14 March 2018 • FOGHORN FOGHORNFOCUS: CONVENTION REVIEW T he PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2018 kicked off with a Mass Rescue Tabletop exercise onboard the Georgia Queen, with special thanks to hosts Jonathan Claughton and staff from Savannah Riverboat Cruises. The exercise was coordinat- ed by the Coast Guard’s Passenger Safety Specialists across the nation. Participants included local Savannah Fire, Police, and Coast Guard assets, along with convention attendees; al- together, more than 60 persons were involved. The tabletop scenario simulated a grounding of the 1,000-passenger vessel Georgia Queen and resulting passenger rescue coordination efforts. Participants used visual models to un- derstand the progression of the incident while involving resources and existing contingency plans, and expertise from local Emergency Response personnel to convey realistic timelines for notifi- cation and arrival on-scene. Discussion throughout the scenario further defined expectations between Savannah Riverboat Cruises and local emergency management. Feedback from Savannah Riverboat Cruises included the observations that the exercise increased understanding of the fire and police departments’ needs, solidified realistic timelines for local emergency response, and reinforced the necessity of notification and co- ordination with the Coast Guard regarding on-scene arrival for crew and equipment. The exercise also served as the first opportunity for many local emergency responders, including fire and police department personnel, to step onboard the Georgia Queen and learn in an immersive response simu- lation rather than having to wait for an actual emergency onboard a passenger vessel. Major stakeholder lessons from the exercise include the importance of developing a local interagency communications plan and establish- ing accountability procedures, par- ticularly when reconciling passenger count differences to assist medical Lessons Learned from Maritrends Mass Rescue Tabletop By LCDR Amanda Fahrig, U.S. Coast Guard Investigations Industry Trainee That’s why Ferry operators rely on Bay Ship and Yacht to keep their boats running smoothly and on time. We are a full ser- vice shipyard whose mission is to guarantee absolute cus- tomer satisfaction...while also reducing Bay Area traffic. 5 1 0 . 3 3 7 . 9 1 2 2 www.bay -ship.com A l a m e d a , C A OVER 8,000 PEOPLE RELY ON BAY FERRIES EVERY DAY