§555.4. Petitions. — Inbound Citations

(a) An investigation to determine the existence of adverse conditions as described in § 555.3 may be initiated by the Commission on its own motion or on the petition of any person pursuant to § 555.4. An investigation shall be considered to have been initiated for the purpose of the time limits imposed by the Foreign Shipping Practices Act of 1988 upon the publication in the Federal Register of the Commission's notice of investigation, which shall announce the initiation of the proceeding upon either the Commission's own motion or the filing of a petition.

(c) The Commission may, in its discretion, determine that any information submitted to it in response to a request (including a subpoena) under this section, or accompanying a petition under § 555.4, or voluntarily submitted by any person pursuant to § 555.5(c), shall not be disclosed to the public. To this end, persons submitting information for consideration in a proceeding or investigation under this part may indicate in writing any factors they wish the Commission to consider relevant to a decision on confidentiality under this section; however, such information will be advisory only, and the actual determination will be made by the Commission. In the event that a request for confidentiality is not accommodated, the person making the request will be so advised before any disclosure occurs.