https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/bulletins/2ef74a9
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Coast Guard personnel throughout the Eleventh Coast Guard District have implemented an initiative that enhances underway presence and improves safety aboard small passenger vessels operating off the California coast.
The safety compliance checks are being conducted underway on smaller, U.S. inspected passenger vessels to ensure continued regulatory compliance while vessels are conducting operations with paying passengers aboard.
“Our intent with these safety compliance checks is to bridge gaps that were identified following the fire onboard the passenger vessel Conception which resulted in the tragic deaths of 34 people,” said Rear Admiral Brian Penoyer, the Eleventh District commander. “We discovered that there are a number of operational requirements that are impossible to verify during a dockside annual inspection. The Coast Guard has been and continues to take deliberate steps to improve the safety of small passenger vessels in order to prevent future loss of life.”