55 AUGUST 2026 references posting alongside your org chart and safety policy, plus a match- ing template for designating internal auditors. Both will be added to the Toolbox once they are ready, to save you from drafting that documenta- tion from scratch and to make sure the designations hold up cleanly when an auditor or the U.S. Coast Guard would like to review them. SAMPLE PROCEDURES AND PLANS Requirement 7.1 asks each company to establish the procedures, plans, and instructions needed to direct the safe operation of its vessels and protect the marine environment, in compliance with applicable U.S. law and, for international voyages, appli- cable international conventions. The Manual Template gets you partway there today. Chapters 7 and 8 already lay out the full checklist of vessel op- erating procedures and emergency procedures your program needs to ad- dress, from anchoring and fueling to fire and man overboard response, so you know exactly what to cover. What those chapters do not yet include is the sample procedure text itself for each item on that list. Writing that con- tent from a blank page is a heavy lift for any company, so I am developing sample procedures and plans to add to the Toolbox alongside the checklist, a starting point to adapt rather than an empty page to fill. My goal is for these samples to complement and strength- en what you are already building, not to hand you a one-size-fits-all docu- ment that ignores how your operation actually runs. DIRECT SUPPORT FROM PVA STAFF Beyond the documents and the part- ner organizations, I want members to know that direct support is part of what’s here for you too, alongside ev- erything else in Member Resources. I try to keep a regular check-in cadence with participating companies, and I am glad to schedule an onsite visit ahead of an audit if that would help. I’m here to help members in their Flagship journey. That kind of direct access is something PVA can offer that larger regulatory processes often cannot, and it is one of the things I am proudest of about this program. PUTTING IT TOGETHER None of these resources are meant to replace the work participating com- panies must do. Flagship still asks for quite a bit of work, and it should, because recognition only means some- thing if it is earned. What PVA can do is make sure nobody has to build that work from scratch or figure it out alone. The manual template, the re- quirements document, our approved audit and training providers, our policy notices, the growing library of lessons learned, our designation and org chart templates, and our sample procedures and plans will all live to- gether in Member Resources, with the templates, forms, and procedures collected in the Toolbox, backed up by direct staff support along the way. If you are considering or currently participating in Flagship SMS and are not sure which resource to tap into, reach out to me directly at lboone@ passengervessel.com.
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