Cenac Marine Awarded Subchapter M COI

In accordance with Subchapter M, Cenac Marine Services has been issued one of the first Certificate of Inspection’s (COI) from the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Subchapter M was designed to take safety in the towing industry to a new and historic level by setting minimum safety standards for towing vessels, incorporating and building on the safeguards that AWO members have already put in place, and to ensure that the entire industry achieves the level of safety that is necessary to protect lives, the environment and property.

Owner and CEO of Cenac Marine Services, Benny Cenac, said, “My team has worked hard with regulating bodies to ensure that we are pioneers in this industry, and I’m proud to say they took on this Sub M project with the same work ethic as all projects set before them.”

The first Cenac vessel to receive this certificate is the M/V Genie Cenac. The company said its is slated to receive its second by the end of this month.

As stated in the American Waterways Operators website, “Subchapter M establishes two paths to compliance for towing vessel operators: either annual Coast Guard inspections or the implementation of a Coast Guard-accepted Towing Safety Management System (TSMS). The TSMS option is not only the best way to promote continuous regulatory compliance and prevent accidents, but also provides vessel operators with maximum operational flexibility under the new requirements. The Coast Guard has confirmed its intent to accept the AWO Responsible Carrier Program as a TSMS based on its assessment that the RCP is substantively equivalent to the ISM Code and achieves the audit frequency required by Subchapter M.”