Auxiliarists Douthett and Monsanto reviewing documents with the ship’s Captain and Executive Officer.

Performing a vessel examination (VE) on an 88,500 ton cruise ship is no easy task. However, on 19 November 2006 a Coast Guard Port State Control (PSC) boarding team from Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach did just that. The boarding team, led by LTJG Tanya Harrington, USCG, consisted of six active duty and three Auxiliary members, two of whom were trainees.

The PSC Boarding took place on the Carnival Cruise ship MS Carnival Pride, a 963 foot (a little more than three football fields), and 12 deck super liner. The Carnival Pride sails with a crew of 930 and has a passenger capacity of 2124.

The boarding started with a meeting in the captain's office with the boarding team, the ship's captain and senior officers. During that meeting Auxiliarists Lynwood D. Douthett and Kent Monsanto, a PSCO trainee, performed the initial examination of the ships documents and certificates.

Following that meeting the boarding team observed and critiqued the ship's fire protection and drills. They also observed, during simulated emergencies, the ship's lifesaving equipment, abandon ship drills and bridge operations. At the conclusion of the drills the boarding team compared its notes and then briefed the ship's senior officer on the crew's performance.

During the sixty-three man hours aboard the "Carnival Pride" the PSC boarding team examined everything from the ship's engine room to the bridge. The team concluded its inspection and returned to base to complete the necessary reports.