§15103 National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee

Summary

Creates a National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee to give the Secretary advice about merchant mariner personnel. It must cover training, job qualifications, licenses and documents, and fitness for duty. The Secretary appoints 19 members under this law and a related appointment rule. Each member must have relevant experience or knowledge. The 19 members are split by role. Nine represent mariners; each of those nine must be a U.S. citizen with an active license or a merchant mariner document. Among them are 3 deck officers (including specific ocean and inland licenses, two with master or towing-master credentials, and one with tanker experience; as possible, one from labor and one from management), 3 engineering officers (two chief engineers and one limited or designated duty engineer; as possible, one from labor and one from management), 2 unlicensed seamen (one able-bodied seaman and one engine-department member), and 1 pilot. Six are marine educators (three from maritime academies — two from State maritime academies recommended jointly and one from a State or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy — and three from other training schools, one of which represents the small-vessel industry). Two represent ship operation management companies, and two represent the general public.