When the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) launched the Flagship Safety Management System (SMS), the goal was straightforward: give passenger vessel operators a tailored framework for completely owning their safety. PVA brought me on recently to help bring this to reality, guiding and overseeing operator implementation, approving service providers, connecting resources, and engaging you, the members. After only six weeks, the program is gaining momentum.
The need for Flagship has long been clear. While many PVA members have implemented elements of an SMS and some already operate under a certified, externally audited SMS, there has never been an industry-wide program tailored to the needs of domestic passenger vessel operators, particularly smaller companies for whom International Safety Management (ISM)-style frameworks were never designed. Built upon the U.S. Coast Guard-PVA Quality Partnership and informed by the Coast Guard’s safety management regulations for domestic towing vessels, Flagship SMS draws on proven models and adapts them to the passenger vessel sector. Establishing this program now before Coast Guard regulatory action for domestic passenger vessels gives PVA and its members a meaningful head start and places the industry in a stronger position to contribute authoritatively to SMS rulemaking provisions and equivalencies, and even to pending Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) improvements. The operators who lean in and build their systems today will be the voices that shape the rules and policies of tomorrow.
What’s Been Accomplished
Maid of the Mist, a well-known name in the passenger vessel industry, received its Flagship certificate of eligibility this month, clearing the way for its initial Flagship audit this summer. PVA is grateful for their leadership and their enthusiasm in implementing Flagship, but also for offering to share what they learn along the way, a spirit of members helping members that is exactly what will make this program valuable to PVA. Safety is not just a competitive advantage; it is a way we can all rise and maintain the highest standards together.
Inquiries regarding Flagship participation have continued to grow, reflecting a broader recognition among PVA members that operator-owned safety management is not just a best practice; it is the best model for our industry.
The Framework Behind the Progress
The Flagship SMS Program is structured around ISM and 33 CFR 96 functional requirements and adapted for U.S. passenger vessel operations. Flagship SMS requirements have been woven into an SMS manual template built on the foundational work of Mike McElroy and Wendella, whose early commitment to SMS development gave the program a great starting point. Participating operators follow a defined pathway to implementation: notice of intent; Flagship SMS manual development; designated person, internal auditor and crew training; self-attestation of compliance; and a Flagship audit by an internal auditor or recognized Flagship organization (RFO). This audit is the heart of the program, because Flagship recognition means something only if shown by objective evidence to work.
The operators who lean in and build their systems today will be the voices that shape the rules and policies of tomorrow.
A significant milestone came with the formal approval of QMII, led by Capt. IJ Arora, as both an RFO and a Flagship training service provider (FTSP) in the past few weeks. These approvals give PVA members access to all the assistance necessary from initial gap analysis to training through to a Flagship audit. Additional RFOs and FTSPs are being identified and encouraged to seek approval. PVA associate members with expertise in safety management, maritime auditing, or crew training are encouraged to explore approval. Reach out to me at lboone@passengervessel.com to learn more.
Momentum Is Building
BB Riverboats, with nearly 50 years on the Ohio River, also recently submitted its notice of intent to participate in Flagship, a deliberate commitment to move beyond the Coast Guard’s Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP) to build its safety management program. PVA appreciates Captain Alan Bernstein’s leadership in making that choice, and in the spirit with which he has made it. Alan has expressed a genuine desire for BB Riverboats to serve as an example for operators facing similar crossroads with the SIP. The most powerful advocates for Flagship SMS will not be staff, publications, or PVA convention presentations (I’ve been a part of all three), they will be operators who have lived the process and are willing to share what they learned with other members along the way.
What’s Next
The near-term focus for Flagship includes rolling out training, expanding the RFO and FTSP network, completing Flagship audits for participating operators, communicating the value and meaning of Flagship to operators and the Coast Guard, and building a culture of shared learning. PVA intends to create opportunities for members to share what they have learned: what worked, where they struggled, and what they would tell an operator just starting out. Like Wendella, Maid of the Mist and BB Riverboats want to lead and be a resource for others. That generosity, members helping members, is the spirit PVA was built on, and it is what will make Flagship something greater than the sum of its participating companies.
An Invitation
If your company has not yet submitted a notice of intent and is thinking about it, now is the time. Contact me at lboone@passengervessel.com to get started.
Flagship SMS is not a compliance checkbox. It is a commitment to running a safer, better-managed operation and to being part of an industry and an association that holds itself to the highest standards.
Lee Boone is the PVA Senior Regulatory and Programs Advisor