Infant Survival Suits - Forums Archive

ata

2009-05-10 20:46:24

Hi All...

I was asked by the USCG to distribute the information in the attached letter on infant survival suits.

Everyone onboard is required by federal law to have a USCG approved survival suit, but as some of you probably know, there are no such units for infants and toddlers. USCG personnel say they are not in position to issue fleet-wide exemptions.

NOTE: If you are boarded at sea and do not have a USCG approved PFD for each child and adult onboard, the USCG will terminate your voyage.

The USCG has come up with a compromise to fill the void until an approved infant immersion suit hits the market:

1. Your infants must have a USCG PFD; and,

2. You must write the USCG to request an exemption from the immersion suit requirement for your children.

I will be talking more to USCG about this to see if there is any chance of securing a fleet exemption, as opposed to each individual having to write in, but I am not that optimistic.

ATA certainly would not ask for an exemption from the requirement to have some type of approved PFD onboard for children.

If your infant/toddler children will be onboard this season, please check in with the USCG right away @ (907)463-2810 to get the conditional exemption from the immersion suits.

And, please, make sure that all your young ones (and everyone else) have an appropriate PFD onboard.

Have a safe and successful season!

Dale, ATA

salmontroll

2009-05-12 06:50:35

Good thing the government is always there to help us lowly fisherman out who would never know how to survive without them.

Summer Break

2009-05-13 00:24:18

Thanks a lot for the information. I made my call to the Coast Guard today to get the ball rolling. Good luck with the exemption. Please keep us posted.