On behalf of all here at the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), please accept our best wishes for a happy and safe Holiday Season. We appreciate your continuing support and look forward to working on your behalf in the New Year.
Thank You for your PVA Membership
Special thanks to those of you who have renewed your PVA membership for 2026. Your support is appreciated and serves to underwrite important projects and activities that directly benefit members and their businesses. If you have not submitted your 2026 membership dues, there is still time, and we urge you to do so that we may continue our work in your behalf.
PVA is Your Voice in Washington, D.C.
PVA’s government relations work in Washington, D.C., is an important influence in shaping public policy that benefits PVA members directly. PVA plays a key role in ensuring that lawmakers and regulators in our nation’s capital understand the needs of our diverse industry and are aware of how their decisions impact your businesses. PVA’s activities serve to focus and amplify critical positions on the issues of importance to you that might otherwise be missed without a strong collective association voice. Through advocacy efforts such as the PVA Congressional Fly-In, the PVA/U.S. Coast Guard Quality Partnership Meeting, and other congressional and regulatory activities, PVA engages directly with government policymakers to ensure that your opinions on legislative and regulatory matters remain top of mind.
PVA plays a key role in ensuring that lawmakers and regulators in our nation’s capital understand the needs of our diverse industry.
The PVA Legislative Committee provides valuable input and guidance to PVA leaders and staff on current and emerging issues impacting industry. The committee is open to new members. If you are interested in joining this group, I encourage you to contact Richard Patch at rpatch@passengervessel.com.
Progress Combating Illegal Charters
As you know, the existence of illegal charters has plagued the public and passenger vessel industry for years. Despite local and Coast Guard enforcement efforts the problem continues to grow and the danger to the public remains.
PVA has placed illegal charters at the top of the list of talking points for each of the recent PVA Congressional Fly-Ins. While speaking to members of Congress and their staff, PVA consistently stresses the importance of addressing the safety concerns associated with illegal vessel operators and the dangers that the public faces when they unknowingly charter these vessels.
PVA staff has worked directly with the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee to highlight and promote the need for aggressive law enforcement at the federal level. As a result of this effort, the chairman of the House T&I Committee has requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) initiate a study of illegal charters and to examine the Coast Guard’s investigative and enforcement capabilities. The study would further provide Congress with federal deterrence options. This is a major accomplishment that can be attributed to the hard work of PVA and its members. PVA Legislative Director Richard Patch writes about this achievement in his legislative column in this issue of Foghorn.
PVA Calls for Oral Fluid Drug Testing Approval
PVA continues to urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expedite certification of laboratories to be authorized to conduct oral fluid drug testing. PVA is emphasizing the need to move forward with this long-delayed alternative to traditional urine testing. Once approved, oral fluid drug testing would help PVA members lower their drug testing costs, establish a less invasive collection method, and have the ability to directly observe all collections.
Unlike urinalysis, oral fluid drug testing provides more accurate, real-time results about an individual’s fitness for duty at the time of testing. PVA continues to call on HHS to take steps to remove regulatory barriers that have prevented U.S. labs from seeking certification and to help modernize drug testing protocols for safety-sensitive maritime workers.
Foghorn
A Member Focused Benefit
A digital gold mine of valuable editorial information is being delivered to your electronic doorstep each month in the form of PVA’s Foghorn magazine. A wealth of substantive articles tailored specifically to the informational needs and interests of PVA members are offered each month through Foghorn. These articles, and news items, focus specifically on topics pertaining solely to the passenger vessel industry. They keep you apprised of the latest happenings in the passenger vessel industry on everything from artificial intelligence to Coast Guard regulations, from employee management trends to food and beverage ideas, from new vessel builds to ferry funding sources.
Because of this focus, and because Foghorn has a solid reputation of being a highly credible source of information and industry news, we have seen a dramatic increase in individuals seeking to contribute professional articles. Foghorn magazine is a major member benefit, and I encourage you to thoroughly read each issue and take advantage of the valuable information provided therein.
The aforementioned are just a few of the many benefits of your PVA membership. Frankly, there are too many to cover in one column. I hope you will contact me at jgroundwater@passengervessel.com to explore all that PVA has to offer you. Thank you for your continuing support; we look forward to working closely with you in the future.
MariTrends 2026
One good idea may just pay for your entire trip!
It is true, when it comes to ideas, the PVA Annual Convention at Mari-Trends 2026 is sure to deliver. PVA member attendees agree that at the PVA convention they can count on an educational program that is focused on their professional needs and the operational needs of their businesses.
More than 60 educational seminars with more than 90 professional speakers from the passenger vessel industry and government are scheduled. In addition, a MariTrends 2026 exhibit floor featuring approximately 100 loyal PVA associate member exhibitors will showcase the latest products and services for the passenger vessel industry.
The PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2026 is scheduled Feb. 22-25, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky. Now is the time to take advantage of early bird registration rates and special rates in PVA hotel blocks.
I hope that you will join us in Covington. You are guaranteed to come away with a suitcase full of ideas and many new friends.
In the meantime, please let me know whenever we can be of assistance to you.
Sincerely,
John R. Groundwater
Executive Director
John Groundwater is the Executive Director of the Passenger Vessel Association.