I have had a serious marine incident, what do I need to do regarding the drug and alcohol rules?

Immediately contact the Coast Guard. If you have had a serious marine accident, the Coast Guard requires you to take a drug test within 32 hours and an alcohol test within 2 hours. Second open your M-Pak and follow the instructions.  If you do not have an M-Pak, you may contact Maritime at 800-775-6985 and a test can be provided with the cost incurred by your company.

After business hours, call the Maritime Consortium 1-800-775-6985 and push 6, as instructed, and detailed instructions will follow. Tests are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week by directing you to your local hospital if your usual maritime collection site is closed.

I am not in season, and/or the boat is dry-docked, do I have to take the random test?

Yes. Unless you have terminated your membership, you are subject to random testing on a year-round basis. You may terminate your membership at the end of your season, and start it up again before your next season, but you will need to pre-employment test before starting, because you will have been out of compliance for a significant amount of time.

I am unable to test within the time-frame or in the near future. What are my options?

In the event that the company contact or an employee has been selected for a random test, but is unable to take that test within the 24-hour window immediately contact the Consortium and speak with a membership coordinator.

The selected employee has only recently joined, and has not even taken his/her pre-employment test. Is he/she still required to randomly test?

Yes. From the moment that a crewmember is entered onto your company's Confirmation of Enrollment Letter, they are subject to random testing. The Coast Guard Rule states: "Random selection of individual crewmembers means that every member of a given population has a substantially equal chance of selection on a statistically valid basis." (46 CFR part 16.230) If your new crewmember is randomly selected, and has not yet taken a pre-employment test, he/she is still required to take the random test and the pre-employment test. You cannot substitute one for the other.

The selected employee is unavailable or out of town. What should I do?

As the company contact you may withhold test notification from your employees until they are in a position to be tested within 24-hours of their notification. Normally you may only withhold this notification for up to one week. However, if your employee is out of town, or unavailable during this first week you may withhold this notification for a longer period of time provided you contact the Consortium and do not inform that person of the impending test until he/she can be tested within 24-hours.

The selected employee no longer works for me, what should I do?

It is the responsibility of the company contact to notify the Maritime Consortium of any employee changes, terminations or additions as they occur. Please use the add delete form. If you have received a random test notification for a past employee, please contact the Consortium immediately. You should obtain the ID card from the employee.

My assigned collection site for my random test is more than 30 miles from my company address, is there any way to change my collection site?

To obtain a new site immediately, please use the link here, or call the Maritime Consortium at 1-800-775-6985. We will locate a suitable site for you to test at, then once we've notified you of this location, you need to be tested within 24-hours. You may also provide us with collection site suggestions and we will explore the possibility of setting up that site.

I have received the Random Testing Notification on a Friday afternoon, and the test site is not open on the weekends. What should I do?

If you should receive a random test notification late on Friday, or during the weekend, you need to take the first available appointment for the following business day. The same applies for all holidays.

I cannot get through to my collection site, the phone number is wrong, or the site has been closed, what do I do?

First try to locate another collection site, using the link here, If circumstances beyond your control prove that it was impossible for you to test, please contact the Consortium. You may be retested at a later date.

I charter all day and the site is not open in the evenings, when should I test?

Once notified of a random test selection, it is the company contact's responsibility to see that those selected are tested within the specified time-line. If you choose to not test within the 24-hours you will be reported to the Coast Guard.

I take prescription and/or over the counter medications, what is the guidance in this area?

The built-in Medical Review Officer intervnew process is to take care of evaluating prescription drugs. Additional information is provided by the Coast Guard on this issue as well as over-the-counter (OTC) medications, please see this page on the Coast Guard's website.

The selected employee's test result has come back positive. What happens next?

As is required, all positive drug tests are reported to the local U.S.C.G. MSO and Drug and Alcohol Program Inspector (DAPI). If the crewmember is unlicensed, the MRO has the ability to authorize the unlicensed person to return to a position on a vessel which does not require a license. This authority is contained in 46 CFR part 16.370(d). This is a multi-step process that includes having a drug evaluation and entering a post-positive monitoring program, which tests the individual at a much higher rate for a period of time no less than 6 months and no more than 5 years, depending upon the determination of the MRO.

This program is not applicable to licensed personnel, who must complete a full rehabilitation program, as detailed in 46 CFR part 5, and cannot return to duty before a minimum of one year following successful completion of the rehabilitation process. The Maritime Consortium does not provide referrals to rehabilitation or treatment facilities. You should contact a local treatment facility (available in the yellow pages) for specific local consultation and treatment.

For further information, call 1-800-775-6985 or Contact us by email.