4 FOGHORN PVA’s Quality Partnership Meeting and the Future of Coast Guard Safety O n May 7, 2026, the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) and the U.S. Coast Guard held the spring Quality Partnership meeting in Alexandria, Va. These meetings are one of the most important forums in the maritime industry, where senior leadership from both sides of the relationship sit across the table and speak openly. This year’s conversation was productive and, in some respects, encouraging. But it also reinforced a concern that has been building for some time, that the Coast Guard’s prevention mission is not getting the attention it requires and that carries real consequences for maritime safety. During the QP meeting we had good discussions across a broad agenda from mariner creden- tialing, cybersecurity implementation, the Na- tional Salvage and Marine Firefighting Task Force, and the ongoing work between PVA and the Coast Guard to weave the PVA Flagship Safety Management System Program into the fabric of marine inspection and industry risk management practices. On that last point, PVA has long maintained that a well-implemented Safety Management System (SMS) should be equivalent to the Streamlined Inspection Program (SIP). An operator who has built a rigorous SMS into daily opera- tions should have that recognized by the Coast Guard in the inspection process, rather than running two parallel tracks. We made that case again and it was well received. The QP meeting also gave us a chance to spend time with Rear Admiral Select Rob Compher, the director of inspec- tions and compliance, who is moving into the assistant commandant for prevention policy role as Admiral Arguin transfers to Hawaii. PVA has worked with Rob Compher be- fore, and we believe he understands what the Coast Guard’s prevention mission means for our industry. The assistant commandant for prevention policy is the senior advocate for marine safety and continuity in that position is something we actively work to protect. We congratulated him on his se- lection and made clear that we have high expectations, as always, for whoever oc- cupies his position. Beyond our congratu- latory remarks, we also expressed concern about issues we perceive as being important to our industry. The pattern of diminish- ing Coast Guard resources in the field is troubling. For example, over the past several years, Coast Guard participation in Harbor Safety Committees has declined and Coast Guard presence at industry days has dwindled. Engagement at se- curity meetings that used to bring our operators and local marine safety offices together in the same room are increas- ingly rare. As operators in places like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Mackinaw have documented, the small boat stations that serve as the Coast Guard’s front line on the inland wa- ters have been drawn down, and the outreach infrastructure that once connected the prevention workforce to the com- munities it serves has quietly eroded. These are not abstrac- tions. They represent the day-to-day relationship between federal safety regulators and the businesses responsible for moving millions of passengers safely each year. ANDREW SARGIS // PRESIDENT AT THE HELM LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Continued on page 64 These meetings are one of the most important forums in the maritime industry, where senior leadership from both sides of the relationship sit across the table and speak openly.
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