Passenger Vessel Operations

Answer: No. An OUPV license authorizes carrying a maximum of 6 paying passengers. Eight paying passengers require at least a Master's license AND a vessel with a Certificate of Inspection from the Coast Guard. To do this trip legally, you would need: (1) a Master's license in the appropriate tonnage for the vessel, (2) the vessel to have passed a USCG inspection and hold a valid COI authorizing 8+ passengers, and (3) the COI to authorize the route (5 miles offshore within the near-coastal limit).

Answer: 22 × 140 lbs = 3,080 lbs. The Coast Guard uses 140 pounds as the standard assumed weight per passenger. With 22 passengers at the COI maximum, the worst-case side load is 3,080 pounds concentrated on one side of the vessel. The stability analysis must demonstrate that the vessel will not reach the angle of downflooding with this loading. If the vessel cannot pass this test, the COI passenger limit is reduced until it does.

Answer: Refuse boarding. The captain has both the authority and the duty to refuse boarding to any passenger who poses a safety risk. Visible intoxication is an explicit ground for refusal. The fact that the passenger holds a ticket and has paid does not override the captain's authority. The captain should: (1) calmly inform the passenger they cannot board for safety reasons, (2) offer a refund per the charter party agreement's terms, (3) document the refusal in the log with time and reason, and (4) if the passenger becomes threatening, contact marina security or local law enforcement. This is not discriminatory because intoxication is a conduct-based safety concern, not a protected class.

Answer: Sound the alarm, control the crowd, fight fire, communicate, decide.

1. Sound the fire alarm — alert all crew immediately
2. Order passengers to the muster station — keep them away from the engine room and upwind
3. Assign a crew member to assess the fire and attempt suppression with the fixed system and extinguishers
4. Assign a second crew member to begin donning passengers in life jackets
5. Broadcast MAYDAY on VHF Ch 16 with vessel name, position, nature of emergency, souls aboard
6. Shut off fuel supply to the engine room
7. Evaluate: fight or abandon ship — do not risk 45 lives on an unwinnable fire

The key exam point: passenger crowd control happens simultaneously with the emergency response, not after. Failing to move passengers could result in panic, stampede, or destabilization of the vessel.

Answer: Not legal as described. A bareboat charter transfers control of the vessel to the charterer. However, if the charterer is taking 10 "friends" who are paying for the trip, those friends are "passengers for hire" and the charterer is now an operator of a passenger-for-hire vessel requiring a license and COI. Without a license and COI, the trip is illegal for 10+ paying passengers. Even as a bareboat charter, if consideration is being paid for transportation, the passenger-for-hire regulations apply. A true bareboat charter works legally only if the charterer operates the vessel for their own pleasure and guests are genuinely not paying for transportation.

Answer: No — not without a COI amendment or deviation request. The COI's route restriction controls, not the vessel's physical location. "Inland waters" on a COI refers to waters inside the demarcation lines established by the USCG. If the crossing requires going outside the inland demarcation line — even briefly — the vessel is operating in near-coastal waters, which the COI does not authorize. Operating outside the COI is a federal violation regardless of the distance or the apparent simplicity of the trip. To make this trip legally, the operator would need the USCG to amend the COI to add a near-coastal or limited coastwise route endorsement.

Answer: Immediate PA announcement to redistribute passengers; use helm and throttle.

Steps in order:

1. Get on the PA immediately — calm but authoritative tone: "Everyone, please spread across the deck for the best view. We need even weight distribution to give you the smoothest ride." Frame it as a benefit to them, not a safety order (passengers respond better)
2. Use slow speed maneuvering to turn the vessel so the whale is directly ahead — removes the one-sided crowding problem entirely
3. If vessel has already heeled significantly, apply opposite helm and differential throttle to help bring vessel back upright
4. Monitor freeboard — if the deck edge is at or near the waterline, stop the vessel and broadcast a more direct order
5. Brief crew to assist in redistributing passengers physically if the PA announcement is insufficient

The exam point: 55 passengers × 140 lbs = 7,700 lbs suddenly on one side of a small vessel is a genuine capsize risk. This happened in a real incident (the Leah Marie on Lake Erie in 2003) — passenger rush to one side caused capsizing and deaths.

