Written by Lt. Cmdr. Eric Jesionowski

The Cruise Ship National Center Of Expertise, or CSNCOE, puts on the Foreign Passenger Vessel Examiner Course, three times each year for up to 15 Coast Guard active duty, reserve and civilian members as well as 10 cruise industry stakeholders consisting of: cruise line representatives, ship officers, classification society surveyors/managers, foreign flag administration representatives, other government agencies, manufactures and other stakeholders that are instrumental in daily operation, inspection and/or oversight of the cruise industry.

Attendees are divided into six teams of up to five people. Teams are comprised of a mixture of Coast Guard and industry attendees. Throughout the course of instruction, these teams are given scenarios that could be expected during a typical Coast Guard cruise ship examination and are asked to jointly evaluate and decide on a course of action.

The week-long interactions among participants reinforces the value of, and need for, frequent communication and close working relationships among the cruise industry community and Coast Guard. Likewise, participants gain valuable insight and a mutual understanding of the impacts their decisions have on cruise industry safety, security and commercial viability.

The course convening dates for this coming year are January 25, 2016, February 22, 2016 and March 21, 2016. The selection of class participants for the January course will be selected in November, please let us know prior to November 13^th if interested in attending.

If anyone from industry is interested in attending, requests for seats in the course can be submitted through our recently streamlined web site in the ‘contact us’ section on our website. Additional information on the course can also be found in the training section of the web site.

Please “Tell Us How We Are Doing”, the CSNCOE is always looking for feedback to improve and better serve the Coast Guard and cruise shipping industry.

About CSNCOE

The CSNCOE is one of six nationwide national centers of expertise focusing on providing industry specific consultation and services to the Coast Guard and maritime industry. The CSNCOE, located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is the repository of Coast Guard expertise and best practices on the foreign passenger vessel examiner program and is focused on raising the competency, capabilities and consistency Coast Guard wide in the field of cruise ship safety, environmental and security requirements and examinations. As the industry liaison, the CSNCOE provides training and mission support to the Coast Guard and industry alike by memorializing a blend of these mentioned activities thus ensuring the lines of communication and interaction continue.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.