and Miscellaneous Vessels (often referred to as Industrial Vessels)
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter L - Offshore Supply Vessels
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter T - Small Passenger Vessels (Under 100 Gross Tons)

Additional subchapters that apply (not all will apply to each of the vessels inspected under the subchapters listed above) -
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter A - Procedures Applicable to the Public
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter B - Merchant Marine Officers and Seamen
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter E - Load Lines
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter F - Marine Engineering
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter G - Documentation and Measurement of Vessels
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter J - Electrical Engineering
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter Q - Equipment, Construction and Materials: Specifications and Approval
  ○  46 CFR Subchapter S - Subdivision and Stability

Note that 46 CFR Subchapters D, I-A, N, O, V or W, or portions thereof, may also be utilized for vessels with specific arrangements/equipment or involved in specific operations.

  ○  33 CFR Subchapter D - International Navigation Rules
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter E - Inland Navigation Rules
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter F - Vessel Operating Regulations
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter H - Maritime Security (Parts 101, 103 and 104)
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter N - Outer Continental Shelf Activities
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter O - Pollution
  ○  33 CFR Subchapter P - Ports and Waterways Safety

Also note that 33 CFR Subchapter A also has applicability in regards to administration and legal actions.

Additional CFRs that apply to certain operations or equipment -
  ○  29 CFR Part 1915 - Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Shipyard Employment (the source for confined space entry requirements)
  ○  47 CFR Part 80 - Stations in the Maritime Services (radio communication installation requirements)

CFRs can be viewed at ecfr.gov (regularly updated online version) or govinfo.gov (annual editions).

"Old" CFRs

Old editions of the CFRs are available as follows (click on the "year" to open the document) for 'grandfathered' vessels:

  ○  46 CFR Subchapter I, 1995 edition ("Old I") and 1963 edition ("Old-Old I")

  ○  46 CFR Subchapter J, 1995 edition ("Old J") and 1981 edition ("Old-Old J")

  ○  46 CFR Subchapter T, 1995 edition ("Old T")

National Policy

National policy letters that apply to support vessels (OSVs, to include Liftboats, and small passenger vessels supporting oil and gas operations) are listed in the table below, grouped by issuing authority and ordered from newest to oldest (by policy number/original issue date). Click on the policy number to open the document (opens in a new window).

District Eight (Gulf of Mexico) Policy

D8 policy letters that apply to support vessels (OSVs, to include Liftboats, and small passenger vessels supporting oil and gas operations) are listed in the table below, grouped by issuing authority and ordered from newest to oldest (by policy number/original issue date). Click on the policy number to open the document (opens in a new window).

Note that policy letter numbers for all policies listed from 1999 and earlier do NOT have a policy number referenced on the letter itself, but the policy number listed was assigned by D8 for tracking purposes.

Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars (NVICs)

NVICs that apply to support vessels (OSVs, to include Liftboats, and small passenger vessels supporting oil and gas operations) are listed in the table below, ordered from newest to oldest (by NVIC number). Click on the NVIC number to open the document (opens in a new window). ALL NVICs can be found on the Official NVIC Page.

MMS Work Instructions

Mission Management System (MMS) Work Instructions (WIs) that apply to support vessels (OSVs, to include Liftboats, and small passenger vessels supporting oil and gas operations) are listed in the table below, grouped by issuing authority and ordered numerically by instruction number. All CVC MMS WIs can be viewed and accessed through the CG-CVC MMS page on their site. Click on the policy number to open the document (opens in a new window).

Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIBs)

MSIBs that apply to support vessels (OSVs, to include Liftboats, and small passenger vessels supporting oil and gas operations) are listed in the table below, grouped by issuing authority and ordered from newest to oldest (by MSIB number/original issue date). Click on the MSIB number to open the document (opens in a new window).

Additional MSIBs issued by USCG Headquarters offices can be found here.

Inspection Job Aids

The following Job Aids pertain to support vessels that work on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Job Aids replaced the replaced the legacy CG-840 Books and can be a valuable tool for owners and operators to maintain regulatory compliance on their vessels.

• Support Vessel Job Aids:
  • Offshore Supply Vessels (OSVs and Liftboats, Subchapters L & I): standard format or booklet.
  • Crew Boats (Subchapter T Small Passenger Vessels servicing the offshore oil, mineral and energy industries): booklet.
• Rescue Boat Davit System Test

Notes:

Job Aids are developed for use by the CG Marine Inspector, following internal CG procedures, and are provided as a convenience (and transparency) to industry. The Pre-Inspection/Pre-Exam and Follow-Up sections mainly pertain to administrative tasks of the Marine Inspector. While "if applicable" is NOT annotated within the Job Aid, there are inspection/exam items listed that may not apply to a particular vessel.

Additional Job Aids and Marine Inspector Performance Qualification Standards (PQS) are available on CVC's MI Resources page.