The 420,000-gallon oil spill polluting 98 miles of the river happened early Wednesday when a 61-foot barge carrying the fuel collided with a tanker, just north of the massive bridges connecting downtown New Orleans to communities across the river.
Operations to salvage the barge, which is owned by American Commercial Lines Inc., were to begin Thursday, said Petty Officer Jaclyn Young. She said the barge was no longer leaking oil.
Containment booms were installed Wednesday to prevent the oil from spreading to environmentally sensitive areas and seeping into water-supply intake valves in Gretna, St. Bernard, Dalcour, Belle Chasse, Pointe a la Hache, Port Sulphur and Boothville-Venice, Young said.
The tug Mel Oliver, which had been hired to push the barge upriver, had no properly licensed crew on board the vessel, Young said. The tugboat pilot had only an apprentice mate’s license instead of the required master’s license, she added.
We are still in the process of sorting out information regarding the cause of the incident but are familiar with the state of American Commercial Lines in light of their recent financial difficulties. In our close working relationship with Northeast Maritime Institute we have learned that ACL had abruptly ended a contract established to train ACL’s mariners. This training was developed to provide unlicensed crew members training as captains and helped them get both the skills need to navigate inland rivers. Specific to collision avoidance the Institute used hands on training from licensed instructors as well as advanced ship simulators that allow mariners to simulate transits on the Mississippi.
gCaptain is also investigating a death that occurred recently when a captain fell overboard. Initial reports question the role vessel maintenance played in the incident.
We have been informed that the tugboat pushing an American Commercial Lines barge was owned and operated by a 3rd party vendor, not ACL. With further research gCaptain has also learned that ACL had identified the need to vet the level of training provided to mariners by vendor companies. According to a Northeast Maritime Institute representative they had made significant progress in the development of this program when ACL walked away from the training contract with NMI in June of this year.
In this week’s edition of The Maritime Executive Newsletter managing editor Joseph Keefe, weighs in on the changing dynamics of the Master, Pilot and Port State relationship in light of the Cosco Busan incident;
At this early stage, just one thing is perfectly clear: the Cosco Busan allision will ultimately help to redefine the role of, and the liabilities facing marine pilots in the United States today. One of the most primary questions asked of any deck cadet at any maritime academy is: What is the role of the pilot? And, the answer, of course, is (c.), “the pilot provides guidance to, but is not in charge of the vessel.” That tenet has been upheld in many venues, for many, many years. In reality, however, the typical marine pilot who guides a vessel in from the sea buoy to the dock is in complete control of that vessel on the inbound leg. He or she better be, because often the captain of a particular vessel may have never transited that restricted waterway.
This is just an excerpt of Keefe’s well written article, you can continue reading HERE.
So the gCaptain team has been exceptionally busy in the last few weeks and we have the Cosco Busan partially to thank. In addition to the server traffic and time spent researching the incident we were motivated by the events to embark on some new projects. You already now the good news, the successful launch of a new maritime podcast! Unfortunately, however, we also had a time consuming failure.
A little history…. Shortly after the ship allided with San Francisco’s Bay Bridge we pointed you to the amazing website BoatingSF.com. Run by Michael Slater, a former Adobe Engineer, the site uses AIS vessel tracking data taken from VHF radio antennas Michael has erected near the bay and uses this to plot ships to a live interactive map embedded on his site (LINK). The post that day, however, displayed recorded data showing the track of the Cosco Busan during her short voyage. The display was impressive and attracted a considerable amount of attention.
At this point of the story we had just finished reading an amazing article written for Geo: Magazine by John Astad, our friend from Vesseltrax. The subject of the article was Shore-Side Maritime Applications of Google Earth and discussed his ability to visualize 3d images of ships running the Houston Ship Channel. Even cooler was the ability to fly around a vessel as she moved about the bay… in real time! (LINK) So I contacted Michael and asked if he would send the data file to John for 3d conversion!
The stars seemed to be aligning until we discovered a problem (read about it here) that resulted in John not being able to convert the data for use in his program. Discouraged? Yes but in stepped a gCaptain reader who we can’t thank enough. He transposed the timestamps from regional AIS beacons and helped us create a ShipPlotter version (Disclaimer here and ShipPlotter results here) of the events. Not quite accurate but close enough for our next team to start work…
Jakota “is engaged in the development and sale of solutions aimed at the commercial sector and public services, as well as the field of research and science. We supply solutions for tracking, fleet management, positioning and security- and alarm systems.” Translated; they make the best 3d ship graphing websites on the planet. They also provide amazing tools for tracking fleets of ships that are visually stunning, effective and well thought out.
You ask, how did we find Jakota? We asked our friends in silicon valley to search for a company that provides AIS vessel tracking systems that first, have visually attractive solutions, second use the latest tools of web 2.0. The overwhelming response was “Check out Digital-Seas.com“.
