JULY 2018 • FOGHORN 5 LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John Groundwater • Reservations and Ticketing • Water Consumption • Environmental Training The popularity of the PVA Green WATERS Program among PVAmembers has grown dramatically over the years because the program is scalable, extremely easy to implement and, most importantly, it is effective. Today, more than 200 PVA member vessels are enrolled in the program. If you would like to explore the benefits of the PVA Green WATERS Program for your company, go to “Member Resources” on the PVA web page or contact PVA’s Karen Rainbolt at krainbolt@passengervessel.com. Illegal Charters: Expanding Awareness and Urging Coast Guard Enforcement As you know, illegal charter activity will, unfortu- nately, be ramping up during the summer months. PVA is increasingly concerned about growing illegal charter activity because of the danger it presents for unsuspect- ing passengers. In May, PVA and the Coast Guard participated in the spring Quality Partnership meeting. This meeting involves top Coast Guard leadership and covers issues of importance to both organizations. The topic of illegal charters was on the agenda and the Coast Guard received a detailed briefing from PVA on this situation. In that briefing we stressed the importance of the Coast Guard increasing its enforcement activities to ensure the safety of passengers. We see expanded enforcement as the linchpin in combating this growing problem. We do believe that the Coast Guard at the headquar- ters level agrees with us about the need for expanded enforcement efforts. Our challenge moving forward is to spread the word nationally and for the Coast Guard leadership to encourage the field units to follow-suit. We believe that we are making progress in this area, but recognize that it will take a maximum effort on the part of PVAto achieve success. We are heartened by Coast Guard enforcement successes in Chicago, Miami, San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore and Tampa. But there remains much work to do and we are committed to promoting strong enforcement efforts by the Coast Guard. In a recent article in the Coast Guard’s MARITIME COMMONS, LCDR Baxter Smoak, Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis, highlighted key illegal charter activities: • Operating a bareboat charter with a pre-designated crew or that carries more than 12 passengers. • Operating a vessel without a required Certificate of Inspection (COI). PVA Takes Steps to Help Prevent Plastic Pollution Hardly a day goes by that the media is not discussing alarming new statistics about plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans. Whether empty water bottles, plastic bags, plastic straws or a range of other plastic products, the fact is that these discarded items are finding their way into our water and therefore are creating a burgeoning ecologi- cal problem. According to National Geographic, “18 billion pounds of plastic ends up in the ocean each year.” In addition, they estimate that some plastics may take up to 450 years to disintegrate. Some plastics are not expected to disinte- grate at all. The Oceanic Society projects that this problem will double in size in the next 10 years. PVA members rely on clean waters and pristine en- vironments for the benefit of passengers who want to spend quality time aboard their vessels, which operate in virtually every port in our nation. As a result, a group of PVA members who are participating In the PVA Green WATERS program have gathered together to develop a voluntary program aimed at reducing the use of plastics aboard commercial passenger vessels. FOGHORN Managing Editor Karen Rainbolt provides more detail about this exciting new PVAprogram in an article that she has written in this issue of FOGHORN. PVA Green WATERS Program While we are on the topic of environ- mental responsibility, are you familiar with the PVAGreen WATERS Program? This totally voluntary environmen- tal program was launched on Earth Day, 2009. The idea was to address expanding consumer demands for green practices from business. PVA recognized the importance and urgency of responding to this call to action. As a result, it formed a task force comprised of PVA members who identi- fied realistic ways that passenger vessel operators could easily adopt or expand environmentally friendly practices aboard their vessels and in their businesses. The PVA Green WATERS Program allows operators to focus on socially responsible green practices in the following areas: • Office Operations • Power Sources • Fuel Type and Consumption • Galley Processes • Engine Maintenance and Emissions • Vessel Design and Construction • Paperless Marketing Materials and Collateral LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONTINUED ON PAGE 38