Effective July 30, 2026, a new final U.S. Coast Guard rule revises marine casualty reporting criteria for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activities to focus on characteristics of the involved entity rather than location of the casualty. It will also raise the property damage dollar threshold (PDT) for reporting marine casualties involving fixed OCS facilities from $25,000 to $75,000 and aligns other OCS units with that threshold, consistency with the PDT for vessels in U.S. waters.
The rule better harmonizes reporting requirements between U.S. and foreign floating offshore facilities, mobile offshore drilling units, and vessels engaged in OCS activities.
The term “casualty” (defined in full below) includes any fall overboard, injury, or loss of life of any person; any occurrence involving a vessel that results in grounding, stranding, foundering, flooding, collision, allision, explosion, fire; reduction or loss of a vessel’s electrical power, propulsion, or steering capabilities; failures or occurrences (regardless of cause) that impair any aspect of a vessel’s operation, components, or cargo; any other circumstance that might affect or impair a vessel’s seaworthiness, efficiency, or fitness for service or route; or any incident involving significant harm to the environment; and any occurrences of injury or loss of life to any person while diving from a vessel and using underwater breathing apparatus.
Prior to this new rule, there had been two different Coast Guard marine casualty reporting procedures that apply to entities on the OCS. One procedure focuses on casualties involving U.S.-flagged vessels, and the other focuses on casualties involving foreign-flagged vessels and all entities fixed to the seabed.
Placing various entities into one type of reporting or the other has occurred over time, reflecting historical considerations instead of practical considerations. However, developments in technology have blurred the distinctions among the types of entities, and the law governing these entities has evolved.
Thus, the primary purpose of this new final rule is to harmonize applicability provisions for the two marine casualty reporting regimes under 46 CFR part 4 and 33 CFR subchapter N. To achieve that alignment, the Coast Guard also had to consider some of the changes in technology used on the OCS since the regulations for marine casualty reporting in 33 CFR subchapter N were first published in 1982.
As a result of this realignment, the Coast Guard roughly grouped entities into two groups for reporting purposes as either fixed entities and floating entities.
- Floating entities include both U.S.- and foreign-flagged mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), floating OCS facilities (FOFs), and vessels.
- Fixed entities include OCS facilities affixed to the OCS, such as U.S.- and foreign-flagged MODUs affixed to the seabed.
This final rule makes those floating entities not already subject to existing reporting requirements found in 46 CFR part 4, subject to part 4. Part 4 of title 46 of the CFR, Marine Casualties and Investigations, already generally applies to casualties occurring on the U.S. navigable waters and to U.S.-flagged vessels involved in casualties wherever located.
Finally, to harmonize the reporting threshold for fixed OCS facilities with the threshold for vessels, the Coast Guard is raising the property damage casualty reporting threshold for fixed OCS facilities from $25,000 to $75,000.00. The legal basis of this rulemaking is 43 U.S.C. 1333(d)(1) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.4, paragraph 90.
Marine Casualty Reporting Definition
What is a marine casualty? Coast Guard Commander Mark Hammond explains HERE.
From the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations:
Marine casualty or accident means—
(a) Any casualty or accident involving any vessel other than a public vessel that—
(1) Occurs upon the navigable waters of the United States, its territories or possessions;
(2) Involves any United States vessel wherever such casualty or accident occurs; or
(3) With respect to a foreign tank vessel operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, including the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), involves significant harm to the environment or material damage affecting the seaworthiness or efficiency of the vessel.
(b) The term “marine casualty or accident” applies to events caused by or involving a vessel and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Any fall overboard, injury, or loss of life of any person.
(2) Any occurrence involving a vessel that results in—
(i) Grounding;
(ii) Stranding;
(iii) Foundering;
(iv) Flooding;
(v) Collision;
(vi) Allision;
(vii) Explosion;
(viii) Fire;
(ix) Reduction or loss of a vessel’s electrical power, propulsion, or steering capabilities;
(x) Failures or occurrences, regardless of cause, which impair any aspect of a vessel’s operation, components, or cargo;
(xi) Any other circumstance that might affect or impair a vessel’s seaworthiness, efficiency, or fitness for service or route; or
(xii) Any incident involving significant harm to the environment.
(3) Any occurrences of injury or loss of life to any person while diving from a vessel and using underwater breathing apparatus.
(4) Any incident described in § 4.05-1(a).
[USCG-2000-6927, 70 FR 74675, Dec. 16, 2005]
