Holland & Knight LLP, law firm in Washington D.C, USA, has provided us with the following information.

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By voice vote, the U.S. Senate adopted the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (H.R. 2443). The measure will now be forwarded to the President for signature. The official version of the bill as adopted is still not available, but the text is included in the Conference Report. Provisions in the legislation that I find interesting (not always to my liking, but interesting nonetheless): non-tank vessels of 400 gross tons and greater will be required to have oil spill response plans similar to those required now of tank vessels; the Coast Guard will develop and implement a long-range vessel tracking program; most U.S towing vessels will become subject to USCG inspection [thus eliminating OSHA jurisdiction]; certain vessels will be required to carry and utilize electronic navigation; the foreign lessee provision of the coastwise documentation law will be significantly narrowed; and passive lenders will not be liable for oil spill damages as owners [making OPA 90 parallel to CERCLA in this regard]. For interested readers, the House Transportation Committee has published a more detailed Summary of the legislation.

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For further information please contact Dennis L. Bryant at 202-828-1865 (dennis.bryant@hklaw.com)

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