We just recorded episode 28 of Messing About In Ships, our weekly podcast about ships, and during the taping Peter Mello reminded me to follow up on our friend Todd Lappin’s latest internet endeavor as corespondent for BoingBoing TV. Here are the details;
We marvel (!) at the cool old retro-technology that kept this behemoth boat running to and from the beaches of Normandy, and we meet the volunteer caretakers — obsessive nerds just like us, only with white hair! — who keep her ship-shape today. Did you know that shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area once churned out Liberty Ships like this in 4 days or less, during the heat of the war? Watch and learn, li’l skippers.
If you are interested in having your ship featured on Telstar Logistics, Flickr and possibly BoingBoing please contact your company’s media relations department. Todd is looking to board a working commercial ship (500ft LOA+) for a period of of 4-14 days to experience the life of a Merchant Mariner. If you can arrange such a voyage let us know, gCaptain will help make the trip happen.
Our friends at theboaters.com have came up with a fun game called “Complete The Caption”. Each day they post a new photo submitted by their users and allow you to…. well, the title s self explanatory.
A fun game and I hope to find more of our readers signing up for theboaters.com to help represent the professional side of nautical endeavors. You can find our profile HERE and we’ll send a free gCaptain t-shirt to the first person who beats our CEO’s record for vessel LOA on the site.
For everyone else, bookmark this page and return daily to Complete The Caption!
After my last Fire Team meeting the 2nd Mate said: “you must own stock in the Halligan Tool Company”. Well I don’t (such a company doesn’t even exist) but I am a big fan of the Halligan and insist that it’s carried on each vessel I work on.
Invented by Deputy Chief Hugh Halligan of the FDNY, it is the multipurpose tool of choice for firefighters around the globe and is used for tasks ranging from forced entry to overhaul. It also has some ISPS uses not disclosed by any manufacturer.
To give you a better idea about how it’s used watch the video below then view our pdf slideshow for the shipboard uses of the tool.
Our recent post Was the titanic sunk by a small key? elicited some great response from our readers. Surprisingly, the best ones had little to do with the titanic itself and more to do with the cause of all maritime incidents… the error chain. First a recap from the original post:
While some point to the ship’s excessive speed, the vessel’s design or the positioning of the ship’s compass as the cause of the incident the facts clearly show the titanic sunk as a direct result of the accident chain>. In other words the titanic sunk, not due to one large error but a combination of small errors that linked together caused the tragic circumstances. Remove one small link in the chain and the incident is avoided.
It is interesting to note that a string of small errors caused by human error is the cause of most large maritime incidents. The lesson to be learned….. next time you make a mistake aboard ship listen for the voice in the back of your mind and quickly ask yourself; is this an isolated incident or indication of larger problems?
Shrivan states; “Now I understand how important keys can be in ships” to which Fred Fry replies; “Keys are important. Keys are power!”
This comment reminded Jim of a quote from his Captain: “Give a man key with a clipboard and you’ll find out what kind of person he is. Give them in the morning and you’ll know by lunch.”
Things start to get serious around comment number 20 where Bob Couttie writes:
In the past I’ve used ‘error chain’ and ‘domino effect when discussing accidents but, at the risk of getting too theoretical I think both are inadequate since they are basically descriptions of single-point failure (A chain fails when a single link fails, a domino falls over when its neighbour hits it).
The best physical description I think is the wooden tower game, “Jenga” or “Topple” in which players take turns removing blocks from a stack. The first few extractions don’t do much harm but as the process continues the stack becomes more and more unstable until one reaches a point where removing any block at all will cause the stack to fall over.
If you think of the tower as ’safety’ and the individual blocks as the elements, precautions, procedures that make up safety, you’ve got a fairly good visual model for how accidents happen.
A more helpful model is the Swiss Cheese Model first proposed by British psychologist James T. Reason (nice name!).
This site (Dukes.edu) has a nice graphic of the S.C. model.
