Supporting Statement A for 2133-0522 12.19.2025

Department of Transportation

Maritime Administration

Information Collection Request (ICR)

2133-0522

Seamen's Claims, Administrative Action, and Litigation

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

This submission is to request a three-year approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection entitled OMB 2133-0522 (Seamen's Claims Administrative Action, and Litigation), which expires on December 31, 2025. There are no changes since the last renewal, so this collection will be submitted as an extension without change of a currently approved collection.

1. JUSTIFICATION

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

Applicable statutes are found in the Suits in Admiralty Act, 46 United States Code (USC) Sections (§§) 30901-30908 and the Public Vessels Act, 46 USC § 31101-31103, permit non-jury proceedings in admiralty to be brought against the United States, by persons who suffer injury or illness, while serving as masters or members of a crew on board a vessel owned or operated by the United States. Injuries or illness that result in death may also be brought against the United States by a third-party representative. Title 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 327 establishes a Maritime Administration (MARAD) administrative procedure to respond to claims for damage recovery allowed under these statutes. This administrative process allows claimants to submit information at their own initiative to seek recovery in their own self-interest for alleged damages. To accomplish this, the rule instructs the initiator of the claim to provide certain appropriate information so that MARAD can evaluate the issues of agency, vessel liability, and the reasonableness of the recovery demand. This information collection enhances Department of Transportation’s ((DOT’s) National Security goal by supporting all seafarers who sail or work aboard ships that are active in the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) and managed by MARAD.

2. Purpose and Use of Information Collection

The information collected about the alleged damage claim is evaluated by MARAD to determine fairness and reasonableness. If MARAD allows the claim, and it is settled, the agency will make appropriate payments to the claimant. This administrative process impacts upon Federal programs of the U.S. Admiralty Courts, U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Treasury.

3. Automation of Use of Information Technology

MARAD provides a total electronic option for submission of claims for this information collection.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

Requested information is not available through other means or sources. The claimant must establish the claim.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

This collection does not affect small businesses or other small entities. Only individuals may be claimants.

6. Impact of Not Conducting or Less Frequent Collection of Information

Claim information is provided only when the claimant decides to submit a claim. Without this information, a claim cannot be processed.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines 5 CFR 1320.5

There are no special circumstances that require the collection of information to be conducted in a manner described below:

• Requiring respondents to report information to MARAD more often than quarterly;

• Requiring respondents to prepare a written response in fewer than 30 days after receipt of a collection instrument;

• Requiring respondents to submit more than one original copy of any document;

• Requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• Requiring the use of any statistical data that is not designed to produce valid and reliable

results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• Requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved

by OMB;

• Requiring any pledge of confidentiality; or

• Requiring respondents to submit any proprietary or trade secrets.

8. Public Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Outside Consultation

MARAD published a 60-day notice and request for comments on this information collection in the Federal Register (FR 47901, Vol 90, No. 189) on October 2, 2025, indicating comments should be submitted on or before December 1, 2025. No comments were received. A 30-day notice was published in the Federal Register to solicit public comments.

Seafarers may obtain legal representation from a maritime attorney. The attorney manages the Administrative Claim for the seafarer as it is processed by MARAD. The attorney helps to collect and organize the information that is needed by the seafarer under the statue listed in item 1 of this document. The Seafarer’s attorney will follow the statue for information collection. The statue provides an outline of all needed information to process the Administrative Claim. MARAD provides a checklist that can be used as guidance when submitting an Administrative Claim. The checklist has been provided as part of this approval process.

9. Explanation of Any Payments or Gifts to Respondents

Payments are made or denied to injured seamen based on the information provided in this collection.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality and Protection of Privacy

The information collected is fully protected under the Privacy Act in the system of records known as DOT/MARAD 007, Litigation Claims and Administrative Proceeding Records.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of Annualized Burden Hours and Cost

1. Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

An estimated 15 respondents will spend on average a total 12.5 hours to consult with their attorney, compile and submit a claim in reference to this collection. This estimate is based on feedback provided to MARAD by previous respondents to this collection. Therefore, the total annualized burden hours associated with this collection is 187.5 or 188 hours, which can be calculated as show in the table below:

Total Respondents		Total Responses per Respondent		Total Responses		Average Time Taken to Respond (Hour)		Total Burden Hours
15	*	1	=	15	*	12.5	=	187.50/ 188

2. Estimated Annualized Cost Burden

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS)¹ estimates that the average wage for claimant’s (seafarer) lawyer (23-1011) is 87.86. When combined the total compensation rate of 29%², the annualized hourly rate is: $113.34. Therefore, the annualized cost burden associated with all tasks involving preparing and submitting claims in reference to this collection is $ 21,307.92, which can be calculated as shown in the table below:

Title and Code of Respondents	Hourly Wage	Compensation Rate of 29%	Number of Employees	Total Compensation Rate for Each Respondent	Total Annualized Burden Hours	Total Annualized Cost Burden
Lawyer (23 -1021)	$ 87.86	$ 113.34	1	$ 113.34	188	$ 21,307.92

13. Estimate of the Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers

1. Total Capital and Start-Up Costs Estimate: There are no capital or start-up costs

associated with this information collection.

2. Total Operation and Maintenance and Purchase of Services Estimate: There are no

operation and maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

14. Estimate of Federal Government Costs

The total cost to the Federal Government for processing this collection is:

$ 12,789.60.

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)³ wage tables, the hourly wage for a GS-14 (Step7) employee with a Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality pay is $81.93. When combined with the Federal Employee Compensation rate of 31%⁴, the total hourly wage rate for this employee is $ 107.33. This employee will take approximately eight (8) hours to review and process each of the fifteen (15) claims once annually. Therefore, the total cost associated with this effort is $ 12,789.60, which can be calculated as shown in the table below:



FTE Grade and Step & CRF Program Related Task	Hourly Wage	Average Hourly Wage Rate with 31% Compensation	Total Employees	Total Time for Per application ( Avg. Hours)	Total Claims	Frequency of Responses	Total Federal Government Wages
GS 14 (Step 7): Evaluate and process claim information	$ 81.93	$ 107.33	1	8	15	1	$ 12,879.60



15. Explanation of Program Changes or Adjustments.

There were no program changes since the last approval.

16. Publication of Data Collection Results

The information collected is intended for internal use only. There are no plans to publish the results of the information collection for statistical purposes.

17. Display of the OMB Expiration Date

MARAD is not seeking approval not to avoid displaying the expiration date.

18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement

There are no exceptions to the certificate statement.

1 The hourly wage estimate is taken from current BLS tables: https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/industry/000000 .

2 Per BLS Employee Compensation Memo, the total compensation rate for the private sector is 29%, :https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf

3 The hourly Federal Government wage is taken from OPM 2024 wage tables: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/25Tables/html/DCB_h.aspx

4 Per BLS Employee Compensation Memo, the total compensation rate for the Federal Government is 31%, :https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf

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