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NTSB Issues Multiple Safety Recommendations

Published Jan 12, 2011 10:05 AM by The Maritime Executive

National Transportation Safety Board releases Safety Recommendations M-09-9, 10, 14, 15 & 16.

The NTSB recommends that the Coast Guard take the following action:

• Conduct refresher training for your marine inspectors and commercial fishing vessel examiners on the licensing and manning regulations that apply to commercial fishing industry vessels. (M-09-9)

• Seek legislative authority to require that all commercial fishing vessels be inspected and certificated by the Coast Guard to ensure that the vessels provide an appropriate level of safety to those on board. (M-09-10)

• Click HERE to read the full text of the recommendations.

The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard:

• Modify Form 719K (Merchant Mariner Physical Examination Report) to elicit specific information about any previous diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea and about the presence of specific risk factors for that disorder. (M-09-14)

• Implement a program to identify licensed mariners subject to the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular on Medical and Physical Evaluation Guidelines for Merchant Mariner Credentials (NVIC 04-08) and who are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, and require that those mariners provide evidence through the medical certification process of having been appropriately evaluated and, if treatment is needed, effectively treated for that disorder before being granted unrestricted medical certification. (M-09-15)

• Develop and disseminate guidance for mariners, employers, and physicians regarding the identification and treatment of individuals at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), emphasizing that mariners who have OSA that is effectively treated are routinely approved for continued medical certification. (M-09-16)

• Click HERE to read the full text of the recommendations.

An archive of recommendation letters is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/letters.htm. Electronic versions of letters may or may not include enclosures; however, related publications, accident briefs, and aviation accident synopses may be found on the NTSB website.