The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved the Save Our Seas Act, which addresses maritime transportation safety issues raised by the El Faro sinking and promotes the reduction of the marine debris entering the ocean.
The approved act combines the Maritime Safety Act of 2018 and the Coast Guard Blue Technology Center of Expertise Act, both of which were recently advanced by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The act also ensures safety improvements – including emergency safety gear with locator beacons, timely weather forecasts, and float-free voyage data recorders with integrated emergency position indicating beacons – and establishes the Blue Technology Center of Expertise within the Coast Guard.
The center’s function is to help promote awareness of new and emerging maritime domain awareness technologies and how they can enhance mission readiness and performance.
“This legislation will help keep our oceans cleaner, keep our mariners safer, and help the Coast Guard to acquire new technologies to meet their mission needs,” Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation chairman, said. “It is a true bipartisan effort, and I thank Ranking Member Garamendi for working with me to advance this important maritime legislation.”
The House also approved a bill extending the deadline for the proposed regulations for the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program.