Request Notice: Use of Foreign-Built Small Passenger Vessel in United States Coastwise Trade, S/V PURPLE PELICAN

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Choosing an item from suggestions will bring you directly to the content. Thank you for taking the time to create a comment. Your input is important. Once you have filled in the required fields below you can preview and/or submit your comment to the Transportation Department for review. All comments are considered public and will be posted online once the Transportation Department has reviewed them. This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents. This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links has no substantive legal effect. This PDF is FR Doc. 2026-12309 as it appeared on Public Inspection on 06/17/2026 at 8:45 am. It was viewed 2 times while on Public Inspection. If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here. Published Document: 2026-12309 (91 FR 36940) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format. AGENCY: Maritime Administration (MARAD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: The Secretary of Transportation, as represented by MARAD, is authorized to make determinations regarding the coastwise use of foreign built; certain U.S. built; and U.S. and foreign rebuilt vessels that solely carry no more than twelve passengers for hire. MARAD has received such a determination request and is publishing this notice to solicit comments to assist with determining whether the proposed use of the vessel set forth in the request would have an adverse effect on U.S. vessel builders or U.S. coastwise trade businesses that use U.S.-built vessels in those businesses. Information about the requestor's vessel, including a description of the proposed service, is in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. DATES: Submit comments on or before July 20, 2026. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number MARAD-2026-0959 by any one of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Search the above DOT Docket Number and follow the instructions for submitting comments. Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility is in the West Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Docket Management Facility location address is U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your comments, we recommend that you include the DOT Docket Number, your name and a mailing address, an email address or a telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding your submission. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and specific DOT Docket Number. All ( printed page 36941) comments received will be posted without change to the docket at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, or to submit comments that are confidential in nature, see the section entitled Public Participation. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Hagerty, U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Mail Stop 2, MAR-620, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-5400. Email: smallvessels@dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 12121(b), the U.S. Coast Guard may issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise trade endorsement for eligible, small passenger vessels authorized to carry no more than 12 passengers for hire if MARAD, after notice and an opportunity for public comment, determines the use of the small passenger vessel in the coastwise trade will not adversely affect United States vessel builders or the coastwise trade business of any person that employs vessels built in the United States in that business.[1] MARAD has received an eligibility determination request. Further details about the requester's vessel and its proposed operations may be found in the determination request posted in the DOT Docket Number listed in the ADDRESSES section above at https://www.regulations.gov. Interested parties may comment on the undue adverse effect this action may have on U.S. vessel builders or coastwise trade businesses in the U.S. that employ U.S.-built vessels in those businesses. Comments should refer to the vessel name, state the commenter's interest in the request, and demonstrate, with supporting documentation, the undue adverse effect on U.S. vessel builders and coastwise trade businesses. Public Participation How do I submit comments? Please submit comments, including the attachments, following the instructions provided under the above heading entitled ADDRESSES . It may take a few hours or even days for comments to be reflected on the docket. Comments must be written in English. Provide concise comments and attach additional documents as necessary. There is no limit on the length of the attachments. Where do I go to read public comments, and find supporting information? The docket online is located at https://www.regulations.gov, keyword search the DOT Docket Number list in the ADDRESSES section above or visit the Docket Management Facility (see ADDRESSES for hours of operation). Please periodically check the Docket for new submissions and supporting material. Will my comments be made available to the public? Yes. Your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, will be made publicly available. May I submit comments confidentially? You may request that MARAD treat your comments as commercially confidential by submitting them to SmallVessels@dot.gov. Include in the email subject heading “Contains Confidential Commercial Information” or “Contains CCI” and state in your submission, with specificity, the basis for any such confidential treatment highlighting the CCI portions. If possible, please provide a summary of your submission that can be made available to the public. If MARAD receives a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the information, procedures described in the Department's FOIA regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be followed. Only information that is ultimately determined to be confidential under those procedures will be exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Privacy Act Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). For information on DOT's compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. 1. The U.S. Coast Guard and MARAD have authority under 46 U.S.C. 12121(b) through the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, respectively.