lifeboat safety drill -- [ audio difficulties ] that's a much shorter time when folks board. should that be updated? >> we've made that a requirement as part of our examination of that drill and that's almost a reasonable outcome from what we've -- what we're seeing from there casualty. the -- the cruise lines themselves have a voluntary practice, even within the united states and i believe it applies internationally as well. >> you think it needs to be looked at? >> i do. >> again, we'd like to take you were recommendation. i don't know if it needs to be in law but maybe in regulation. and then, also, to the international organizations. so we have a -- the best possible standard for that drill. because the safety drill is very

important in people knows what to do and maybe revised a little bit with the megaliners. these are massive ships and multistoried. the other thing, too, is i saw the ship go -- the ship is now -- the lifeboats and safety devices are geared to 20 degree tilt. that might be something else that we want to look at. i think it went to 35, the ship is still, you know on its side. if that had been in deep water that puppy would have gone down pretty dramatically and there would have been a much greater loss of life and what stunned me is probably half of your lifeboats and your safety devices are on that side so, they would have been wiped out. and they would have to account for, maybe, 2,000 or 1500 of those passengers who would have no way of, maybe, the life vest,

but, we had problems with that, too, we may want to look at that and, you know, in the past, they put life vests and in the cabin or some place like that. maybe, working with the industry to see, again, availability of both the lifeboat vessel which would take folks off and most seas, i guess, italian sea at the time, wasn't that cold, but you get into frigid waters, people -- the survival rate drops pretty dramatically. i think we need to look at that in light of the size of these megacruise liners. would you agree? >> yes, sir. i think there's two broad categories here. one are technological standards. take a hard look in light of this casualty, are the standards correct? did the equipment function in

core dance with the standards and are the standards sufficiently rigorous. that's one question. the other is the human factors. crew performance. training, the ability to operate under pressure. all of that needs to be looked at as well. so two buckets. >> finally, let me say this. these hearings are great and we do learn things from the hearings. we'll learn things today and i'd ask the ranking member, mr. larson, and also, lobiando, i would suggest we do as a follow-up. let's convene. convene a roundtable with the coast guard and others and let's get their recommendations and what they can cover by regulation will work with them on -- if we need to change law, let's take their recommendations. then, if i could ask you also, since the international standards are also imposed for americans outside our borders but that's very important, that

you to lead an earth to, i think one of those bodies is in london? >> yes, sir, the international maritime organization is the primary. >> two, take to them our recommendations so that we, not -- we can protect americans from ups ports but that there's so many americans that travel internationally on these liners so, we will set a date appropriate to the majority and the minority for a roundtable follow-up. and then we'd like to try to get your recommendations for law changes and what you can do by regulation and these two gentlemen take to the international organizations to recommend and update. can i yield to mr. -- >> mr. chairman, you can do what ever you like. >> i only -- mr. young asked for, he's more ranking as far as chairman than i am. >> thank you, mr. chairman for yielding and first let me say,

thank the chairman, for this hearing. you know, i will tell you this. there was nothing wrong with this ship. this was a good ship. there were probably three errors and they were all human errors. one, we had a captain that forgot he was a captain. as a captain, i was very embarrassed. he took it off the plot. he was too close to shore. and there's nothing wrong with these ships that we have in the industry. one thing, also, in our area, we have american pilots. that pilot the ships in our waters. especially in the northwest. crucially important. the pilot had been aboard that ship as he should have been this would not have hand. was the crew trained? maybe, maybe not. i'm not sure about that. and i want us to be careful about casting dispersions to the

american cruise lines and american waters, because we're doing a very good job. we've had a good safety record. we've had one bad fire alaska over the last 35 years. and had a great rescue by the coast guard. and that's something is really important to me. to recognize where the problem lies. this was a human activity that should never have occurred. we go through a rigorous program in our waters about safety for our cruise ships. are we perfect? no. huge industry? pretty dog gone good. i want you to understand that, admiral because to me it's important that we don't have a black eye all the way around the world about the cruise industry. you say, why am i saying this? because we have a very fine industry and we're a million passengers a year come to the state of alaska. i've never heard them complain about any of the activities of the crews or captains.

