Guidance, Technical Assistance & Planning

Categories
Places of Refuge
Guidelines for Places of Refuge Decision Making (2007)
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide: (1) an incident-specific decision-making process to assist U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Captains of the Port (COTPs) in deciding whether a vessel needs to be moved to a place of refuge (POR) and, if so, which place of refuge to use; and (2) a framework for pre-incident identification of potential places of refuge for inclusion in appropriate Area Contingency Plans (ACPs).

Commandant Instruction 16451.9: U.S. Coast Guard Places of Refuge Policy (2007)
This Instruction provides policy guidance, a sample checklist, and a risk assessment job aid to field commanders, Area Committees, and RRTs to aid in preparing for and responding to a vessel requesting a place of refuge (POR) as described in reference (a), or similar events in which a vessel, not in need of immediate Search and Rescue (SAR) assistance, may pose a variety of risks to a port or coastal area. This Commandant Instruction focuses primarily on the decision process of selecting the lowest risk POR option for a stricken vessel. In any such situation, Operational Commanders will also be conducting other, simultaneous operations, including, but not limited to, developing transit plans, staging pollution, fire, and/or hazardous material response equipment, and addressing any security concerns.

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