Right now, there's a huge safety gap in federal maritime law that most people have no idea exists.
Inspected passenger vessels are held to strict safety standards—mandatory equipment, crew qualifications, Coast Guard oversight. But bareboat charter operations can carry up to 12 passengers with almost none of those same requirements. That's the loophole.
So you could be on a vessel with 12 people and fewer safety protections than one carrying 6. That shouldn't be legal.
I started a petition calling on Congress and the Coast Guard to close this gap. Either cap all passenger vessels at 6 unless they meet the same inspection standards, require any vessel carrying more than 6 passengers to comply with the same safety rules as inspected ships or allow legitimate charters to carry 12 passengers without a COI same as bareboat
Passengers deserve equal protection no matter what type of charter they're on. If this feels wrong to you too, consider signing and sharing. Has anyone here dealt with this kind of inconsistency on the water, or know someone in the charter industry?