The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following news item.
Mitigation Efforts Due to Lapse in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Partial Government Shutdown
To mitigate the impact caused by the partial lapse in appropriations and shutdown of National Maritime Center (NMC) operations, the following actions are being taken:
• Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) (National Endorsements only) that expire between December 22, 2018, and January 31, 2019, are extended as valid until March 31, 2019. Print the attached letter and carry it with your credential.
• Additional Information (AI) letters, sent to mariners, that expire in December 2018 or January 2019 are extended to March 31, 2019.
• Approval to Test (ATT) letters and mariner training course certificates that expire in the months of December 2018 or January 2019 are extended until March 31, 2019.
• For mariners whose 90-day testing cycles were interrupted by Regional Exam Center (REC) closures (starting on December 24, 2018), the days the RECs were closed will not count against the 90-day period. REC appointment calendars will be re-opened immediately once appropriations are restored.
The NMC understands the partial shutdown may affect our industry customers and stakeholders and we apologize for any potential inconvenience.
If you have questions, visit the NMC website, or contact the NMC Customer Service Center by using the NMC online chat system, by e-mailing [email protected], or by calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).
Sincerely,
/K. R. Martin/
Kirsten R. Martin
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard
Commanding Officer
Dear U.S. Mariner,
Due to the federal government’s partial lapse in appropriations for fiscal year 2019, the Coast Guard is unable to process mariner credentials in a timely manner. To provide relief to impacted mariners and under the authority of 46 United States Code § 750 7, the Coast Guard is granting extensions effective immediately to national endorsements until March 31, 2019, for mariners whose credentials expire between December 22, 2018, and January 31, 2019.
All mariners sailing under the authority of their national endorsement(s) should print and retain a copy of this letter with their merchant mariner credential and produce it upon request by the U.S. Coast Guard, other agencies or officials. This extension does not apply to Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers endorsements or mariner medical certificates.
Applications submitted before or during the partial government shutdown will be processed as soon as possible once the National Maritime Center (NMC) is reopened and is legally authorized to begin operations.
If you have questions, visit the NMC website or contact the NMC Customer Service Center by using the NMC online chat system, by e-mailing [email protected], or by calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).
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