Foreign passenger vessels that embark passengers at United States ports or that visit U.S. ports with U.S. citizens embarked as passengers must be verified on an annual basis before the Certificate of Compliance (COC) expires, and at least once during the period of validity of the COC. This publication provides the step-by-step guidance to perform the many tasks involved with conducting the examinations of FPV's.

This is not a substitute for applicable legal requirements, nor is itself a rule. It provides guidance for Coast Guard personnel and does not impose legally-binding requirements on any party outside the Coast Guard.

The Foreign Passenger Vessel Examiners Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) for Annual Exams can be found here.

The MPS-WI-CSNCOE-05 Guide for Conducting Initial COC Exams can be found here.

The Foreign Passenger Vessel Examiners Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) For Periodic Exams can be found here.

The FPVE Process Guides are designed to assist qualified Foreign Passenger Vessel Examiners (FPVE's) with completing examinations in a comprehensive manner while walking each deck from bow to stern.

Process Guides:

The process guides contains an extensive list of systems and equipment that may be examined during an annual, periodic or unannounced exam. It is a memory jogger and should not be construed as an exhaustive check list of examination procedures.

The process guides do not establish or change Federal laws or regulations. Refer to IMO publications, CFR's, the Port State Control Job Aid, NVIC’s, MMS work instructions, and any locally produced guides for specific regulatory references.

Annual Foreign Passenger Vessel Exam Process Guide can be found here.

Periodic Foreign Passenger Vessel Exam Process Guide can be found here.

Initial Foreign Passenger Vessel Exam Process Guide can be found here.

Instructions for printing Process Guides into booklet format