Page 14: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2018)

PVA in Savannah, Georgia A Ferry Good Show

The recent PVA Annual Convention reasons why are easy to see. First off, this Marine Safety Award and the Captain brought together an enthusiastic group of group and sector tends to be enormously Beth Elizabeth Gedney Passenger Ves- passenger vessel and ferry stakeholders. collaborative and PVA gives them the sel Safety Award. Heavily invested in

The robust turnout bodes well for this ideal vehicle to share best practices. safety, this organization places enormous sector, and the broader OEM and service Secondly, it is just about the friendliest emphasis in the importance of safety providers who keep it humming along. event I go to in a given year. Just about as a base tenet for their members. This

With this year’s PVA Annual Conven- the right size, it is big enough to justify year, the Roger Murphy National Safety

About the Author tion at Maritrends now in the rearview the trip and small enough to give me the Award was presented to Past PVA Presi-

Joseph Keefe is a 1980 (Deck) gradu- mirror, this is a good time to look back opportunity to have substantial conversa- dent is Michael Borgstrom from Wendel- ate of the Massachusetts Maritime and re? ect on the event – and the sec- tions with a wide array of stakeholders. la Sightseeing Boats. Immediately fol-

Academy and the editor of both Mari- tor that makes it possible. Underpinned Finally and where some trade show lowing that award, the Captain Elizabeth time Logistics Professional and Marine- by a red hot ferry and passenger vessel presentations have evolved into thinly Gedney Passenger Vessel Safety Award

News magazines. He can be reached at ON POINT WITH JOE KEEFE building boom, I expected a well attend- disguised infomercials, the PVA slate is was presented to the crew of the pas- [email protected] ed event and the Passenger Vessel Asso- short of self-promotion and long on the senger vessel American Empress. Those ciation did not disappoint. An increase transfer of technical knowledge. In fact, individuals heroically mitigated a cata- in both exhibitors and foot traf? c was if I had any complaints – and I really strophic marine engine failure that could evident in the exhibition hall, and nu- don’t – it would be that the sessions were have easily resulted in injury or death.

merous, well-designed technical presen- jam-packed to the point of standing room With the ‘feel-good’ part of the pro- tations provided ample reason to make only. All of them. gram nicely navigated, U.S. Coast Guard the trip to Savannah. If you didn’t make RADM John Nadeau, Assistant Com- it this year, well, you missed a good one. mandant for Prevention Policy, gave the

Kicking Off Right

The PVA convention is quickly becom- PVA always begins with the presen- opening session keynote speech. A native ing one of my favorite industry events, tation of their two most important an- of Maine and in his current billet since and I go to a TON of them annually. The nual awards, the Roger Murphy National July of 2017, he also revealed that he is

Image: Greg Trauthwein 14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • FEBRUARY 2018

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