b'SAFETY MATTERSSAFETYThe Consequences ofIllegal Passenger Vessel OperationsERIC CHRISTENSEN // PVA DIRECTOR OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS & RISK MANAGEMENTF or the past several years, PVA has beenpending before the Coast Guard. Dines faces ato the boat. While the other passengers assisted stressingtheimportanceofcombatingmaximum penalty of five years in federal pris- one of the swimmers, the First Mate jumped illegalpassengervesseloperations.Weon. His sentencing hearing has not yet been set.intothewatertosavetheotherpassenger. havepushedtheU.S.CoastGuardtodoDines had been indicted on March 1, 2022. Both the crew member and the passenger were moreenforcementanddeveloppoliciesandovercome by the current and swept out to sea. procedures for their field investigators to useAccording to evidence presented at trial, DinesSearch and rescue efforts by the M/V Jaguar, insuccessfullyprosecutingviolationsoflawwasthepresidentofFYCYachts,ayachtthe Coast Guard, and state and local partner and regulation. That messaging seems to becharter brokerage company in St. Petersburg.agencies were unsuccessful.paying off as the Coast Guard continues toIn August 2016, in response to reports that see increased success with civil penalties andFYC Yachts had been overcrowding charters inUpon the vessels return to Maximo Marina criminalprosecution.Closecoordinationviolation of federal boating safety laws, a Coastlaterthatevening,Dinesapproachedthe withtheCoastGuardInvestigativeServiceGuardinvestigatingofficermetwithDinesremainingpassengersandencouragedone (CGIS), law enforcement port partners, andto discuss the reports and FYC Yachts oper- of them to pretend to be a crew member in the Department of Justice (DOJ) is starting toations. Dines assured the investigating officerordertomisleadCoastGuardinvestigators have an impact. The below events, taken fromthat his company was operating in complianceabout the number of passengers onboard. This Coast Guard and DOJ press releases, provide awith the law.request was consistent with past instructions snapshot of recent successes in 2022. Dines had given to other charter boat captains On the afternoon of March 14, 2017, an over- tomisidentifypassengersascrewmembers M/V JAGUAR crowded FYC-chartered yacht, M/V Jaguar setduring Coast Guard boardings. Dines also at-This case dates back to 2017 and is a testamentsail from Maximo Marina in St. Petersburg andtempted to have the remaining passengers sign to Coast Guard perseverance. On Decemberanchored in Pass-a-Grille Channel to allow thea charter contract in order to absolve himself 13, 2022, the U.S. Attorney for the Middlepassengers to go swimming. There were strongofanyresponsibilityfortheincident.The District of Florida announced that a federalcurrentsoutgoinginthechannelthatday,passengersrefused,notingthatthecontract juryfoundPatrickDinesofSt.Petersburgwhich pulled the swimmers away from the ves- had the wrong yacht name, time of voyage, and guilty of endeavoring to obstruct a proceedingsel. Two swimmers were unable to make it backnumber of passengers.The techniques illustrated above by the com-panypresidenttoinfluencepassengersare standard procedure for those engaged in illegal passenger vessel operations. For those who are wondering what charges were brought against the vessel master, one of the complications of this investigation was that the master of the vessel at the time of the incident passed away a couple years ago in a boating accident. RECREATIONAL OR COMMERCIAL? LET THE JUDGE DECIDEIn March 2022, also in Tampa, Fla., a U.S. Dis-trict Judge sentenced Obed Almaguer Garrido of Tampa to five years probation, during which period he will be prohibited from operating any watercraft, and to 100 community service hours, for violating a Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) Order. Garrido had pleaded guilty on Aug. 18, 2021.Accordingtocourtdocuments,Garridowas the owner of a state-registered recreational vessel and operated a recreational vessel in commercial passenger service on the waters of Tampa Bay FOGHORN 30'