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New Orleans Steamboat Company News

15 Feb 2023

Combustible Materials Near Hot Work Sparked Passenger Vessel Fire -NTSB

The Natchez on fire. (Source: Unidentified witness via US Coast Guard)

A fire that broke out aboard a Mississippi River cruise vessel was found to be caused by combustible materials left unprotected near hot work, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The passenger vessel Natchez, used by the New Orleans Steamboat Company for daytime and dinner jazz cruises daily from the French Quarter in New Orleans, was moored and out of service when it went up in flames on May 3, 2022. The fire resulted in $1.5 million in damages to the vessel…

04 Jun 2004

Emerging from Fog

The various segments of the passenger vessel industry have undergone significant transformation in the last 12 months. It looks stronger as we head into the last six months of the year with ferries and charter yachts leading the way. Frankly, a year ago the passenger vessel industry was in some disarray faced with developing a security plan to meet the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 passed in Congress in wake of terrorism threats. Developing such a comprehensive plan by the end of 2003 proved to be an almost impossible task for an industry made up of mostly small boat owners. Coming to the rescue was the industry's trade association the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA). They developed the PVA Industry Standard for Security of Passenger Vessels and Small Passenger Vessels.

08 Mar 2002

Hall Elected President of PVA

Fred Hall was elected PVA 2002 President on Tuesday, February 19 during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2002 in Biloxi, Miss. Hall is Vice President and General Manager of the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, Port Jefferson, N.Y., a provider of ferry service across the Long Island Sound. This ferry service has been in business since 1883 and now operates three 100-vehicle/1000-passenger vessels. Prior to being elected PVA President, Hall has served as PVA Vice-President, PVA Secretary-Treasurer and co-chairman of the PVA Legislative Committee. He was also a founding member and a past chairman of the PVA Ferry Council.

28 Jan 2003

PVA:Marketing Excursion Boats Post 9/11

Like most of the tourism business, the excursion/dinner boat market took a big "hit" right after 9/11. Markets that were geared for conventions and depended on fly-in business were especially hard hit since airline bookings went into a steep nosedive right after the terrorist attack and customers could not reach the destinations that offered riverboat entertainment. Most directly impacted by the World Trade Center attack was VIP Yacht Charters, a New York City dining yacht company located a few blocks from the WTC. Minutes after the attack the company immediately began a rescue effort shuttling 40,000-50,000 people across the river to New Jersey and opened their commissary to rescue workers feeding hundreds of workers at no charge.

26 Feb 2003

Frommelt Named President of PVA

Gary Frommelt, Hornblower Marine Services, Elizabeth, Ind., was elected 2003 PVA President on February 18 during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2003 held in Long Beach, CA. Other officers elected were PVA Vice President, David B. Clark, Golden Gate Ferry , Larkspur, CA, and PVA Secretary-Treasurer, Cornel Martin, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, New Orleans, LA. Frommelt serves as project manager for Hornblower Marine Services as director of marine operations for Caesars Indiana-home to the largest riverboat casino in the world. Frommelt was most recently PVA Vice President, has served on the PVA Board of Directors since 1996, and has been a long-term member of the Safety Committee.