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| Passenger Ship Safety Miami 2017 agenda was chaired by Captain Buddy Reams |
The inaugural Passenger Ship Safety Miami meeting, which took place 17-18 January 2017 at Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel, was a resounding success with over 150 delegates from cruise operators, coast guard, first response, government bodies, and industry representatives discussing innovative solutions to keep passengers safe at sea.
Emergency response units
The conference agenda was chaired by Captain Buddy Reams, Director of Prevention Operations – Seventh Coast Guard District (Retired), US Coast Guard with cruise operators such as Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, MSC Cruises and Disney Cruise Lines joining the US Coast Guard, FBI and emergency response units all in attendance.
With ship orders increasing and seven cruise companies soon taking delivery of their biggest ships, there is an unprecedented amount of growth within the cruise sector. However, with continued growth comes new challenges to keep passengers safe at sea.
The meeting discovered as cruise ships continue to grow larger, the SOLAS needs to be urgently updated to reflect the changes in the industry and the unique demands it faces.
Fire response teams
| The 2018 Passenger Ship Safety edition will take place January 2018 |
There also needs to be greater collaboration and discussion between shipyards, IMO, classification societies and the cruise operators themselves to guarantee that high safety standards are maintained.
The meeting also touched on clean energy, with alternative and clean fuels debated not only as a huge part of future designs but a key requirement facing cruise operators, ports and fire response teams is an urgent need to learn and update their facilities to reflect this change.
Lead sponsor Marioff were joined by industry supporters BullEx, Danfoss Semco, Falck Safety Services, Intelagard, Pivotal LNG, Promat, Scandia Gear, Ultra Fog and Viking Life-Saving Equipment in providing an interactive exhibition and networking area.
The 2018 Passenger Ship Safety edition will take place January 2018.
