b'PVA leadershipBobBijurwithIslandQueenCruisesre- will be done by the Office of Engineering ported on the efforts of his working groupStandardsandtheMarineSafetyCenter. encouraged the to assess the condition of pitted hull plateOnce that is done the product can be sent duringinspectionusingtoolsdevelopedto the field and used as a tool.Coast Guard to focusby the Ship Structures Committee for the CoastGuard.AtthispointtheworkingThecommitmenttosafetyremainsatop not only on the group has developed a computer programpriority of the QP. Both PVA President Jim thatcanbeusedbyindustryandCoastSwindler and RDML Arguin promised con-cause of recent fires,Guardinspectorstoquicklyevaluateef- tinued engagement and the resources needed to complete the work of the partnership. The but also the response fective plate thickness on areas in question.next meeting will be in the fall, where several OnceCoastGuardpersonnelhavebeen from land-based involved,finalevaluationoftheproductproject can be closed out.fire departments.butalsotheresponsefromland-basedfire departments.Therearesignificantdiffer-encesbetweenhowmarineandland-based firesarefoughtandland-basedfirefightersThe Trusted Source for are not inclined to listen to vessel personnel in an emergency. All at the meeting agreedQuality Systemsthat cooperation and planning with local fire departments before an incident was critical to managing future incidents. The Coast Guard requested that PVA form a small working group to develop recommen-dationsforfiredetectionandsuppression systemsonexistingsmallpassengervessels (built before 1996) not required to have fire suppression and detection systems. PVA Past President Bob Bijur stepped up and additional members were solicited at the May 25 Safety and Security Committee meeting.RearAdmiralArguinreiteratedtheimpor-tanceofreportingandinvestigatingsexual assaultandsexualharassment(SASH)in themaritimeindustry.Followinglegislation passed by Congress, the Coast Guard released MSIB 1-23 Reporting Sexual Misconduct on U.S. Vessels. Companies have an obligation to investigate reports of sexual assault and harass-ment that violates company policy and report their findings to the Coast Guard. The MSIB contains specific instructions as well as an info-graphic that can be posted on board the vessel.PARTNERSHIP ANDWORK PRODUCTSOne of the key values of the QP is the op-portunity for PVA and the Coast Guard to collaborate on issues of mutual concern. AsTHRUSTERSLIGHTINGSEATINGDOORSTRIM CONTROLWIPERSCONTROLSmentioned above, slips, trips, and falls remain the most common causes of injuries to passen-ger and crew. At this meeting PVA and Coast Guard representatives reported they have been working together to evaluate the last five yearswww.imtra.com 508.995.7000of data and come up with recommendations to improve safety. 29 MAY 2023'