b'overall U.S. Flag fleet average age Working and living conditionshighlights a companys lack of proac- of 27 years. (electrical, medical equipment, etc.) tive management of their safety or en-vironmental policies and procedures. MARINE INSPECTOR The Coast Guard is now publishingThe impact of a detention goes be-WORKFORCE focusareasintheinspectionbooks Asanindustry,domesticpassenger(CG-840)usedbymanymarinein-vessels rely 100 percent on the Coastspections during annual inspections.24 passengerGuardtoconductvesselinspec- Thesedocumentsarealsoavailablevessels participate tions. As such, PVA supports havingin the member download area of thein the Streamlined enough marine inspectors to do thePVA website. inspections the industry needs to op- Inspection Program erate. In 2022, there were 797 marineVESSEL DETENTIONS(SIP), accounting for inspectorsspreadacrossnineCoastThe process of detaining a domestic Guarddistricts,Europe,andAsia.passengervesselhasbeenaround0.4 percent of the fleet.Thebulkofthemarineinspectionsince2018.Vesselsaredetained workforce is located in the 8th Coastwhere there is objective evidence that GuardDistrict,whichencompassesdeficiencies noted during an inspec- yond just clearing the requirement(s) the Gulf Coast and Midwestern U.S.tion or exam can be traced back to athat caused the detention. The Coast breakdowninthecompanyssafetyGuardwillusedetentionincidents Coast Guard marine inspectors con- management system (SMS). For com- as a measure of a vessel or companys ducted 20,341 inspections. panies without an SMS, a detentionability to operate safely.DEFICIENCIESIncreasedinspectionswithade-creaseindeficienciesisgoodnews overall. As part of the Coast Guard/PVA Quality Partnership, the Coast Guardprovidesaseparateannual report on domestic passenger vessel complianceandstatistics.Thisre-port digs a bit deeper into inspection deficienciestheU.S.Flagannual report. The top five deficiency areas are listed below:Structural condition (corrosion, electrical, and hull damage)Propulsion and auxiliary machin-ery (main engine, bilge pumps/piping, and machinery operation)Lifesaving appliances (life rings, life jackets, and flares) Fire safety (firefighting equip-ment and appliances)51 AUGUST 2023'