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Recent coverage by Civil Beat raises questions about commercial tour operators and the number of people who have died while enjoying their services on ocean waters.

As the head of Hawaii’s Ocean Tourism Coalition, I believe there is more to the story than the rare incidents of death represented in the coverage.

To understand our industry better, it’s helpful first to understand how we are overseen and regulated by federal and state authorities. Watersports excursion companies vessels can be divided into two categories: Larger vessels that are certified and licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry passengers, as well as permitted by the State of Hawaii, and smaller vessels and other ocean sports vessels that are uncertified by the Coast Guard, though required to carry a commercial permit from the State of Hawaii Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

USCG certified and licensed vessels can be further divided into a variety of different ocean sports categories. The SCUBA/SNUBA dive industry, for example, already has safety standards appropriate for taking passengers below the surface of the water that are far more comprehensive than those required for lifeguard certification.

Ocean Tourism Coalition membership mostly comprises those with vessels that are USCG certified.

Large commercial vessels certified by the Coast Guard already operate under oversight and requirements that are continually being updated. The Coast Guard requires at least 50 percent of crew members to have a current Red Cross First Aid/CPR certification, for instance, and it is mandated by the Coast Guard that the vessel owner/operator conducts quarterly “man overboard” drills, fire drills, ship emergency drills, abandon ship drills and other company appropriate procedures, each of which must be entered in the official ship’s log.

Anytime there is a medical emergency, the ship’s captain must notify the Coast Guard and file a comprehensive report outlining every aspect of the emergency and the steps taken to mitigate and resolve it. The Coast Guard, in fact, investigates every serious medical emergency.

Commercial vessel crews are trained to make passenger safety their highest priority. They are trained in how to retrieve a person from the water and bring them safely back on the vessel and how to transfer a person from the large vessel to a smaller rescue vessel.

Since 2004, there have been 73 medical emergencies resulting in the death of a passenger. Of those deaths, 58 occurred in people over 50 years old, and all but three had a preexisting medical condition that caused their death.

The safety record of our Hawaii larger tour industry is among the best in the world. The Hawaii sector of the commercial tour industry with oversight by the Coast Guard takes millions of people on ocean excursions each year, including snorkeling and diving trips, and does it with the highest degree of safety.

Any medical emergency that leads to a death is obviously very serious. However, drowning incidents are rare in the Coast Guard-certified tour industry.

Passengers are pre-screened and supervised on their snorkel/dive tours, which has helped our industry compile a strong safety record. The vast majority of drowning accidents occur in unsupervised conditions on beaches where neither lifeguards nor other supervision is present.

Coast Guard-certified vessel operators and captains are personally and corporately responsible for the safety of our passengers, which they take very seriously. Each company has a protocol that addresses the specific circumstances of their particular trip.

The vast majority of serious medical events commercial vessels experience have to do with preexisting medical conditions, such as heart problems. Most vessels have oxygen and automated external defibrillators on board. Captains and crew members are trained in appropriate skills to deal with such issues CPR, defibrillator operations and procedures, first aid, administrating oxygen and other first responder skills.

In 2014, millions of individuals went snorkeling in Hawaii. A significant percentage did that on Coast Guard-certified and inspected vessels on supervised guided snorkel tours. Ten deaths statewide were involved with both certified and non-certified vessels. In all 10 incidents, the victims had preexisting medical conditions that caused their death; nine of the 10 were over 50 years old.

Since 2004, there have been 73 medical emergencies resulting in the death of a passenger, an average of 6.6 deaths per year. Of those deaths, 58 occurred in people over 50 years old, and all but three had a preexisting medical condition that caused their death. Of the 15 deaths in individuals under 50 in the past 11 years, it is estimated that only two people actually drowned. Neither were directly attributed to an excursion on a Coast Guard certified and inspected vessel, and both may very well have happened during unsupervised events.

The ocean tourism industry is not perfect, and we are always striving to get better. Every person’s life that goes on any of our vessels is of unmeasurable worth. We, as an industry, are working with the Coast Guard to continue to develop protocols and procedures that will save lives. Clearly our focus needs to continue to be on what the real problems are — not what they are not.

Frankly, drowning emergencies are extremely and thankfully rare in our industry. The overwhelming majority of deaths are from preexisting medical conditions in older individuals. The Ocean Tourism Coalition is working toward a better vetting process to identify who is at high risk while diving or snorkeling toward what is always our biggest and most important goal: The safety and wellbeing of our customers.