4 JUNE 2017 • FOGHORN Spring in Washington Brings Success to PVA Memorial Day has come and gone, which means it’s the time of year when seasonal operators begin their daily passenger op- erations. The month or two of preparations are behind them and it’s almost a relief to get underway for the season. They can start falling into a routine and look forward to money coming in and not all going out. While our brothers and sisters in the year-round business of carrying passengers are always grinding it out, the seasonal operators are able to take a breather, for the most part, during the winter months. Drills, training and inspections are just as important during the season as before. It’s easy to get behind. Calendar “ticklers,” checklists and maintenance proce- dures will help us all keep our passengers and vessels safe while avoiding costly breakdowns. April was a busy month for PVA. On April 25, our members and staff traveled to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to meet with our Congressional representatives and members of their staff to voice our concerns. We advocated the repeal of the “Official Logbook” re- quirement, which was included with the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, that PVA considers unneces- sary in our operations. We asked our representatives to make permanent the exemption from the EPA’s Vessel General Permit for vessels under 79 feet. We also asked that more passenger vessel operators be able to make use of the Capital Construction Fund, that Congress fund and continue the Small Shipyard Grants Program and that capital aid for ferries be included in the Infrastructure Investment Program. These items may save you money while providing capital to build a new boat a new facility or buy equipment for your shipyard. I want to thank Ed Welch and the entire PVA staff for arranging, scheduling and accompanying us on this event. The PVA Board of Directors met on April 26 in Alexandria, VA. The meeting always includes the Executive Director’s report, financial reports and committee reports. The Board was also briefed on the strategic planning session held this spring.  In that meeting, PVA Officers and staff examined a variety of emerging trends and charted the future strategic direction of our association.  Of particular note is the increasing demand from PVA members for staff advice, counsel and services.  This is a very good thing because it dem- onstrates that PVA members consistently look to PVA for help in solving a variety of operational issues.  In planning for the future, it is apparent that our association must add additional resources to meet this growing demand and to broaden our services to the PVAmembership.  The PVA Board of Directors agrees with this and, as a result, we will be working on plans to add the staff resources that will underpin an expansion of services to the PVAmember- ship.  The following day was the Quality Partnership (QP) meeting. It’s our opportu- nity to meet with the U.S. Coast Guard and discuss topics of mutual interest and concern. Of high interest was the report by the Slips, Trips and Falls Natural Working Group. Chartered in May 2015, Bob Lawler and LCDR Yancee McLemore began reviewing accidents aboard passenger vessels. The challenge was to vet reports of injuries to ascertain if they were actually slips, trips and falls, as well as identify the type of vessel, location on vessel among a few data points. Of 1223 events in the years 2010 -2014, 436 were actually slips, trips and falls (36%). Of those 436 incidents, 76 percent were passengers, with the remainder being crew. The report provides information on prevention, areas of concern and makes recommendations concern- ing these all too frequent events. Bob is writing an article for FOGHORN, which will be out in the coming months. I thank Bob and LCDR McLemore for their exhaustive work in this area. The QP also received a report from the Automated Systems for Small Passenger Vessels working group. Chaired by Mike McElroy of Wendella Sightseeing Boats and Marc Cruder of the Coast Guard’s Traveling Inspectors Office, this group was also chartered in 2015. The group was seeking clarification and published guidance for design verification test procedures, periodic safety testing procedures and qualitative failure analysis on small passenger vessels with retrofitted electronic pro- pulsion controls and also new builds. With support from the Marine Safety Center they hope to report out at the fall QP. The final product will assist industry, vessel owners and inspectors with guidelines for system testing and in- spections. I thank Mike, Marc, and the MSC for their very technical work. Mike Borgstrom, Wendella Sightseeing Boats, and LCDR Baxter Smoak are awaiting a charter for their Natural Working Group on illegal passenger and charter vessel operations, including boat sharing. This has become an increasing problem in the last few years. Jen Wilk continues her work concerning the interac- tion of Commercial Vessels and human-powered rec- reational watercraft. Her work involves outreach to the National Boating Safety Advisory Council and presenta- tions at the Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley and Eighth District meeting along with several presentations at LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Jeff Whitaker LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT, CONTINUED ON PAGE 38