COVID-19 WORKING GROUP

On March 23, 2022, at the request of the CMTS COVID-19 Working Group, the Coordinating Board approved standing down the C19 WG. The work of the WG will be maintained on this website and many of the documents will be permanently available at the National Transportation Library at https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/welcome. Go to the dedicated CMTS collection button. A number of important issues that were started under C19WG, will be continued under a new Mariner and MTS Workforce Integrated Action Team (Workforce IAT). These include mariner mental health; recruitment and retention; DEI; and military to mariner. Please check back as we build a new page for the Workforce IAT.

working group covid-19 — COVID-19 Working Group

Purpose

The COVID-19 Working Group (C-19 WG) serves as the CMTS forum for facilitating high-level interagency discussion, communication, and actions in support of the MTS under and after COVID-19.

Contact Us

MTS stakeholders are welcome to submit their recommendations and questions to the Covid-19 Working Group at C19WG@cmts.gov.

Value

Enhanced interagency discussion and communication regarding the impact on the MTS will ensure that Federal MTS partners are providing the best and most effective support to the MTS under and after the pandemic

Working Team Leads

U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Maritime Administration

Participating Agencies

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Federal Maritime Commission
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
Military Sealift Command (MSC)
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
U.S. Department of State (DOS)
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary (OST)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)
U.S. Transportation Command (USTC)

Areas of Focus

Navigable Waterways
Physical and Information Infrastructure
Vessel Operations and Response Services
The Human Element and U.S. Arctic Communities
Facilitate interagency communications and stakeholder engagement
Review federal policies, regulatory practices and guidance impacting safe, effective and efficient operation of the MTS under and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review and provide comments on MTS industry developed COVID-19 Best Practices and Resources.
Share and improve resources for addressing U.S. merchant mariner mental health and safety.
Assess MTS performance under and after COVID-19 pandemic and develop lessons learned.

Activity and Milestones

Conducted public webinar to share results of the 2021 U.S. merchant mariner mental health survey. The webinar slide deck is available here. The survey report by Dr. Marissa Baker, Assistant Professor & Industrial Hygiene Program Director, University of Washington School of Public Health is available at http://deohs.washington.edu/mariner-mental-health.
Working Group Publishes three Updated Reference Catalogs: Catalog of COVID-19 Federal Guidance and References for the U.S. Maritime Industry; Catalog of COVID-19 Best Management Practices for the U.S. Maritime Industry; Catalog of Mental Health Resources for U.S. Merchant Mariners and Critical Workforce in the Marine Transportation System
Completed: The final report, The report, The 2021 U.S. Arctic Infrastructure Table Update (April 2021) , an updated inventory of vital marine transportation system (MTS) components in the U.S. Arctic. This 2021 report includes over 40 substantial updates, changes, and additions to the original 2013 infrastructure table and last amendment in 2018.
Published updated white papers on importance of U.S. merchant mariners and U.S. port workers to the Nation and accompanying memorandum from RDML Richard Timme: Priority COVID-19 Vaccination of U.S. Port Workers; Priority COVID-19 Vaccination of U.S. Merchant Mariners; Memorandum from Coordinating Board Chair, RDML Timme
Published two white papers: Priority COVID-19 Vaccination of U.S. Merchant Mariners and Priority COVID-19 Vaccination of U.S. Port Workers
CMTS COVID-19 Working Group Webinar: Covid-19 Vaccines for MTS Workforce – Slides
CMTS COVID-19 Working Group Webinar: Covid-19 Vaccines for MTS Workforce - Event Flyer
U.S. Mariner Mental Health Needs During Covid-19 Survey
CMTS COVID-19 Working Group’s Listening to Industry Session: Current Industry Challenges regarding COVID-19 Impact on MTS
CMTS COVID-19 Working Group Webinar: COVID-19 Testing Strategies for U.S. Merchant Mariners (November 18, 2020)
Working Group Publishes 3 Resource Catalogs (October 29, 2020)
COVID-19 Working Group Established (July 23, 2020)

Reports and Resources

Catalog of COVID-19 Federal Guidance and References for the U.S. Maritime Industry