Four years after the fire aboard the Conception dive boat claimed 34 lives, the National Transportation Safety Board renewed its call for the US Coast Guard to require safety management systems (SMS) for passenger vessels.
The recommendation, which the NTSB reissued following its investigation of 2 September 2019 into the fire aboard the Conception, remains open. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy sent a letter to the Coast Guard Commandant emphasizing the need to issue the regulations within 30 days.
“While the Coast Guard has implemented so many of our recommendations from the Conception investigation, we’ve yet to see the necessary action taken on one of the most important ones: safety management systems,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. “We’ve been advocating for SMS on passenger vessels for nearly two decades. The public can’t afford to wait any longer.”
The NTSB has advocated for SMS for passenger vessels since 2005, and in 2010, Congress explicitly granted the Coast Guard the authority to require such systems. Progress has been stalled since January 2021 when the Coast Guard took initial steps to address the NTSB’s recommendation.
An SMS is an enterprise approach
to risk management. It is a formal organizational tool, comprising policies, procedures, checklists and corrective measures to ensure that vessel crews are operating a vessel in accordance with regulations, company requirements and best practices, with a goal of continuous improvement.
In December 2021, the Coast Guard issued interim rules addressing many of the recommendations the NTSB issued as a result of its investigation of the Conception casualty, but not for the SMS recommendation. The Elijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 mandates that the Coast Guard carry out all of the NTSB recommendations issued or reiterated as a result of the Conception investigation.
All 33 passengers and one crewmember died of smoke inhalation after they were trapped in the berthing area while a fire raged on the deck above. Both exits from the berthing area led to the same fire- and smoke-filled area above. The NTSB concluded that had an SMS been implemented, Truth Aquatics, Inc., owner and operator of the Conception, could have identified unsafe practices and fire risks on the Conception and taken corrective action before the casualty occurred.
