Image credit: Pat Folan Easy Fix


The inspections are one area where it is not too hard to find a good workaround. That’s because the USCG should work with the TPO’s. Most companies can deal with the annual inspection. It’s not easy, but it can be done because generally after the USCG leaves you go back to work. But Drydock and Internal Structural Exams are a big problem. Getting shipyard availability in some areas is hard. If the boat or barge ahead of you needs extra work, then you must wait. At the same time, the USCG wants a minimum of 14 days’ notice. Hence, if you were supposed to come out on December 1st and the yard holds you off until the 6th, but doesn’t tell you until the 4th, then you will have missed your exam on the 1st, and may have to wait until the 18th for the inspectors to arrive. Throw a holiday or two in there and you are not going to work anytime soon.


If you are unfortunate enough to be hauled out in at least one certain Coast Guard district, then you can only wait on the stands until the inspectors arrive and then they will tell you what to do. Under any circumstances, do not start any work. This “my-way-or-the-highway” attitude in this sector is strangling the shipyards. If you have a choice, you do not haul out at any of those yards if you are a USCG option boat. Fortunately, most other Sectors will let you begin work if you document it well and are in a reputable yard. With the TPO Option, if you come out next Saturday, then you will have a drydock exam completed, and holidays don’t matter. This fix is easy. Add a hybrid option for USCG Option companies to use a TPO Drydock/ Internal Structural Exam program. It would immediately free up inspectors and soothe over vessel owners and yard owners ruffled feathers.


92 | ISSUE 111 | MAR 2025 | THE REPORT


This isn’t to say that the DD/ISEs would be any easier than with a USCG inspector. Far from it. As someone that performs these exams, I don’t cut corners. Lives are on the line. If it is bad, it’s bad. Crop it out and renew it. Unlike the USCG inspector, I know it costs money to go through the exams and repairs, and I do care. But I care more about the guys sleeping and living on the boat. And I’ll tell you what to expect to do at the next drydock, so that you can budget for it.


It also fair to ask why the USCG decided that loadline vessels that were subject to a DD/ISE every five years now must have a DD/ISE every 2 to 3 years? ABS was doing a good job managing that system and then the USCG came along and added a significant financial and time burden to the owners.


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