Fast forward through the time changes, international calling codes and German accents… we finally got in touch with Lars Krueger, one of the nicest and most professional person we have met. Lars took a programmer off his job to work on our project full time… the results were stunning but the harder we work the more faulty data we found.
The bottom line… we worked hard, had fun, met some amazing people and built relationships for the future. The final result is not 100% accurate and was compressed to meat BoatingSF’s needs but still looks amazing (you should see the original!!) We also started on a new project, global AIS and vessel tracking… but that’s for another post. In the meantime, if your a marine superintendent Lars is a person you need to know. If you’re a mariner interested in tracking ships so you don’t have to spend days in sitting in the union hall… Digital-Seas is the website you will know.
Many thanks to all who helped and stay tuned for more on the amazing people and products we met while working on this project. For a preview visit these amazing sites;
EarthNC - Digital Chart Overlays for Google Earth!
Enough discussion… to see the Cosco Busan’s Track CLICK HERE
Note: The source of our problem was the USCG’s reluctance to release the official AIS data files. If you wish to see the amazing visualizations of Digital Seas… in full size… with accurate data… call your congressman and ask for the file to be released to the public.
South Korea’s coast guard sent boats to contain the country’s biggest oil spill in more than a decade after a Hong Kong-registered supertanker collided with a barge.
About 81,000 barrels of crude oil was spilt after a crane on the barge crashed into the Hebei Spirit at 7:15 a.m. local time, Jeong Seon Mun, deputy director of the maritime safety information center at South Korea’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, said. The ship was anchored 5 miles (8 kilometers) northwest of the Taean peninsula at the time.
The leak is almost a third of the 37,000 tons spilled into Prince William Sound, Alaska, by the Exxon Valdez in 1989, according to data on the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation’s Web site. The Taean Coast Guard deployed 12 patrol boats and 3 accident control vessels, Jeong said today.
“Oil is still spilling,” Jeong said by telephone in Seoul. “The police face difficulty in carrying out the operation because high waves make it hard to contain the spill.” Continue Reading…
This morning Senator Barbra Boxer and Representative Nacy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, announced a bill giving the U.S. Coast Guard broader authority to direct the actions of ship masters in navigating inland waters. The San Francisco Chronicle tells us;
The Coast Guard would gain new authority to order ships to reduce speed or shift course during emergencies or hazardous conditions under new legislation that California Sen. Barbara Boxer is introducing this week.
The bill could increase the responsibilities of the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service, which helps guide ships in U.S. harbors. The measure would give it powers akin to those of air traffic controllers, who issue step-by-step directions to airplane pilots.
…
Boxer, a Democrat, said she believes the spill could have been prevented if the Coast Guard had ordered the ship to slow down or change course.
“I absolutely think it would have” prevented the spill, Boxer said. “Let’s say the conditions were fierce - and they were - (the Vessel Traffic Service) would have declared an emergency, and they would have taken over in guiding this ship.” Continue Reading….
Regular readers of this bog already know my personal thoughts on the subject. In last week’s editorial, I wrote;
The problem with maritime incidents is the fix rarely address the true cause and often creates problems that contribute to future incidents.
…
Current technology is simply not capable of delivering real time tracking. Also, final say remains the responsibility of a ship’s captain because he is the one who knows the ship’s capabilities, it’s crew and he is stationed on the bridge. He is also the last one to abandon if the ship finds danger… and he knows it.
If the Coast Guard wants final say then they need to be aboard the vessel and if that happens they will be hard pressed to fill the position with anyone more qualified than the competent and experienced San Francisco Pilots.
My comments resulted in 5 emails, 2 phone calls and a, well written, personal response by our friend Bob Couttie of the Maritime Accident Casebook. Bob wrote;
MAC’s own informal think-tank of veteran master mariners, who aren’t tanked up when they think, finds the proposal less objectionable, the authority of the master will remain in force much as it does now, in their view. Continue Reading…
This comment cause me to invest more than a few hours in nocturnal contemplation. Had I overestimated the potential outcome of the Coast Guard’s overtly defensive and seemingly irrational stance or has Bob’s geographic location far away from our shores disconnected him from the current state of American politics?
Provided the Chronicle has accurately conveyed Senator Boxer and Representative Pelosi’s intent, gCaptain reader ACI’s comment most accurately portrays the sentiment of our master mariner think tank;
Keep on putting more constrains to the shipping business with your new ridiculous American fear to everything and we will end up with no business at all. I know of captains that are refusing to sail to your country.
I really loved the times when the US was leading the world towards modernity, now it seems you are too scared.
The likely impetus for drafting legislation that puts us in the ironic position of being more likely to have a future incident is the demand for quick answers. For this reason I can not form a personal opinion as to maritime pilot John Cota’s culpability, at least not until the NTSB report is published. I can, however, give an industry insider’s opinion on the safety of current operations in the bay… so I wish to reiterate my personal feelings that both the San Fransisco Bar pilots and local VTS operators are among the most capable and well trained in the world. This, coupled with the fact US Coast Guard and State pilot officials have not asked for these changes, is worrisome.
