Thursday, July 02, 2009
Congress addresses fishing vessel safety in Coast Guard bill
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering new safety standards for fishing vessels as part of the Coast Guard Modernization Act of 2009 (H.R. 2650).
Introduced by committee chairman Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), provisions being considered would require new construction methods on vessels, as well as increased crew training and mandated Coast Guard inspections. Oberstar noted that commercial fishermen die at a rate more than 25 times higher than the national average rate of occupational fatalities.
The bipartisan legislation would authorize Coast Guard funding levels for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, establish marine safety as an agency mission and require the Coast Guard to produce various annual reports on marine safety topics.