Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. May 3, 2021
A fire aboard the 75-foot dive boat Conception killed all 33 passengers and one of the vessel’s six crew members in September 2019. (Photo: Ventura County Fire Department)
On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for Safety Management System (SMS) requirements in the domestic passenger vessel industry (Docket No. USCG-2020-0123). This requirement will have the largest implications on the domestic passenger vessel industry since the revisions of 46 CFR Subchapter T & K in the mid-90s. However, the question remains, is it necessary?
Over the last three decades, the effectiveness and need for Safety Management Systems (SMS) have been at the forefront of discussion by operators and regulators in all maritime sectors, both domestically and internationally. The most recent domestic regulatory requirement was introduced in the tugboat and towing vessel industry wi