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76 MN November 2010 Posted on MaritimeProfessional.com The U.S. Coast Guard’s recent Safety Advisory is well worth reading. In a nutshell, the Coast Guard says that, across all transportation modes, safety initiatives are being estab- lished to address issues related to Distracted Operations. Recognizing the importance of this issue and under- standing the potential consequences caused by increased operational risk in marine operations, our DHS department is supportive of the goals and objectives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and other dis- tracted driving safety initiatives. Fair enough. From my perspective, however, mobile telephones are only the tip of the iceberg — especially when it comes to the technology overload facing today’s commercial mariners. Misplaced Priorities Not too long ago, a friend (who also happens to be a state-licensed U.S. harbor pilot) told me of a situation which occurred during the inbound leg on a U.S.-flag tanker. The routine three-hour movement was well under- way in a routine fashion when, about 30 minutes before arriving at the berth, the Third Mate’s cellular phone began chirping. On the bridge at the time were four mariners; the Master, our Pilot, the Third Mate and the helmsman. Beyond the irritating ring tone selected by the young and “hip” deck officer, the fact that he actually answered the call and began a conversation with whomev- er was on the other end was particularly disconcerting to the marine pilot. Nevertheless, he decided not to usurp the Master’s authority on the bridge and intervene. What happened next was even more disturbing. The pilot told me later, “While I honestly couldn’t believe that he had answered the call, what really set me off was the fact that the Captain — a mere twenty feet away —said and did nothing to end the situation.” Eventually, and fully five minutes later, the mate ended the call, tucked his latest generation mobile device into his front pocket and resumed his disinterested pose, leaning against the control console. “Initially, I was mostly curious to see what the old man would do. In the end, I sup- pose I should’ve been happy that the mate didn’t begin texting to his girlfriend or perhaps check his portfolio while record- ing bells,” the Pilot added for emphasis. The practice is probably more widespread than one might think. Technology: No Panacea for Incompetence The Coast Guard Safety Advisory primarily addresses texting and inappropriately timed telephone calls from and to marine professionals while engaged in critical shipboard operations. What it doesn’t talk about is the dangers of overreliance on the seemingly endless cor- nucopia of automated navigation and cargo gadgets. The latter situation requires a closer look. It wasn’t too long ago when (also on the seemingly endless march to STCW compliance) I took the STCW-mandated Automatic RADAR Plotting Aids (ARPA) course down at MEBA’s CMES School in Easton, Md. As possibly the last mariner on the planet who had never been inside a bridge simula- tor and having last signed onto a merchant vessel in the mid-1980s, my immediate concern was the plethora of computerized equipment that I would be asked to operate. Nevertheless, they patiently led me through the proce- dures and by the end of the course, I felt reasonably at home in today’s wheelhouse and frankly, much less intim- idated by the prospect of having to competently stand a bridge watch, fully 25 years after last having done so. What I did not come away with — much to the credit of those running the course — was the impression that tech- nology was the be-all, end-all answer to every navigation- al problem. I wonder if today’s freshly minted Third Mates, with all that high-tech prowess, can say the same thing. Excerpt from blog posted on MaritimeProfessional.com by Joseph Keefe The global maritime industry has a social networking, news and information portal to call its own: MaritimeProfessional.com. Log on and network with thousands of colleagues and potential business partners from around the globe, and keep up to date on critical maritime matters via our exclusive, insightful reports — including samples from last month found on the ensuing pages — from a global network of bloggers and industry insiders. Beyond the Cell Phone Distracted Marine Operations (Photo U.S. Coast Gurard)