so that's important. and many dhar man, if i could ask one question, there's really nothing to do with this. i've had a request to do it. the longshoremen said neither et the foreign crews or have safety training to load, unload vessels in our nation's ports. how would you respond to concern that unqualified personnel loading and unloading in our nation's ports may endanger passenger safety and do you believe legislation to further protect passenger safety during the loading and loading and tying up the vessels of our nation's ports? this is a complaint i've had from an interest group. but, this is also ties into the safety factor. how it's loaded. i used to be a load-master, too. how the boat's ship is loaded, where it's loaded, the cruise requirements about handling all types of things and you can comment on that, admiral, if you can. >> certainly, as far as loading, you know, equipment, all very

important on any ship. particularly important, of course, when you have passengers involved, looking after their safety. i have not heard of a particular concern raised by the longshoremen's union but i would be interested to look into it. >> i appreciate it. i notice how quick people and thank you, mr. chairman. you were not on the timer. the ranking member was not only the timer but as an exchairman i was put on the chairman i was put on the timer so with that i'll give back my time. >> i had reserve comment. for those of you who may not be aware, mr. young, i believe, is the only member of congress who actually holds a captain's license, so he does speak with some personal experience. mr. larson? >> mr. chairman, i just noted to mr. young that in the future when he's ranking member, i'll be sure he's put on the timer. >> thank you, that won't happen for a while. >> okay.

ms. brown, you're recognized. >> thank you. let me take this opportunity to thank the u.s. coast guard for not just the work that you do in florida, but throughout the country. we've given you a tremendous amount of responsibility and you all have come up to the challenge and can't -- every time i get a chance to thank you publicly for how you are responding after 9/11, i have to, because you all was the first branch that was there and protecting our country right after that tragedy so thank you. this is, no doubt, this accident in italy was a tragic and my thoughts and prayers go out to those that was killed and injured and we must take every chance necessary to protect the safety of the passengers. but we cani havely fie the induy because of one rogue employee who failed to follow the policy and protocol of his own company. as a member from the state of

florida and a representative of the port of jacksonville, i am particularly interested in the cruise industry. the cruise industry is a critical economic engine for the state of florida. over 8 million passengers embark from florida in 2010 and the industry contributed more than $6.3 billion in direct spending. in addition, the cruise industry is the second largest in florida, generating more than 123,000 jobs paying $54 billion. here's the question i want to ask you about -- do you think that the italian coast guard did everything that they could to assist the passengers? and what recommendation would you make that we add additional recommendations? >> thank you, congresswoman. to the best of my awareness, the

italian coast guard pursued the response in a very aggressive and professional manner. nothing to suggest otherwise. of course, at the very beginning of the investigation, i think we'll learn more about not only the actions of the crew but rescue organizations, which will be beneficial to us? as we refine our search and rescue and mass rescue operational plans. >> and i know the investigation is going on, but there is a great amount of concern as to how the captain handled the situation. and what procedures can we put in place to make sure that, i mean -- it was not from the press account, of course you can't always believe press accounts, but it was an acknowledgment that it was an emergency. and in addition, my understanding was that it is 24 hours before they have to have the muster drill. i understand now that the cruise

industry have gone back and said, that before you leave that port, that you going to have that training. and i think that's very important. and i'm glad they've instituted that throughout. >> yes, i think that's a noteworthy improvement and i'm very pleased with the industry for taking that initiative, even in advance of being required to do so. i think that's a positive development. as far as the actions of the master, obviously, the investigation will shed more light on it. i don't know of any pmariner that's willing to step up and defend that. >> what about the training of the crew? it seemed like everything was in disarray. and every time i go on crewses and i've seen my mom and family on cruises, the first thing we do is they have that training as to how, in case of an accident,

you put on your gear and everything. >> correct. >> that hadn't happened? they got on the cruise and everybody was dressed for dinner but they had not had that initial safety training. >> there are well-defined requirements for training of crew members. anybody with a safety position, including, you know, hotel staff that may have a safety position, crowd management, ushering people to their embackeration stations. all that's required and periodically refreshed. we enforce those regulations vigorously in our port state controlled program. we work very closely with the industry and convey our expectations about a safety culture and i think the results are in the numbers. the cruise ship industry in the united states has a very good safety record. it is among the safest of all maritime activity. that doesn't happen by accident. it requires commitment by regulators and the industry itself but the numbers, i think,

