(HOUSTON) — On June 27, Crounse’s vessel M/V Eva Kelly was the first vessel in its fleet to receive a certificate of inspection (COI) under Subchapter M. Dylan Hesley, manager of safety, along with the shoreside team and the crew of M/V Eva Kelly, worked with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Unit Paducah in submitting the required information for the COI application and getting the vessel ready for the inspection.
“It is definitely a process to gather all of the required information needed for objective evidence, but with constant communication between the vessel rep and the Coast Guard it can be relatively painless,” said civilian marine inspector Joseph Brown.
He went on to encourage companies to begin conversations with their local USCG marine Inspectors and submit their vessel particulars as soon as possible. Submitting these details up front allows the local unit to build the vessel profile in the Coast Guard’s Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) system and move on to the step of reviewing objective evidence. Brown noted that reviewing the objective evidence takes considerable time on their part. The Towing Vessel Inspection Bureau (TVIB) recommends contacting each unit where a company will apply for a COI to determine their specific requirements as the USCG has not adopted a single standard. This was the first COI issued by Marine Safety Unit Paducah.
On July 13, M/V City of Maysville was the second Crounse vessel to receive a COI. Mike Kidd, port captain, worked with the vessel’s crew and MSU Huntington to obtain the vessel’s COI.
“The Coast Guard appreciates the dedication, diligence and willingness of the Crounse Corp. to put the effort in to achieve compliance with Subchapter M and supply the necessary information in order to generate the first certificate of inspection for the City of Maysville in the Port of Huntington/Tri-State zone," said Coast Guard Cmdr. Paul Mangini. "We look forward to continued cooperation as we both work together to bring the rest of their towing vessel fleet into inspected status.”
