By Sentinel Staff
The Coast Guard reports it inspected 10 Allen Marine passenger vessels in Juneau and Sitka on Wednesday, and found “some discrepancies ranging from material condition to crew familiarity to be corrected.”
“The discrepancies that were found have been corrected, or are being corrected to allow operation to resume,” the Coast Guard said in a news release from 17th District headquarters in Juneau.
Three boats were inspected in Sitka and seven in Juneau.
“Allen Marine has been a long-time operator in Southeast Alaska region, and the Coast Guard has provided oversight of their long history of safe operation,” the Coast Guard said in the news release. “The goal of these types of inspections conducted is to ensure continued safety on the water.”
Allen Marine said today the items that needed improvement on select vessels resulted in the company’s being unable to operate scheduled tours aboard them.
“We were able to place most guests aboard other vessels and tours,” said Allen Marine spokesman Zakary Kirkpatrick in an emailed statement.
“The Coast Guard and Allen Marine are working hand-in-hand to correct deficiencies that have been identified, and Allen Marine has voluntarily planned a series of internal safety inspections to ensure operators are trained and the vessels are safe,” Capt. Steve White, Coast Guard captain of the port and officer-in-charge of marine inspections of Southeast Alaska, said in a news release. “The cooperation between the Coast Guard and Allen Marine has been very good. The Coast Guard works hard to ensure passenger vessels in Southeast Alaska are safe, and we appreciate the partnership with them in that endeavor.”
Kirkpatrick said Allen Marine has a strong record of safety, and this year alone the company has operated vessels for more than 50,000 combined tour hours, and over the past several years has safely carried more than 1 million guests on tours in Southeast Alaska.
“We welcome the chance to make improvements to our fleet to continue our 50 years of excellence in safety,” Kirkpatrick said. “The discrepancies that were found have been corrected, or are being corrected to allow operations aboard those vessels to resume. We operate over 50 vessels that are USCG inspected throughout the region, and have always worked hand-in-hand with the Coast Guard to ensure compliance and passenger safety.”
White said the Coast Guard will be conducting inspections of other passenger vessels that operate in Southeast Alaska to ensure the same level of compliance.
