b'SAFETYMATTERSBy Eric Christensen,Director of Regulatory Affairs and Risk ManagementPVA Urges the Useof Fire Safety Equipment and Training to Avoid IncidentsO n January 14, 2018, near Port Richey, FL, the smallNTSB Board. A complete video of the hearing can be found at passenger vessel Island Lady, with 53 people onhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDlAEN4l7M. board, caught fire and burned to the waterlineWhile damage was estimated to be less than $500,000, resulting in over a dozen injuries and one fatality. Onlower than the major marine casualty threshold associ-December 11, 2018, Zack Reed of the PVA staff and I attendedated with an NTSB investigation, NTSB investigated the the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing inaccident under Title 49 United States Code 1131 (a)(1)(f)(ii) Washington, DC. For two uncomfortable hours the investiga- as an accident of recurring character because of a similar fire tors presented the findings and results of the accident to theon board another of the operating companys vessels, the Express Shuttle II, in 2004. The vessel was on a scheduled transit to an offshore casino boat, the Tropical Breeze I, located about nine miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico when the Captain received a high-temperature alarm for the port engines jacket-water system. He notified the vessels operating company and turned the Island Lady around to return to the dock. During the return trip, the fire worsened and the captain deliber-ately beached the vessel close to shore in shallow water. All passengers, crewmembers, and company employees were forced to evacuate the vessel by jumping into the water and wading ashore. Fifteen passengers were taken to the hospital where one woman died from smoke inhalation. The vessel was a total loss.The fire was traced back to the loss of the port raw wa-ter-cooling pump. Without cooling water going to either the port main engine or the wet exhaust system, the heat of the exhaust caught the fiberglass exhaust tube on fire in the lazarette. Without fire detection in the lazarette, the crew was not able to determine the location of the fire and the fire quickly spread throughout the vessel.NTSB FindingsFollowing a nearly year-long investigation, the NTSB found that the following contributed to the casualty: Lack of company guidance regarding engine high-tem-perature alarms: After the captain received a high-temper-ature alarm for the port engines jacket-water system, he did not shut down the engine but instead left it idling. This allowed the overheating engine to continue to generate excessive heat, causing the exhaust tubes to catch fire. The 40APRIL 2019FOGHORN'