Shortage of Experienced Mariners leads to Pay Cuts

River Towboat (photo by Copyright 2007 DMichael Burns (wikipedia))
According to this AP article AP IMPACT: Tugboat pilot plan may have backfired the towboat and towing industry is experiencing a shortage of workers. Under the free enterprise system this means, we should be seeing some substantial wage hikes. However according to the article:

The new pilots come cheap, too. An apprentice earns about $175 a day compared with $450 a day for a top-grade pilot.

What do you get for $175 a day?

When a towboat commanded by a sleep-deprived novice pilot pushed a fuel barge in front of a tanker in the New Orleans harbor, the collision sliced the fuel barge in half and spilled 283,000 gallons of oil.

How does it happen that a shortage of skilled pilots leads to a pay cut? I recommend two sites for answers, first Masters of Towing Vessels here and National Mariners Association here


The mariners working on the rivers and harbors have spend a lifetime of long work days moving these heavy, powerful vessels in restricted waterways with heavy traffic, often under adverse conditions. In some perversion of an incentive system a shortage of skilled mariners results in a industry that is cutting wages.

Compare $175 a day for moving cargo on the nations waterways to the $2500 a day employees of Goldman Sachs make for destabilizing the nations economic system.

Something ain't right.

I can understand arguments against more government regulations to protect workers and I understand arguments against unions. But what argument can be made at this point against both government regulations and unions? It is clear we are not dealing with the free market here.

What is the alternative to increasing government power?

From LHote: What if the choice is unions or government?

Say whatever you want about unions-- that they're inefficient, that they're slow to evolve, that they are an affront to free market principles-- they are private entities. They are not wings of the government. And they are a way for working Americans to get a hold of the kind of social guarantees that they are demanding without turning to the coercive legal force of government.

Or is $175 a day for a towboat captain too much and $2500 a day for manipulating financial markets too little?

K.C.

Recovering Enclosed Lifeboats

Most of the complaint about modern ship's lifeboats focuses upon the dangerous on-load release gear. This is the problem that has killed the most mariners. The real problem is that the sole purpose of these boat is to meet SOLAS requirements. It is not safe to use them to train the crew.

I was once part of a crew that routinely launched and recovered boats in rough seas.

Recovering this style boat -

Open Lifeboat USCG Photo found at An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog

The Coast Guard Motor Whale boat crew consist of a coxswain, forward hook up and aft hook-up (usually the boat engineer)

With this ship.

USCGC Gallatin This set up makes use of frapping lines rigged from the main deck just below the boat to dampen the motion of the boat when the ship rolls.

Is not the same thing as recovering this lifeboat

Fully enclosed Lifeboat

The forward hook-up crew member has to stick his head out the opening in the bow while the mate is attempting to maneuver while looking out the window in the aft steering station.

With this ship.

PCC in New York Harbor photo from Towmasters

Here it is about 90 feet from the head of the davits to the sea.

With a little luck a trained and experienced crew can do it safely when it's flat calm - but the there is no requirement that mariners being issued lifeboatmen certificaton be trained on this type of boat.

One trick during recovery that might avoid the problem of improperly locked release gear is once the boat is hooked up don't bring it back aboard as was done here (gcaptain vid). Instead once the boat has been hoisted a meter or so above the sea, stop and have the crew check that the release is locked properly. The boat crew will have to be shown this beforehand. This check can not easily be done while the boat is pitching in a sea and the gear is crashing into the top of the boat with each passing wave.

This doesn't solve the problem of getting the boat hooked up in the first place with out smashing fingers, or heads. It is difficult for the boat crew inside to communicate with each other and the ship must use hand held radios, it's too far to communicate by voice.

From comments Babu links to this video from an outfit called Nadiro of an much improved system It uses what they call a drop in ball system. Notice the the opening for the forward hook-up crew is in the top of the boat not the front.

My guess is the price they want for that system means most mariners will never see one.

K.C.

Chief Mate Violates Environmental Laws.

A depiction of the party having the upper hand in a relationship (Image From Wikipedia
From Bryant's Maritime Blog - DOJ – chief mate pleads guilty to violating invasive species law.

A crack had developed between a fuel tank and the forepeak ballast tank, allowing fuel to enter the ballast tank. The contaminated ballast water was then pumped directly overboard, but the leak and discharge were not noted in the ballast water records. The chief mate provided the known-to-be-false ballast water records to the Coast Guard boarding officers in an attempt to mislead them.

Mariners have can-do attitude about getting the job done. But consider changing attitudes about workers rights eliminated harsh disciplinary methods to get the job done we must now understand changing attitudes about the environment.

If the ship has leaky fuel tanks or similar problems we can no longer provide work a rounds to keep things moving. When it comes to oil in the water the company has to understand "No can do."

That leaves aside the real question, the relative power between mariner and management.

K.C.

Ship vs Boat, who has the Right of Way?

Two Sail boats (Wikipedia)

When I am on the water for recreation and I encounter commercial traffic I stay clear regardless of who has the right way. I do this because I know the bridge watch has enough to do without worrying about dodging recreational craft. I also don't want to take the chance I might get run down just because the mate on watch needs to catch up his log at the same time the AB decides it time to put on a fresh pot of coffee.

My advice to boaters near commercial traffic is to stay the @##%& out of the way. Commander Brian J. Downey Jr. of the USCG says it much more diplomatically:

From The Working Waterfront - I have the right of way...or do I.

Going back to my youth, I picture my father at the helm of our 23-foot boat trying to calm my frantic mother by explaining that the big ship in front of us was required to get out of our path as we were under sail, availing us the right of way, assuring our safe passage. Well...not exactly.

The diplomatic part comes at the end:

My advice is to stay safe by giving our commercial operators a wide berth; there's plenty of ocean for all of us.

Yeah, that's what I meant.



K.C.

Improving Mooring Operations on Car Ships

A Coast Guard Inspector from Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara looks over the damage after the Freighter Otello allided with a pier at Port Hueneme, Calif. (USCG Photo)
I wasn't there when the car ship Otello hit the pier in Port Hueneme but I bet I know what the both the pilot and captain were doing moments before the starboard quarter of the ship struck the pier. They were both watching the bow.

What happens is this, the pilot and captain intently peer over the wing watching the bow, the pilot controlling two tugs and the main engine, the rudder, and the thruster, The pilot, his focus forward, having forgotten his last command to the aft tug to push and the captain, not fully trusting that the pilot can cope with the bow closing too fast, watches forward as well. Meanwhile, 180 meters aft, the stern swings into the pier.

The root cause of this incident, all the mooring expertise is focused upon what apparently is the problem, the bow closing on the pier. It is my experience that often a glance aft or a word from the captain will remind the pilot to have a look back and give the aft tug the proper command.

Pilot and captain should cooperate during mooring operations for optimum results.

K.C.