The United States Coast Guard Friday announced it has temporarily prevented two passenger vessels — one in Long Beach and the other in San Diego — from operating in commercial service after discovering inadequate safety issues aboard the boats.
Coast Guard personnel inspected a 1965 wood-built passenger vessel in San Diego on Feb. 25 and discovered several “safety discrepancies,” according to a Coast Guard statement.
Inspectors discovered that the vessel’s below-deck emergency exit was sealed shut using marine sealant, and noticed several unapproved electrical system alterations. The Coast Guard also found issues involving the vessel’s fuel system that constituted a fire hazard.
Inspectors also examined a 1967 wooden vessel used to take passengers on diving excursions in Long Beach on March 11 and located several deficiencies, according to the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard investigators discovered insufficient and overdue servicing of the vessel’s fire extinguishing systems and several electrical issues that posed a fire hazard, according to a Coast Guard statement.
The Coast Guard imposes controls on vessels that are found not be compliant with applicable laws or regulations until the vessels have been brought into compliance, according to a statement.
“In these cases, the vessels’ conditions were substandard and our marine inspectors took action to keep their passengers and the environment safe,” said Captain Greg Callaghan, the 11th Coast Guard District chief of prevention. “Both detained small passenger vessels will respectively remain in their San Diego and Los Angeles-Long Beach Captain of the Port zones and not be allowed to operate with passengers until the discrepancies are corrected.”
On Sept. 2, 2019, the dive boat Conception caught fire and all 33 passengers aboard and one crew member died. No crew members had been ordered to patrol the vessel during the night to monitor the boat’s battery charging station or sound the alarm in case of a fire or other emergency, according to suit filed by a family member of one of the deceased passengers.