Answer: Both are below the 0.04% federal commercial limit — but the mate at 0.05% is technically over 0.04% and IS in violation. You at 0.03% are NOT in violation of the BAC limit.

Detail: The federal commercial operator limit under 33 CFR 95 is 0.04% BAC. Your mate at 0.05% exceeds this limit and is in violation. You at 0.03% are below the limit. However, 0.03% BAC does not mean you are unimpaired — the Coast Guard can still take action under the "impairment" standard even below the per se BAC limit if observed behavior indicates impairment. Additionally, the vessel owner/operator can be held responsible if they knowingly permitted an impaired crew member to operate.

Answer: You must make reasonable modifications, but structural changes that are not "readily achievable" or that would compromise vessel safety are not required.

The ADA requires "readily achievable" barrier removal and "reasonable modifications" to policies and procedures. For this vessel:

• You ARE required to: provide crew assistance with boarding, use alternative boarding methods (portable ramp, step stool) if feasible, offer the lowest available boarding point
• You are NOT required to: structurally modify the vessel if it would compromise seaworthiness, install permanent accessible gangway if it creates an undue burden or safety risk
• You CANNOT: simply refuse to serve the passenger because it is "too hard"
• Best practice: Have a written accessibility policy; contact the passenger before the trip to plan safe boarding; document all assistance provided

Answer: Immediate MOB response — shout, throw, turn, assign, radio, recover.

1. Shout "MAN OVERBOARD" — loudly so everyone aboard hears it
2. Throw a life ring toward the victim immediately; if you have a horseshoe buoy with a light and whistle, throw that too
3. Assign one of the remaining 5 passengers or crew (if any) to point at the victim continuously — never let the pointing stop
4. Note time and GPS position of MOB
5. Begin Williamson turn or Anderson turn to return to victim
6. Radio PAN-PAN on VHF Ch 16: "PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, this is [vessel name], we have a man overboard at position [latitude/longitude], vessel is [description], [number] souls remaining aboard, we are maneuvering for recovery"
7. Direct remaining passengers to move to opposite side from recovery to give freeboard on recovery side
8. Approach victim from downwind; stop engines before victim is near propellers
9. Recover victim using swim ladder, life sling, or crew assist
10. Provide first aid; if hypothermia suspected, keep victim warm; report to USCG when complete

Answer: Under 46 CFR 26.03-3, the safety briefing for an uninspected passenger vessel must cover at minimum:

• Location of all life preservers (PFDs) and how to use them
• Location of all fire extinguishers and how to use them
• Location of all visual distress signals (flares)
• Emergency procedures to be followed
• Location of the first aid kit

The briefing must be given before or immediately after departure. There is no requirement to do it before leaving the dock — "immediately after departure" allows a brief delay if departure conditions require the captain's full attention. However, the briefing must be completed before reaching open water or any potentially hazardous condition.

Answer: No legal obligation to take the vessel back out; but you do have duties regarding the property.

The charter trip is complete. You are not required to operate the vessel for any additional purpose. However:

• You likely have a duty to safeguard personal property left aboard — take possession of the bag and make it available for the passenger to retrieve from the dock
• If the charter party agreement addresses lost/left property, follow those terms
• If the bag was left at a mooring or anchor location offshore, you would need to retrieve it on your own terms — the passenger has no right to commandeer the vessel
• Document the property and return it through the marina or arrange a reasonable pick-up

Answer: The service dog stays. The captain must accommodate both passengers through management, not removal of the service animal.

Key ADA principles in conflict:

• Service animals must be permitted on all passenger vessels — removing the dog is an ADA violation
• The handler is responsible for the animal's behavior; the vomiting should be cleaned up promptly
• The allergic passenger's needs must also be accommodated through reasonable means: moving the allergic passenger to the greatest distance from the dog on the vessel, ensuring the area is cleaned, providing fresh air positioning
• Neither passenger takes priority over the other — the captain must find a solution that allows both to remain aboard
• If the service animal poses a genuine direct threat (aggressive behavior, uncontrollable), the handler can be asked to remove the animal — but allergies and cleanliness concerns do not meet the "direct threat" standard