b'National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homenday addressed attendees at the MariTrends 2022 convention. The following is an excerpt of her remarks on the partnership between PVA and the NTSB. L ets celebrate reaching a new moment in the pandemic, to bor- Now, mission first is a nice thing for a new leader to say. Its meaning-row a phrase from the President. While the last two years haveless if not backed-up by action. The Office of Marine Safety (OMS) has been exceptionally challenging for everyone, I know the pan- been active, especially on three goals. demic has been tough for small businesses like passenger vessel opera-tors. Heres to brighter days ahead!First: We have to right-size the agency. Its the only way well be able to serve our mission as transportation needs shift and technology changes One thing that stands out about the maritime community is your com- how we move people and goods. mitment to safety. You really share a spirit of an incident for one is an incident for all. The NTSB certainly feels this way.NTSB employs only 400 people, total. And OMS? Its a small but mighty team of 11 investigators. Were currently hiring number 12, so And so does PVA. Thats part of what makes you such a vital safety part- spread the word! These professionals are licensed, credentialed mari-ner to the NTSB. For over five decades, this organization has done soners and former Coasties. They get what you experience every day, much to help all of you mitigate risk on our waterways. The result? Saferespecially under the leadership of Captain Morgan Turrell. passenger vessel operators, passengers, crew, and members of the public.Today, OMS leads an average of 40 marine investigations annually. This A prime example of our organizations coming together is the NTSBsincludes on-scene investigations and producing the written reports and 2017 Shared Waterways report. PVA brought to our attention thatrecommendations youre all familiar with. Before 2012, OMS delegated you were experiencing more frequent encounters between recreationalall but five investigations each year to the Coast Guard. The teams case-and commercial vessels on shared waterways, which is extremely risky.load increased eight-fold, but our OMS workforce didnt. Thankstoyourpartnership,there-port made several recommendations,With Morgans help, were working to which Ill circle back to in a bit.I have one goal for mystaff up OMS. Im asking Congress for more resources in our reauthorization In my time here with you today, Id liketime as chair, which can bebill which will allow us to hire, invest in to share my vision for the NTSB andour workforce in terms of training and what it means for the Office of Marinesummed up in two words:development, and purchase equipment. Safety. Id also like to talk about oneOurworkforceisourgreatestasset. recent investigation that means a lot tomission first. I use it as myThey are essential to mission first.me personallyand what you can do to help prevent similar accidents. true north.Were not just looking to add just any-one to the team. Were looking to add Ive been telling anyone and everyonemore of the right people, with the right wholl listen that I have one goal for my time as chair, which can beskills to serve you. This is the second thing were working on. summed up in two words: mission first. I use it as my true north. It helps us navigate decisions around what to start doing, stop doing,We need to be ready for the rapid proliferation of technology in all or keep doing. Does it advance our safety mission? If yes, great! If itmodes and other new safety concerns. Heres a quick overview of the doesnt serve the mission, its not happening on my watch.emerging marine safety issues that are on our proverbial radar. We have a broad mandate when it comes to marine safety. NTSB inves-Cybersecurity. Weve been asked by other federal partners to con- tigates major marine casualties, as classified by the U.S. Coast Guard.sider in our investigations potential vulnerabilities to cyber threat. These can be anywhere in the world if it involves a U.S.-flagged vessel. Our work touches vessels owned by the U.S. government as well as pri-I llegal chartering. Theres a great session on this tomorrow led by vate vessels. We also investigate select catastrophic marine casualtiesCapt. Neubauer, Chief of the Office of Investigations & Analysis involving foreign-flagged vessels in international watersespecially ifat the U.S. Coast Guard, whos leading the charge on this issue U.S. citizens are on board. with help from PVA. In all of this, passenger vessel safety is our top concern and priority. Alternative fuel sources, like electric or hydrogen-fueled vessels.Each of you has the greatest impact on the safety of the traveling public.You may know that lithium-ion batteries can experience thermal runaway, making them not only extremely flammable, but prone to Are the Staten Island Ferry folks here? Congrats on your new vessel. Areignitingeven after the initial fire has been extinguished. This is few weeks back, the Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis made its inauguralalso an issue for cargo ships, which are transporting them to meet trip. This is an $85 million, state-of-the-art ferry that holds 4,500 pas- increased demand for electric vehicle production. We saw that play sengers. Thats roughly 28 domestic aircraft or 19 international flightsout just a couple of weeks ago with the Felicity Ace, which sank off worth of people. Though rare, this is why NTSB takes passenger vesselthe coast of the Azores Islands; it was carrying electric and hybrid accidents so seriously. And I know PVA members do, too.vehicles. Luckily, all 22 crewmembers made it off safely. While we 19 APRIL 2022'