STERNLINES

Be careful: ‘Them’ may mean you.

CRUSH US OUT OF EXISTENCE?

‘It’s up to all of us in this room to crush them out of existence,” WorkBoat magazine reported, with “us” including representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Passenger Vessel Association. “Them” is you, if you offer your yacht for charter (or your smaller boat for rental or ride-sharing) and aren’t careful with the details.

The PVA is composed primarily of companies that own and operate tour and dinner-cruise boats. According to its website, “PVA is dedicated to promoting the interests and the economic well-being of U.S. passenger vessel owners and operators, while promoting safety and a secure maritime operating environment for passengers, crew and the public at large.”

Sounds fair enough on the surface, but let’s look a little deeper. Regarding the PVA mission of “promoting safety,” count me in. In fact, I’ve written here in Sternlines about the importance of steering clear of large commercial vessels, and passenger boats in particular. They can’t maneuver as quickly and easily as smaller vessels, and any incident puts hundreds of lives at risk. There is no excuse for ignoring safety, and we all should be diligent in following the rules as well as employing common sense.

That said, I’m dead set against using the safety issue to promote the “economic well-being” of one group over another. We’ve all read articles about local taxicab companies lobbying city councils, trying to drive Uber and other ride-sharing services out of their territories. The taxi owners always say the core issue is passenger safety, but in reality, their beef is about the money: Uber drivers are cutting into taxi profits. The situation is no different on the water. If you’re getting money for the use of your boat, it’s understandable that PVA members could view it as coming out of their own pockets.

My bigger problem with PVA’s mission, though, is that last bit about promoting “a secure maritime operating environment.” Repeatedly, the PVA has demonstrated that its idea of a secure environment seems to leave no room for recreational vessels of any sort, from paddleboards to superyachts.

About 25 years ago, the PVA supported federal legislation that would have put many charter operators completely out of business. On behalf of the National Marine Manufacturers Association and some charter groups, I and others testified before the U.S. Congress against that initial version of the Passenger Vessel Safety Act. Fortunately, we prevailed, and the act was amended to accommodate the interests of bareboat and crewed charter operations.

More recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which the Coast Guard is a part, hosted a Small Craft Security Summit in Washington to explore the perceived threat of small, private vessels to the safety of our coasts, waterways and ports. I watched as the PVA again supported “security” over recreation, and the NMMA, Boatus and others reminded the feds that private small craft, including yachts, had been an integral and essential part of protecting U.S. waters during World Wars I and II.

Against the PVA’s efforts, the best defense is knowledge of and adherence to the law. If you charter or rent or intend to do either, then learn the provisions of the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993. They specifically define, for example, what a charter is, what a guest or passenger for hire is, and what you can and can’t do with your vessel. If you continue to operate in violation of the law, whether by intent or ignorance, don’t be surprised if you are “crushed out of existence” and the rest of us suffer collateral damage.

Share your thoughts on this or any topic. email: sTernLines@aimmeDia.com