Improvements to passenger safety—submit your questions

A count must be done to ensure an accurate record of the number of passengers you are carrying.

From 31 May 2020 Marine Order 504 changes are being implemented.

For vessel operators that: 

• Are on a voyage of at least 30 minutes but no more than 12 hours; and 
• Operate in B, C or D waters or in E waters outside daylight hours; and 
• Are licenced to carry up to 75 passengers

You must ensure:

• There is procedure in your safety management system (SMS) that includes a count of all passengers at or around time of embarking or disembarking the vessel.
• Your SMS includes an emergency procedure for dealing with a situation where a passenger is unaccounted for.
• Results of passenger counts are recorded in the vessel’s logbook. This will assist in verifying compliance as well as having a ready reference for the master of the most recent count.
• Your SMS must include a procedure for monitoring passengers so that the master knows the number of passengers on board at any time.

These measures will ensure passenger safety at all times through passenger monitoring and accurate counts.