OMB Approves CG Autonomous Vessel RFI

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) approved the publication of a Coast Guard request for information on “Identifying Barriers to Autonomous Vessels”. The RFI was submitted for review on March 12^th, 2020. The RFI will be published in the Federal Register sometime in the next few weeks.

According to the 2019 Fall Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking:

“This notice solicits the public’s views on United States Coast Guard (USCG) regulations that may need to be updated, modified, or eliminated to facilitate the safe introduction of automated commercial vessels into our nation’s waterways. USCG requests comment on specific regulatory and operational requirements that are likely to be affected by increased integration of automated vessels into the maritime transportation system.”