Department of Transportation
Maritime Administration
Information Collection Request (ICR)
2133-0550
Maritime Administration (MARAD) Mariner Preparedness Exercise (PrepEx) Survey (MARAD Mariner PrepEx Survey) [Maritime Administration (MARAD) Exercise Breakout Survey (MARAD Exercise Breakout Survey)]
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Potential Respondent Universe
The number of ships that make up the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) fleet fluctuates annually, as older ships are removed, and newer ships are added to the RRF fleet. The RRF is expected to include up to 57 ships by the end of 2026, requiring as many as 1,750 merchant mariners to fill all contract crew billets. As part of the Crewing Drill portion of the annual Mariner Preparedness Exercise (PrepEx), ship managers and their supporting maritime labor unions identify qualified and available merchant mariners (mariners that are not currently sailing commercially), to fill all RRF ship contract crew billets.
The mariners who provide their unions/ship managers with their email contact information will receive an email with a link to take the Maritime Administration Mariner Preparedness Exercise (PrepEx) Survey (MARAD Mariner PrepEx Survey). The survey includes up to eighteen (18) questions with multiple choice responses, and an opportunity to provide comments or concerns related to crewing MARAD RRF ships.
With such a small survey pool, there will be no sampling selection applied.
Procedures for Information Collection
Mariners will receive an email from the MARAD Mariner PrepEx Survey Coordinator inviting them to participate in the electronic survey. Once the survey is opened on the mariner’s mobile phone or computer, mariners will complete a series of questions with multiple choice responses. The last item of the survey provides mariners the opportunity to provide comments or concerns related to crewing MARAD RRF ships.
Once submitted, survey responses are automatically tabulated and made available to the Exercise Coordinator in Microsoft Forms.
Methods to Maximize Response Rate
Methods to increase response rate and maximize non-respondents include a fully electronic survey that can be completed and submitted from a computer or mobile device, instead of a paper-based survey that requires download, completion, scanning and emailing/mailing for processing.
Describe Tests of Procedures or Methods
This is a small low-level data collection survey. The results from the previous survey allowed MARAD to determine the readiness of the pool of licensed and unlicensed mariners. Future data collections will allow MARAD to monitor the nation’s readiness to crew RRF ships during a national emergency.
Consultation Information
Michael
DaPonte
202-366-7627
MAR-612
Division of Sealift Operations and Emergency Response
Maritime Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
Email: michael.daponte@dot.gov.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-12-31 |