Orange Beach, Alabama: I've never actually been here before, and it is a (long) 40 minute drive south, once you exit I-10. It's worth the visit. Who knew? Some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. I'll definitely be back. But, enough about me. At the TBS 2019 Conference, Pat Fo-lan and his TBS crew have organized a well attended event that centers on the process of obtaining a COI under the new subchapter M rules. A raft of tug and towboat operators - most of them smaller outfits - who have embarked upon the subM journey, traveled to Alabama from all over the country. Also in attendance is the United States Coast Guard. In the middle of my one-week, four-state epic journey across the breadth of the U.S. Gulf Coast, I popped in to catch the best of this event, now in its second year. The conference kicked off with a primer on the so-called 'Coast Guard' option. Presenting this information were three Coast Guard representatives from the local sector, who also fielded a flurry of questions from operators thirsty for a better understanding of the process and its many timelines. For its part, the Coast Guard did not disappoint. And their view of the ongoing journey to compliance for as many as 5,300 previously uninspected vessels (nationwide) begins right at here at USCG Sector Mobile, Alabama. It turns out that subchapter M, even for the Coast Guard, can be a moving target, and a regulatory mission that many of their inspectors are still sifting through, just like the rest of us.
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