Page 18: of Marine News Magazine (January 2020)

17 19

COLUMN PASSENGER VESSEL SAFETY

An Ever-vigilant Focus on Safety

By Bob Lawler

When I came into of? ce as the Pas- vorable conditions and our outlook remains positive, we senger Vessel Association’s President for also keep focus on our responsibility to operate safely. 2019 last January, I announced two In light of the casualties in Missouri involving Stretch strategic goals for our industry: to en- Duck 7 and in California aboard the dive boat Concep- hance safety and foster the professional tion, PVA is encouraging its members to intensify efforts growth of our next generation of lead- in the safety arena. While these vessels are not typical of ers. I am proud to announce we have the type of operations conducted by most PVA members, undertaken major initiatives and made it is nonetheless prudent for all to revisit safety topics, progress on each. These goals match drills and exercises in the quest for continuous improve-

Lawler my lifelong professional commitment ment. Congress has proposed several bills in response to to safety as well as aligning with PVA’s these accidents and we are currently analyzing these bills. true north: a responsibility to be ever vigilant and proac- PVA has always had its roots in safety. For years we have tive in addressing safety. created tools to elevate safety including recently develop-

I have been a longtime member of PVA and served in its ing a comprehensive online crew training program. PVA is leadership for years. I am particularly proud of my work expanding the topics covered in these training resources to on the Safety and Security Committee. Serving as the for- keep pace with the needs of our members. PVA also created mer chair of this committee, I worked with its members to its own Safety Management System (SMS), what we fondly create practical tools to promote safety to the industry na- call Flagship. This voluntary program is speci? cally tailored tionwide. While on the committee, I spearheaded efforts for domestic passenger vessels, can be used by companies to study slips, trips and falls on vessels through a chartered of any size and is formally recognized by the Coast Guard working group with the Coast Guard, where we produced as meeting the functional elements of a SMS. PVA took resources to mitigate these risks. This group continues to this proactive step in developing Flagship years before any produce new resources for an evolving industry. mention of SMS for passenger vessels was passed into law.

Over my 29 years in passenger vessel operations I have But how can safety be ensured on the seemingly never- seen economic ups and downs, yet I am pleased to report ending number of illegal charter vessels who operate out- we are currently riding a wave of positive economic growth. side of the law by skirting Coast Guard certi? cation, in-

Around the country, we hear reports that shipyards are spection and regulations? PVA is sounding the alarm about building new vessels and operators are applying new pro- the concerning proliferation of illegal charter operations pulsion technologies. While our businesses enjoy these fa- around the county. This blatant disregard for compliance

January 2020 18 MN