USCG notifies: COVID-19 Safety Requirements in the Maritime Transportation System

Original document.

The President of U.S.A. issued Executive Order (13998), Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel that requires masks be worn on all “public maritime vessels, including ferries” to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued order, Requirement forPersons to Wear Masks while on Transportation Hubs, 29JAN2021, requires all persons travelling on all commercial vessels to wear a mask.

This Order requires vessel operators to use best efforts to ensure that any person on the vessel wears a mask when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel. Depending on the circumstances, best efforts may include:

1. Boarding only those persons who wear masks; 
2. Instructing persons that Federal law requires wearing a mask on the vessel and failure to comply constitutes a violation of Federal law;
3. Monitoring persons on board the ship for anyone who is not wearing a mask and seeking compliance from such persons;
4. At the earliest opportunity, disembarking any person who refuses to comply;
5. Providing persons with prominent and adequate notice to facilitate awareness and compliance of the requirement of this Order to wear a mask.*

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*Best practices may include, if feasible, advanced notifications on digital platforms, such as on apps, websites, or email; posted signage in multiple languages with illustrations; printing the requirement on transit tickets; or other methods as appropriate.

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People are not required to wear a mask under the following circumstances:

• while eating, drinking, or taking medication for brief periods of time;
• while communicating, for brief periods of time, with a person who is hearing impaired when the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication;
• if, on an aircraft, wearing of oxygen masks is needed because of loss of cabin pressure or other event affecting aircraft ventilation;
• if unconscious (for reasons other than sleeping), incapacitated, unable to be awakened, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance; or
• when necessary to temporarily remove the mask to verify one’s identity such as during Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening or when asked to do so by the ticket or gate agent or any law enforcement official.

The following categories of people are exempt from the requirement to wear a mask:

• A child under the age of 2 years;
• A person with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, for reasons related to the disability;
• A person for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to workplace health, safety, or job duty as determined by the relevant workplace safety guidelines or federal regulations.

People on board the following categories of conveyances are exempt from the requirement to wear a mask:

• Private conveyances operated only for personal, non-commercial use;
• Commercial motor vehicles or trucks, if the driver is the only person in the vehicle or truck;
• Conveyances operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) as long as the operator of the conveyance follows all DOD requirements to prevent spread of COVID-19.

REPORTING LINE

Persons that wish to report vessels not operating in accordance with the Executive Order or CDC Order may email the Coast Guard at wearamask@uscg.mil. This shared email inbox is not monitored on a continuous basis. If there is an emergency, it should not be reported to this email inbox, but rather to local authorities through proper emergency channels.