NVIC 10-92: Engineer certification of vessel plans

NAVIGATION AND VESSEL INSPECTION CIRCULAR NO. 10-92, CHANGE 2 Subj: CH-2 to NVIC 10-92, COAST GUARD RECOGNITION OF REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH COAST GUARD REQUIREMENTS

Coast Guard Recognition of Registered Professional Engineer Certification of Compliance with Coast Guard Requirements — PURPOSE.

a. The purpose of this Circular is to publish policy concerning the approval of vessel plans and design calculations which bear a registered professional engineer's (PE) certification of compliance with Coast Guard requirements. b. The current version, Change 2, extends the same recognition afforded to plans stamped by a PE or duly authorized ABS employee to plans stamped by duly authorized employees of other Coast Guard-recognized classification societies. These classification societies have been recognized by the Coast Guard in accordance with 46 CFR Part 8, Subpart B.

Coast Guard Recognition of Registered Professional Engineer Certification of Compliance with Coast Guard Requirements — DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. NVIC 10-92 Change 1, dated 10 June 1993, is hereby superseded.

DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. NVIC 10-92 Change 1, dated 10 June 1993, is hereby superseded.

Coast Guard Recognition of Registered Professional Engineer Certification of Compliance with Coast Guard Requirements — BACKGROUND.

a. Coast Guard functions related to the review and approval of commercial vessel plans and design calculations were consolidated at the Marine Safety Center (MSC) in Washington, DC in 1986. Previously, these functions were performed by technically trained staffs at the Third, Eighth and Twelfth District Marine Safety Divisions. This centralization ensures a uniform application of regulations and policy while administering the marine technical responsibilities of the Commercial Vessel Safety Program with fewer personnel than were previously required. b. It was subsequently realized that many MSC resource-hours were being spent reviewing routine plans that had been prepared by competent naval architects. One method of freeing up limited MSC resources and improving plan review response time is to reduce or eliminate Coast Guard review of those items for which detailed plan review rarely uncovers significant safety related problems and for which the problems typically found have minimal impact on the overall safety of a vessel. It was believed that plans bearing the certification of a PE would likely be in compliance with applicable regulations, requiring less review time and corrections by the technical staff of the MSC. This would allow the Coast Guard to process routine plans in a more timely fashion while conserving resources for plan review activities, such as novel vessel designs. c. This Circular established the PE certification regime in 1992. It proved so successful that Change 1, dated 10 June 1993, extended the regime to the American Bureau of Shipping. This change (Change 2) further extends these provisions to other classification societies recognized by the Coast Guard in accordance with 46 CFR Part 8, Subpart B.

Coast Guard Recognition of Registered Professional Engineer Certification of Compliance with Coast Guard Requirements — DISCUSSION. Because plans certified by a PE or a duly authorized employee of a recognized classification society are expected to have fewer areas of noncompliance with the applicable regulations, the Coast Guard expects these plans to be returned with a minimum of comments and, in many instances, with only oversight type review. The MSC will conduct oversight on a portion of th

4. DISCUSSION. Because plans certified by a PE or a duly authorized employee of a recognized classification society are expected to have fewer areas of noncompliance with the applicable regulations, the Coast Guard expects these plans to be returned with a minimum of comments and, in many instances, with only oversight type review. The MSC will conduct oversight on a portion of the plans submitted under the provisions of this Circular. The level of oversight review performed on any given type of plan or calculation will vary depending on the nature of the material presented, the frequency of error routinely detected during plan review, and the impact such errors have on overall vessel safety.

Coast Guard Recognition of Registered Professional Engineer Certification of Compliance with Coast Guard Requirements — IMPLEMENTATION.

a.

Application of the provisions of this Circular is limited to those plans submitted to the MSC for review.

MSC may accept, as the basis for plan approval, the certification of a registered PE or a duly authorized employee of a recognized classification society that vessel plans, designs, calculations, etc. meet applicable Coast Guard requirements.

The MSC may conduct full, partial, or no review of any or all documents submitted under the provisions of this Circular.

The level of plan review oversight conducted will be determined by the Commanding Officer, MSC.

Further guidance on procedures for submitting plans can be found at www.uscg.mil/hq/msc. b.

This Circular does not authorize certification of equivalent arrangements, materials, etc.

Proposals for equivalency must be submitted separately for normal MSC review and approval. c.

Plans and design calculations submitted to the MSC for approval under the provisions of this Circular must be reviewed by a registered PE licensed by one of the 50 states of the United States or the District of Columbia, or by a duly authorized employee of a recognized classification society.

It is the responsibility of the PE to ensure that he or she does not exceed the scope of his or her PE license.

In the case of certifications by recognized classification society employees, "duly authorized" means a full-time employee holding the proper qualifications for the particular type of review being conducted, and who has been authorized by the class society to certify submittals on its behalf.

It shall be the responsibility of the class society to ensure that reviewers meet these requirements.

At this time, the Coast Guard-recognized classification societies are: the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Lloyd's Register (LR), Germanischer Lloyd (GL), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and Bureau Veritas (BV).

Contact G-PSE-2 for future updates. d.

The PE or class society certification may appear either on the certified document itself, or in a cover letter.

In either case, the certification must be accompanied by the signed and dated seal/stamp of either the PE or class society, respectively.

There are no requirements as to the specific wording which must be used in making the certification.

However, the certification must indicate that the PE or duly authorized employee has reviewed the document and certifies that the information contained therein is in compliance with the specified Coast Guard regulations.

The following is an example of an acceptable form for the certification statement: The information contained in this [plan, drawing, calculation, document, etc.] has been reviewed and is certified as complying with the following U.S.

Coast Guard regulations: [46 CFR Parts 30 through 40]. e.

If the certification statement is contained in a cover letter, the letter must also include a list of all applicable plans by number, title, and revision/alteration. f.

The certification may be made on the submittal, provided the date of certification is also included.

An original signature, certification and seal/stamp will not be required on copies of each submittal provided that the certification is legible; however, if the certification is done with a raised seal on an original plan, the information contained thereon must also be reproducible on all copies. g.

Coast Guard requirements for commercial vessels are contained in Titles 33 and 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Further guidance on Coast Guard requirements is published in Coast Guard Marine Safety Manual Volumes II (Materiel Inspection) and IV (Technical) and in various NVICs.

(1) The Marine Safety Manuals are posted on the Coast Guard website at: www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nmc/pubs/msm/index.htm

(2) The NVIC index is posted on the Coast Guard website at: www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nvic/index.htm h. Under this program, many plans and calculations approved based on certifications made in accordance with the provisions of this Circular will not have received full review at the MSC. Thus, it is recognized that some previously detected errors will no longer be specifically pointed out to the submitter and the cognizant Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI). This fact shall in no way limit the authority of the cognizant OCMI to require correction of material, design, equipment, construction, installation, etc. that are found not to be in compliance with Coast Guard requirements. Nor does it lessen or remove the obligation of the designer, owner, or builder, to design and construct the vessel in accordance with all applicable regulations. T. H. GILMOUR Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Non-Standard Distribution: B:a G-PSE-2 (1) D:1 CG Liaison Officer ABS Americas (1)