Revised Comment Period: Draft Merchant Mariner Medical Manual Notification of
Availability and Request for Comments
The Coast Guard is seeking public comment regarding the draft Merchant
Mariner Medical Manual. The guidance in this manual should assist medical
practitioners, the maritime industry, individual mariners, and Coast Guard
personnel in evaluating mariner applicants’ physical and medical statuses to
meet the requirements of the merchant mariner medical certificate. This draft
commandant instruction manual incorporates and consolidates prior guidance on
the medical evaluation of merchant mariners contained in several Coast Guard
documents. The manual includes guidance on the medical certificate and related
processes, including procedures for application, issuance, and cancellation of
the medical certificate.
The Coast Guard requests public comment on the draft Medical Manual, with
emphasis on its readability, clarity, and ease of use. We welcome suggestions
on how the manual can be improved.
We are particularly interested in whether the draft manual adequately
addresses safety concerns in situations where the Coast Guard receives
information indicating that a medical certificate holder has developed a
medical condition that poses a significant risk of sudden incapacitation, or is
taking a medication that poses a significant risk of impairment.
The Notice of
Availability and draft Medical Manual may be viewed on the Federal eRulemaking Portal, under docket number USCG-2018-0041.
The
draft Medical Manual may also be viewed by clicking here.
Comments must be
submitted to the online docket on or before February 13, 2019.
For information
about this document, contact Adrienne Buggs, M.D., United States Coast Guard,
Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing by telephone at (202) 372-2357 or by
e-mail to MMCPolicy@uscg.mil.
Kirsten R. Martin
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard
Commanding Officer