The following definitions apply to this subpart:

Administration means the Government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly.

Classification society means an organization that, at a minimum, verifies that a vessel meets requirements embodying the technical rules, regulations, standards, guidelines and associated surveys, and inspections covering the design, construction, and/or through life compliance of a ship's structure and essential engineering and electrical systems.

Recognized Organization (RO) means an organization authorized to act on behalf of an Administration.

Regional port state control secretariat means an organization established to collect and maintain port state control inspection data in addition to other functions under a regional agreement among countries.

(a) Certain material is incorporated by reference into this part with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any edition other than that specified in this section, the Coast Guard must publish notice of change in the Federal Register and the material must be available to the public. All approved material is available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030 or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. Also, it is available for inspection at the Coast Guard Headquarters. Contact Commandant (CG-ENG), Attn: Office of Design and Engineering Systems, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509, and is available from the sources indicated in this section.

(b) International Maritime Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, U.K. + 44 (0)20 7735 7611, http://www.imo.org/.

(1) IMO Resolution A.739(18), Guidelines for the Authorization of Organizations Acting on Behalf of the Administration, adopted 4 November 1993, incorporation by reference approved for § 2.45-15.

(2) [Reserved]

(a) A classification society (including an employee or agent of that society) must not review, examine, survey, or certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the United States unless it is approved under the provisions of this subpart.

(b) This subpart applies to a recognized organization that meets the definition of a classification society provided in § 2.45-1 of this subpart.

(a) A classification society may be approved for purpose of § 2.45-10 if the following conditions are met:

(1) Vessels surveyed by the classification society must have a worldwide port state control detention rate of less than 2 percent based on the number of Recognized Organization (RO)-related detentions divided by the number of vessel inspections for at least 40 port state control inspections for the past 3 years;

(2) The classification society must not be identified in the most recent publication of “Port State Control in the United States” as a Priority I and as having more than one RO-related detention for the past 3 years;

(3) The classification society must comply with the minimum standards for an RO recommended in IMO Resolution A.739(18), Appendix 1 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.45-5.);

(4) The classification society must be an RO for at least one country under a formal written agreement that includes all of the elements described in IMO Resolution A.739(18), Appendix 2 (incorporated by reference, see § 2.45-5.);

(5) The referenced country that is cited for satisfaction of the requirement of paragraph (a)(4) of this section for which the classification society is an RO—

(i) Must be signatory to each of the following: The International Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), the International Convention on Load Lines (ICLL), 1966, and the Protocol of 1988 relating to the ICLL, 1966; and

(ii) Must not be identified as a flag state targeted for additional port state control action by the Coast Guard or any regional port state control secretariat.

(6) The classification society must use a system to—

(i) Make its safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the classification society available to the Coast Guard in electronic format;

(ii) Provide its safety records and those of persons acting on behalf of the classification society to another classification society that requests those records for the purpose of conducting surveys of vessels; and

(iii) Request the safety records of a vessel to be surveyed from any other classification society that previously surveyed that vessel.

(b) Where sufficient performance records are not available from a regional port state control secretariat, the Coast Guard may consider an equivalent safety performance indicator proposed by the classification society seeking approval.

(a) A classification society approved for the purpose of this subpart must maintain the minimum requirements for approval set forth in § 2.45-15.

(b) If an approved classification society fails to maintain compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, the Coast Guard may place the classification society approval on probation, or suspend or revoke the classification society's approval, as appropriate.

(c) Probation. A classification society on probation is approved for the purpose of this subpart. The probation continues until the next review of the classification society's compliance with paragraph (a) of this section.

(1) If the review shows that compliance with paragraph (a) of this section is achieved, the probation may end.

(2) If the review shows significant improvement but compliance with paragraph (a) of this section is not achieved, the probation may be extended.

(3) If the review does not show significant improvement, and compliance with paragraph (a) of this section is not achieved, the approval may be suspended.

(d) Suspension. A classification society whose approval is suspended is not approved for the purpose of this subpart. Suspension will continue until the next review of the classification society's compliance with paragraph (a) of this section.

(1) If the review shows compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, the classification society's approval may be restored.

(2) If the review shows significant improvement toward compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, the suspension may be extended.

(3) If the review does not show significant improvement and compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, the classification society's approval may be revoked.

(e) Revocation. A classification society whose approval is revoked is not approved for the purpose of this subpart. The classification society may reapply for approval when the requirements of § 2.45-15 are met.

(f) The Coast Guard's Office of Design and Engineering Standards (CG-ENG) administers probations, suspensions, and revocations and makes all related notifications to affected classification societies.

(a) An application for approval must be made in writing and in the English language to Commandant (CG-ENG), Attn: Office of Design and Engineering Systems, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509.

(b) The application must—

(1) Indicate the type of work the classification society intends to perform on vessels in the United States;

(2) Include documentation demonstrating that the classification society complies with § 2.45-15;

(3) Contain a list of the vessels surveyed by the classification society over the previous 3 calendar years. The list must include vessel names, flags, and IMO numbers, as well as initial vessel inspections and detentions; and

(4) Provide a summary of the safety records of vessels the classification society surveys for each of the previous 3 calendar years, including initial vessel inspections and detentions for all data contained in regional port state control Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and other port state control data sources, including the U.S. Coast Guard.

(c) An application submitted in accordance with 46 CFR part 8, subpart B satisfies the application requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, provided the applicant:

(1) Has been notified in writing by the Commandant that it met the criteria to be a recognized classification society, and its recognized status has not been revoked, under 46 CFR part 8, subpart B;

(2) Submits in writing and in the English language to the address in paragraph (a) of this section a statement that the applicant is applying for approval under this subpart; and

(3) Certifies in the submission under paragraph (c)(2) of this section that the information in the application submitted under 46 CFR part 8, subpart B remains valid.

The owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel that employs a classification society to review, examine, survey, or certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the United States is subject to civil penalties in accordance with Title 46 U.S.C. 3318 if the classification society is not approved by the Coast Guard under this subpart.