38
FOGHORN
by the sector/inspections division as 
is done at the NMC? Can key perfor-
mance indicators (KPIs) be developed 
to measure responsiveness to industry 
questions?
CAPT Corydon Heard, chief, Office 
of Commercial Vessel Compliance, 
indicated they had KPIs for appeals 
at the Coast Guard Headquarters 
level, but they do not appear to exist 
at the district or sector level. That, 
and expectations for responding to 
industry questions via general email, 
is something the Coast Guard could 
implement under their mission man-
agement system (safety management 
system for the Coast Guard).
STREAMLINED INSPECTION 
PROGRAM (SIP)  
AND FLAGSHIP SMS
PVA members and the Coast Guard 
formed a working group following 
the fall 2025 QP meeting with the 
goal of assessing PVA’s Flagship Safety 
Management System (Flagship SMS) 
against the alternative SIP require-
ments contained in 46 CFR Part 8. 
The working group completed the 
following as reported to the QP: 
• Conducted a full gap analysis of 33 
CFR Part 96 / Flagship SMS require-
ments to existing SIP requirements, 
practices, and guidance
• Recommended practical tools and 
minor 
adjustments 
(templates, 
checklists, FAQ additions, etc.) that 
enable Flagship SMS-enrolled oper-
ators to demonstrate conformance 
with SIP requirements
• Delivered products to inform Coast 
Guard field guidance which should 
be issued in the next couple of months
The PVA working group is one of 
several working groups put together 
to update and encourage use of SIP. 
A navigation and vessel inspection cir-
cular (NVIC) revision is underway for 
the SIP (NVIC 02-99), which, as the 
number would indicate, was issued in 
1999. Approval of PVA Flagship SMS 
as equivalent to SIP, will be discussed 
once updated guidance is released.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
CAPT Heard went over the Coast 
Guard’s new training program for 
personnel in the prevention program 
(marine inspection, casualty investi-
gation, and waterways management). 
Training tours will now be four years 
instead of three and there will be 
opportunity for personnel to rotate 
through all prevention divisions at 
a feeder port sector. Training will be 
systems-based as opposed to vessel 
type, so training on bilge systems can 
be applied to passenger, towing, and 
other types of inspected vessels.
There are 21 feeder ports across the 
country responsible for training ma-
rine inspectors. Civilian positions 
called marine inspector training offi-
cers (MITO) are responsible for train-
ing apprentice marine inspectors. PVA 
members reiterated a desire to use their 
vessels when not operating as training 
platforms for the Coast Guard. That 
is a preferred option to the “long blue 
snake” some of our members continue 
to experience where a qualified in-
spector shows up with three or four 
apprentices in tow to an inspection. 
It is hard to know who the MITO 
is and if a member’s local sector is a 
feeder port, so PVA asked for a list of 
MITOs with contact information so 
we can make that available to mem-
bers who want to use their vessels as 
training platforms. Once received, 
that information will be posted in 
the Member Resources section of the 
PVA website.
PVA members reiterated a desire to 
participate in Coast Guard training 
and conferences for chiefs of inspec-
tion, prevention department head, and 
sector commanders. The perspective 
our members can bring to the table 
on how Coast Guard decisions impact 
their small businesses is important for 
those Coast Guard members who need 
to balance safety with the facilitation 
of commerce. RDML (Sel) Compher 
indicated he would have his staff look 
at these opportunities and agreed they 
would be valuable to officers in posi-
tions of increasing responsibility.
CYBERSECURITY
Nick Parham, chief of the new Office 
of Maritime Cybersecurity at Coast 
Guard Headquarters discussed his 
priorities now that funding has been 
restored. Regarding the implementa-
tion of the new cybersecurity, he stat-
ed clearly that it is not the intent of the 
PVA members 
reiterated a desire to 
use their vessels when 
not operating  
as training platforms 
for the Coast Guard. 
That is a preferred 
option to the “long 
blue snake” some of 
our members continue 
to experience.
SAFETY MATTERS

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