Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (September 2015)

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REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

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Benefits, Advice Abound for SMS Laggards

By Patricia Keefe

When industry players say “the handwriting is on the are going to be in big trouble,” says Hebert. “The cost will wall,” they aren’t just talking about the pending Subchap- be a lot more if it hits all your boats at once. You’ll have to ter M regulations, but also about the already existing de- take your boat(s) out of service. If it’s not working, there’s no mand for safety management systems (SMS) in general for revenue, you can’t pay people,” he notes. the domestic towing industry. While the U.S. Coast Guard “How smart do you want to be? You know the com- and Homeland Security work to