bear that out. my last question. >> as i understand it on the equipment, my last question, the bolts of whatever, the safety bolts that was on one side and they had to walk to the other side, so is there any discussion as to making sure that it's at a certain level so -- because i understand that if it's at a certain feet then it's underwater or something, i'm not quite sure. >> there are some precise technological requirements for lifeboats, the angle at which they must be lowered. 20 degrees was mentionedleier and that's correct. there's trim, 10 degrees either for and after trum. so operating against adverse conditions, yes. at play here is the stability condition of the ship. one of the questions we do not yet have an answer to is how much flooding occurred in the ship and should it have listed over as far as it did? we don't know if water-tight doors were closed internal to the ship which may have spread

the flooding beyond the design limits. all questions that we need to know as part of the investigation that we'll pursue with the italian government. >> once again, i thank the men and women for their service. >> thank you. >> i yield back the balance of my time sfwhee thank you, ms. brown. master chief? >> mr. chairman, i appreciate it. this has nothing to do with my questions but of the acoustics flawed. it appeared to be muffled. >> the acoustics are different today and i'm not sure whether that's controlled by the control room or just something a little bit different. >> thank you. good morning, admiral. as has been indicated earlier we're deeply concerned about the tragic lost last night, admiral. with the coast guard conduct an independent investigate into the loss of the two american citizens aboard the do sta concordia. >> we are as mentioned, sir, interviewing all of the u.s. passengers who were on board to develop as complete a picture as

we possibly can as to what took place on that vessel. and as mentioned to the chairman, we'll share that information with this committee. >> thank you for that. is it possible for a cruise vessel to fail an inspection and then not be permitted to operate on u.s. waters? >> yes, sir. that is possible. and there have been instances where the coast guard inspector has not been pleased and has detained a ship. it doesn't happen very often. it hadn't happened in a number of years now. i think we've developed a strong enough expectation with the industry and they've responded by instituting safety cultures within their companies. to make sure that they meet all of our very strenuous requirements. but, yes, it is possible. if we're not satisfied, the ship won't sail. >> when the coast guard, in fact, does detect deficiencies, how do you follow-up to assure

yourselves that the deficiencies have been corrected? >> we do follow-up. depending on the severity of the deficiency, we may allow a certain amount of time for correction. if there's some immediate danger we would require an immediate fix. >> admiral, let me ask you this. are the hotel and entertainment staff aboard u.s. flagged cruise vessels required to be credentialed merchant marinaers? >> yes, they are. u.s. cruise ship vessels are required to be licensed by the coast guard. the crew must hold merchant mariner credentials and they must have the training associated with the positions they hold on those vessels. >> and i would assume that would lead to a more competent crew, would it not? >> that's the goal, yes, sir. that training is designed to aa level of competency that is a

baseline. when we witness fire drills, boat drills on board not only u.s. flag ships but on foreign flag ships that's one of the ways that we verify the training has taken hold. that people actually know how to use the equipment. they know how to communicate and they can perform their functions in an efficient manner. that's one of the controls that we have. >> thank you and good to have you with us. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. cummings? >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. first of all, let me associate myself with the words of ms. brown with regard to the tremendous work that the coast guard does every day. i call them the thin blue line at sea. and, also, i prex press my concern and prayers and condolences for the losss that we've suffered here recently. those families that are going through some difficult times. as the coast guard faces continuing budget challenges, perhaps the single most

impo ensure the safety of the cruise industry in the united states and, indeed, the safety of our entire maritime transportation system, it's to ensure that the hard one gains in the coast guard marine safety program are not lost. and that this critical program continues to receive the resources it needs to be able to engage fully-qualified personnel to carry out thorough inspections and investigations. i want to thank ms. ndusy and v for helping us as we address on any of these issues, in the 2010 admiral, as you know, title v of the coast guard act established certain standards for the prevention and response workforces. title v required there be in each sector, a chief, a prevention who is at least a

lieutenant commander or civilian gs-13 and who is a marine inspector and qualified marine casualty inspector or marine safety engineer is a qualified chief of prevention in place at each sectorsir. we have qualified members at every sector and we have included a number of civilian at each workforce, so every sector has civilians who will be the long-standing experts at every port. they have the local knowledge and they assist in the training of more junior people. so i think we made considerable progress under title five of the act. >> title five required a certificate of inspection nuft be signed by the senior coast guard, member civilian employee who inspected the vessel and in addition to the officer in

charge of marine inspection. is the coast guard in compliance with this requirement? to confis been put in effect. certainly our intention is to comply with it. >> how soon can you get that information? >> i should be able to get it in a day or so. >> all right, thank you. similarly title five required that any individual jood indicating an appeal in -- shall be a qualified specialist and will have a senior staff member who is a qualified specialist and who concurs in writing with the decision on appeal. is the coast guard in compliance with that? >> yes, sir. we are making sure that there are qualified people throughout the chain of review. >> very good. what is being done to increase geographic inspectors in the workforce? >> the primary reason -- methodolgy for geographic stability is civilian workforce.

