USCG Approved Mobile Facility

A USCG Approved Mobile Facility (also called a Mobile Transfer Facility, or MTF) is an operational designation issued by the United States Coast Guard that authorizes a carrier to conduct bulk liquid chemical transfers directly to or from vessels at commercial ports — using the carrier's own qualifying tanker fleet, without requiring fixed shore-based transfer infrastructure. The approval is governed by 33 CFR Part 154 and Part 156 and applies fleet-wide under a single approved Operations Manual rather than to individual vehicles.

A fixed facility is a permanent structure at a port — pipelines, storage tanks, transfer stations — that vessels must travel to in order to load or discharge chemicals. A Mobile Transfer Facility brings the same regulatory-compliant transfer capability to the vessel's scheduled berth using purpose-built tanker trucks operating under the carrier's USCG-approved plan. The functional outcome is identical (compliant bulk chemical transfer), but the vessel does not need to reposition to a fixed site, which preserves schedule and avoids berth-shift fees.

Mobile Transfer Facility operations fall under 33 CFR Part 154 (facilities transferring oil and hazardous materials in bulk) and 33 CFR Part 156 (oil and hazardous material transfer operations). 33 CFR 154.310(a) lists the required content of the Operations Manual including OSRO contractor information, Person-In-Charge (PIC) qualification, emergency response procedures, and applicable federal and state pollution laws. The plan must be reviewed and approved by the Captain of the Port (COTP) for each port where operations are conducted.

Only carriers whose Operations Manual has been reviewed and approved by the USCG Captain of the Port for each operating port. Approval requires demonstrated compliance with 33 CFR 154/156 across multiple operational areas: Person-In-Charge qualification, equipment specifications, hose inspection and tagging, pre-transfer procedures (Declaration of Inspection), spill prevention and response, and contracted Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) coverage. Approval is renewed periodically and can be amended to add additional ports or update procedures.

A USCG-qualified Person-In-Charge supervises every transfer operation. The PIC executes the Declaration of Inspection (DOI) with the vessel's PIC before transfer begins, verifies hose and equipment integrity, confirms communications protocols, monitors the transfer for the duration, and is authorized to execute emergency shutdown if conditions warrant. PIC qualification is governed by 33 CFR 154.1035 and Appendix D — required training covers regulatory knowledge, equipment familiarity, emergency procedures, and product hazards.

Federal regulations require facilities transferring hazardous materials to identify their contracted Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) in their Facility Response Plan. OSRO citation provides USCG-classified spill response coverage as backup to the carrier's own spill prevention measures. The OSRO is identified in the Operations Manual under 33 CFR 154.310(a) and the Qualified Individual (QI) — a designated company representative available 24/7 — has written authority to activate the OSRO immediately if an incident occurs.

Vessel-side chemical transfer commonly includes industrial and specialty liquid chemicals used in vessel operations: cleaning chemicals (detergents, descalers, sanitizers), pool and water treatment chemicals (sodium hypochlorite, pH control agents, anti-scalants), and other industrial commodities. Meka's Mobile Facility plan covers chemical commodities only — not fuel, petroleum products, or compressed gases, which are governed by separate USCG and DOT regulatory regimes.

A typical operation: (1) the vessel agent or shipper contacts the carrier with delivery requirements and scheduled berth window; (2) the carrier coordinates with port authority for site access; (3) on delivery day, a qualifying tanker arrives berth-side at the scheduled time with a qualified PIC; (4) the PIC and vessel's representative complete a Declaration of Inspection covering hoses, connections, communications, emergency shutdown, and product compatibility; (5) the transfer proceeds under continuous PIC monitoring; (6) on completion, hoses are drained and inspected, the transfer is documented, and the tanker departs.