Government Upgrades Mariner Survey to Count Crisis-Ready Sailors Nationwide
Published Date: 8/10/2026
Notice
Summary
MARAD invites public comments on its intention to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection OMB 2133-0555 titled "Mariner Survey Pretest" is being renamed "Mariner Survey" to reflect the transition from a pretest survey to a full voluntary survey of merchant mariners. Collected information will be used to determine the number of qualified mariners who are available and willing to serve during a period of national need. Since the implementation of this survey, the total respondents, responses, and burden hours increased from 690, 690, and 247 hours to 5,162, 5,162, and 1,721 hours respectively. Additionally, there were minor changes to clarify some of the survey questions, while the Cognitive Interview instrument was eliminated. MARAD is required to publish this notice in the Federal Register to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.
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