that gives us roots in every port so that it's a hedge against the military workforce which by its nature moves around more frequently. >> very good. let me ask you, how many inspectors do you have who are qualified to examine cruise ships and the inspector workforce currently adequate to meet the current work load? >> sir, forqualified inspectors for cruise ships there are currently 326 and the current workforce, yes, is adequate added a number of new billuts, 100 plus in 2011 and in 2011, there's some additional, and we will annualize some that were brought on bored in 2012. so over 500 new positions and with we intend to hold on that even though we are in a tight budget environment so it's been

growth in a no growth environment. soy think it speaks to the level of commitment that we have to this operation. >> how many -- >> the foreign flag cruise ships are, i think, almost exclusively captained by foreign masters but they meet international standards that we have helped develop through the imo. >> so i guess that leads to my next and last question. for captain who is ro not licensed by the u.s. coast guard, what review do you conduct of their licensing or fitness for duty? >> well, we certainly check their credentials, issued by their home governments and as we go through our inspections, and particularly with the fire and life boat drills, that is our ability to assess their comp tense, in every inspection, we

measure -- we question the crew as to their knowledge, as to safety requirements, security requirements, and environmental and we make judgments based. that we have held and detained ships in the u.s. when we come to the conclusion that people in sensitive safety positions on bored did not know their duties. >> very well. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you next? >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for allowing me to be a part of this important hearing. i would like to thank the witnesses for being

safety of the ship, and the procedureses in place, but the security of the passengers while on board. in july of 2010, president obama signed into law the cruise vessel security and safety act, legislation i sponsored after larning that one of my constituent s suffered a rape o a cruise and there was no procedure in place to handle the crime. this law is a first step to providing great security. requiring that there's peep holes and security latches on cabin doors. this lawless gives a public access to information about the number of crimes committed on cruise ships. and puts much needed procedures in place to ensure the proper preservation of evidence necessary to prosecute the criminal. all probations of the -- all

provisions of this law go into effect by 2012. i raise concern whether the law is being properlily and timely put in place. i look forward to answers to this today. as you know, the security act requires each ship integrate video surveillance and man overboard technology to the extent it's available. it's my understanding that the coast guard has received several proposals from different companies, have the cruise lines implemented man overboard toe technologies as required by law? >> that aspect of the law is not self executing so we have embarked on a regulatory process. the first step is to determine the availability of technology that can be used for man

overboard detection, so we are engaged in that process right now. our intention is to take that information and convert it into a notice of proposed rule making to fully implement that provision of the law. other aspects of the law that are self executing we have through policy have implemented procedures. >> where are you in the rule making process now? >> in the process, we are gathering information quite honestly from the effected companies. >> we would like to do that a as quickly as possible. absolutely. >> and one crew member is to be trained on were proper crime scene preservation techniques, it has been worked to come up with a eight-hour training course. how do you know if a crew member has completed the training with satisfaction? >> the training would be certified by the company. and it would be examined during the course of our normal

inspections of the vessel. >> so, do the cruise ships have to provide actually documentation that the raining is completed? >> they have to have it on board and i'll confirm if they have to send it in. i could n-- i do not have the detail, but i'll confirm it for you. >> who is conducting the training? >> the training is conduct ded by the cruise ships themselves. >> how do you know the training follows the recommendations of the modeled course? >> that would be part of our inspections program. >> well, i still have concerns that the eight-hours may not be adequate time to properly train a crew member in crime scene preservation techniques and i do hope we can work together to ensure the cruise ships have the expertise necessary. >> the program in place now is

an interim one and we are willing -- absolutely open to suggestions to improve that program. >> i think you understand how important it is to the cruise victims that all of these be done in a quick way. >> yes. >> and i appreciate what the coast guard is doing, i ploong with the others appreciate your service. i know my time is moving now i do have a few more questions i'm hoping that i can have written? okay. thank you very much. thank you very much for that. appreciate that. have the cruise lines integrated video sur is israel answer? >> i'll have to back to you on that. >> you have no idea the reasons behind that at all? >> i don't have the information on that, ma'am, i'll get back to you. >> okay. will there be a rule making process for that also? >> that is part of the rule making