The Swiss Cheese Model provide a positive method of reducing risk, rather then seeking to break some invisible chain, one simply adds layers, or increases the effectiveness of the existing layers (making the holes smaller). As an example, one could add a layer of crew training, or seek ways to improve the effectiveness of existing training, or use additional care during passage planning.
On a well run ship you can observe the Swiss Cheese Model in action Each near miss, representing a hole in one layer, is evaluated and if needed procedures are modified. Near misses, lessons learned, Bridge Resource Management, careful passage planning can all be seen as adding layers of cheese. Of course it may not be called that. Another name for the application of the Swiss Cheese model is - good seamanship.
So from the Titanic to Swiss Cheese I enjoyed the comments… thanks to all who participated!
A big CONGRATS to gCaptain plank owner and friend Matt Michalski, who just passed the US Coast Guard’s most difficult exam, Chief Mate / Master Unlimited, with a perfect score (no retakes)!
The stats for January are in and we would like to Congratulate and Thank our readers from London who, with 937 unique visitors, have squeezed out Houston, New York, Sydney and San Francisco for the title of most readers worldwide.
That’s right, regardless of whether you work as an Ordinary Seaman, Captain, Cadet or Cook we are looking for articles written by YOU our loyal readers. This has been a feature of gCaptain since the beginning but to get you motivated we are adding a twist. While supplies last the authors of all submissions posted to the front page of this blog will receive a free gCaptain t-shirt! While you can certainly buy a shirt from our schwag shop, this special edition version stamped “Blogging From The High Seas” is sure to attract attention.
FAQ
Do I need to work on a ship to contribute?
No, we accept articles from all writers including those working shore-side in the maritime industry and those working in unrelated fields who simply enjoy ships.
I’m a sailor not a writer but I do have a good story, how can I contribute?
Don’t sell yourself short…. this is an internet blog, not the NY Times. If you’re simply concerned about spelling or grammar we can edit your submission. If your worried the article is not very good, send it anyway and let us decide… our rejection letters are very kindly written, we promise.
I’m still not sure about writing, how else can I contribute?
If you are a maritime photographer visit our Flickr profile and add us as a friend. If you would like to tell us your story the record it to mp3 and email it to our podcast address: podcast (@) messingaboutinships.com or call our podcast comment line directly at (206) 973-7000.
I have great insider info can I keep my name off the headlines?
Yes, we accept anonymous tips, suggestions and incident photographs . Just email them to tips (@) gCaptain.com or use our submission form. You can also use the “guest” feature and post it to our forum’s tips thread.
What does the free t-shit look like?
The shirt has a small anchor logo on the front and this design on the back:
I can’t pass up such an offer, what else do I need to know?
Submissions should be between 200 and 800 words, include photos or video, and relate in some way to ships. By submitting an article, photo or video you are giving gCaptain the right to publish it as we see fit and you have the legal right to do so. gCaptain retains the right to modify, edit or reject your submission as we see fit. Word documents and unlocked pdf files are the best means of submission.
If you are looking to sell a product or service this post is not for you. Instead view our rate-sheet or call us for advertising option: +1.800.673.9480
We received this note nominating us for “Most Likely To Succeed” start-up in Techcrunch’s Web 2.0 award contest “The Crunchies”
gCaptain is making a difference in the safety, life and enjoyment of mariners. I think you have bright future so I nominated gCaptain for The Crunchie ‘Most Likely To Succeed’. Keep up the good work, I enjoy watching you grow.
-CB
Thanks CB, we’re honored!
While we’ve already been nominated, their are many other great sites we know and love… so head over to The Crunchies and nominate you’re favorite maritime industry site.
After my last Fire Team meeting the 2nd Mate said: “you must own stock in the Halligan Tool Company”. Well I don’t (such a company doesn’t even exist) but I am a big fan of the Halligan and insist that it’s carried on each vessel I work on.
