AUGUST 2017 • FOGHORN 33 LEGISLATIVEREPORT WE LIVE AND BREATHE pAssENgER VEssELs, THAT’s THE KEY TO OUR sUCCEss Anders Rundberg, CEO of Carus We care about your customers Carus offers innovative solutions for the global passenger vessel industry, giving your customers a better experience before, during and after their journey. The Carus solution incorporates ticketing, reservations, check-in, port automation, on-board and relationship management. www.carus.com ing if the vessel is already underway. Must I hire a sign language interpreter to provide my sightseeing narration to a passenger who is deaf or hard of hearing? The somewhat unsatisfactory answer is “Maybe.” Your regulatory obligation under the “service” rules is to “communicate effectively” with your passenger with the disability. The rules suggest that there are multiple ways of communicating effectively, and they include interpreters, written notes, a printed version of the narration (with visual keys), and so forth. Each fact situation dictates whether or not a particular mode of communication is “effective.” For example, if you provide a sightseeing narration that stays essen- tially the same from voyage to voyage, a card or document with the script and with visual keys may suffice (assuming your passenger can read English). But that method surely won’t be effective if your narration or communication is highly changeable (“there are two humpback whales 200 yards from the port bow”). The customer may express a desire or preference for one method or another, but in the end, you have the ultimate responsibility of determining what is “effective communication.” My vessel runs snorkeling tours. Is the snorkeling activity exempt from ADA on safety grounds? No. Snorkeling activities are con- sidered to be an offering by a public ac- commodation, and therefore the ADA applies. In at least one instance, the U.S. Department of Justice and a California water sports company offering snorkel- ing settled a complaint by a disabled person by agreeing that the ADA applied and by the company promising not to discriminate in the future. A company may need to adjust its policy and procedures to ensure nondiscrimi- nation. A PVA member in Hawaii has developed a method of having an above-water “marker” for each person that may need special attention, so that the vessel crew attendant can monitor these persons more closely. Where can I get more information? Your PVA Headquarters staff is a good place to start; contact Ed Welch or Peter Lauridsen. Also, Attorney Steven Bers at the PVA Legal Hotline is an excellent source of general in- formation, and he can advise about a particular fact situation you may be encountering. The PVA Hotline comes as a benefit of your PVA dues; the number is 410-347-8724. In the Members Only section of the PVA web page (www.passengervessel. com), you will find downloadable documents summarizing the current- ly-in-force ADA rules issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Justice. n