Comments on: Happy Birthday VTS – USCG’s Eye-In-The-Sky Celebrates 40 Years http://gcaptain.com/happy-birthday-uscgs-eye-in-the-sky/ Tue, 21 May 2013 22:31:01 +0000 hourly 1 By: John Healey http://gcaptain.com/happy-birthday-uscgs-eye-in-the-sky/#comment-33792 John Healey Wed, 17 Oct 2012 19:58:29 +0000 http://gcaptain.com/?p=57138#comment-33792 Both Victor Zboralski & Capt. Scott Ferguson make good comments on a great service provide by the VTS. But Petty Officer 1st Class Gavin Shepherd has shown that he has absolutely no knowledge of the real world regarding the life of a Merchant Mariner. It it obvious to people with the bare minimum of knowledge of a merchant mariner that this a person quoting verbatim from text he has been taught at his Navel academy. I have no doubt that he has qualifications coming out of his ears. But I doubt if he has ever been in charge of a vessel himself.

The VTS provides a great service to mariners and it would be nice to have an interview with someone who’s actually been to sea and appreciates the challenges involved. rather than a highly qualified person giving the response of a lawyer.

I fully appreciate the challenges that a VTS operator has to go through daily an I would like to know what powers they have as regards to the idiots that disobey the rules and make the lives of us rule abiding mariners very problematic?

As we all know it’s easy in some parts of the world to buy a COC and some people in-charge of very large vessels are operating without a clue to whats supposed to happen.

Yours

Johnny H

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