(a) As soon as the person in charge of a vessel has knowledge of an incident in which the vessel is involved, he shall immediately notify the Owner or Operator and the National Response Center, (800) 424-6802, of the incident. Notification under this section is in addition to any notification requirements under section 311(b)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and the regulations of the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated thereunder (33 CFR 153.203 and 40 CFR 110.10, respectively).

(b) Upon receiving notice of an incident, the National Response Center shall immediately notify the Fund.

(c)(1) At the time of a spill of TAPS oil, the vessel Owner and Operator shall consult with each other and identify a single contact person to both the Fund Administrator and the National Response Center as the official who is responsible for coordinating with the Fund the resolution of claims from a spill of TAPS oil. The National Response Center shall provide the identity of the contact person to appropriate officials of the Coast Guard.

(2) The Fund shall establish procedures for coordination of the handling of claims with the contact person.

(d) Pursuant to its procedures, the Fund shall ascertain if the spill may result in damage claims in excess of $14 million. If it concludes that that level may be reached, the Fund shall commence advertisement no later than 45 days from the date the Fund receives notice of the incident and shall continue advertising for a period of not less than thirty days.

(e) The advertisement must appear in one or more local newspapers of general circulation and the Fund shall establish procedures governing the format and the information to be included in the advertisement of an incident. All advertisements must include:

(1) The date and location of the incident;

(2) The name of the Owner or Operator;

(3) The name and address of the contact person or of the Fund Administrator to whom claims should be sent.