Regardless of the headlines Pelosi’s bill does contain some element of potential good. The Chronicle writes;
Boxer’s bill would authorize $20 million to upgrade the technology used by the Vessel Traffic Service. The measure also would require all pilots to have their own navigational laptop computers. Cota has said he was unfamiliar with the ship’s electronic charts. Many pilots bring their own laptops on board to make sure they have reliable navigational charts to steer the ship.
The state pilot commission suspended Cota’s license on Friday. Cota’s attorney, John Meadows, has said his client was given “wrong information” by the ship’s captain, Mao Cai Sun.
History has proven that safe operations in the bay are possible without advanced electronics and I will not be surprised if the NTSB’s report places some degree of blame on the rapid integration of new technology on the bridge, a problem only made worse by already burdensome training requirements. This, however, does not mean we can ignore technological improvements.
For an intelligent discussion of the topic I’ll point you to audio from Captain Kelly Sweeney’s recent interview with NPR (CLICK HERE). Boiled down he states that we as mariners love AIS, ECDIS and other technology that keep us safe but improvements (most notably in implementation and redundancy) are needed.
But I’m still an optimist. When this discussion fades into memory we may find Pelosi’s large investment propelled interesting technological improvements while our worries were mitigated by the level headed watchmen of VTS.
*We’d love to head your thoughts! Click here and leave a comment (bottom of page) or contact us with your message.
John Konrad is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage. Since graduating from SUNY Maritime College he has sailed 4 of the world’s oceans and reports from his ship via satellite. John lives in Morro Bay, CA with his wife Cindy and son Jack.
Captain Kelly brings up some excellent point so be sure you get your pen ready, you’ll want to take notes.
NPR Show Notes:
A congressional hearing into the cause of the San Francisco Bay oil spill begins today at the Presidio in San Francisco. We’ll talk to a ship captain who says that kind of spill could happen in Puget Sound too.
Guests:
Captain Kelly Sweeney is a Master Mariner, the highest Captain’s license the Coast Guard issues to commercial mariners. He has captained commercial vessels through San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound and writes a column for Professional Mariner. He is based on Whidbey Island.
Prior to being asked to comment the Chronicle’s lead maritime reporter contacted our friend Captain Kelly Sweeny who discussed industry wide problems with marine technology. The article states;
Sweeney said the AIS is “occasionally unreliable,” has blind spots such as when a ship is behind islands or structures, and is “antiquated” when compared with modern electronics.
Rewinding to my conversation with the reporters, the first question asked was; “Captain Sweeny believes the system used by San Francisco’s Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is antiquated, do you agree?” After requesting further clarification I was asked why the pilot’s data on his Electronic Chart Display was trusted over VTS’s radar and AIS information.
My answer was “VTS’ AIS system is susceptible to the delay inherit in the VHF transmission of AIS data” BUT, to be honest my initial gut reaction was, “no AIS is not antiquated… it was fully implemented less then 3 years ago”, I quickly corrected myself. My second answer was quoted in the article and reads;
“The maritime industry is slow to act on electronic devices,” said Capt. John Konrad, who runs a Web site called gCaptain. “By the time they get approvals on electronics, they are obsolete.”
Why the quick change of opinion? It’s because I love AIS.
This technology, properly called Automatic Identification Systems, allows me to overlay important data on my radar displays. It also allows me to contact a ship with a zero cpa (collision course) with great ease. For example, prior to AIS I would have to say “Calling the vessel in position x.xx degrees N, x.xx degrees west on a course of 267 and speed of 6knots this is the xxx on channel 16″ where now I simply look up the ship’s name and say “This is the xxx calling yyy on channel 16″. Furthermore the AIS display gives me the vessels MMSI number which opens up new and creative ways to avoid collisions. Finally, my AIS digital read-out really saved the day (and my career?) when our radars, as the Cosco Busan’s Pilot John Cota said “conked out”.
That was not my only hesitation. San Francisco Pilots are some of the most respected individuals in our profession (a dream job for myself) and I only have positive things to say about my dealings with VTS. So could they be wrong in their choice of equipment? It seemed unlikely.
In defending VTS and the Coast Guard’s systems another respected expert, Rear Adm. Craig Bone - Coast Guard district commander, commented on questions raised by myself and others. In covering today’s hearing The Chronicle reports;
Bone said he could think of no excuse for the crash. He denied reports by maritime sources claiming the electronic systems the Coast Guard uses are out of date. The pilot equipment and onboard navigational equipment are some of the most advanced, he said.
“There is no basis in my mind for this to have ever occurred,” Bone said. “Something on that ship had to go terribly wrong. It was totally preventable.”
So the question becomes; “If AIS is a loved safety improvement endorsed by maritime experts worldwide why does Captain Kelly (and myself!) consider it antiquated?”
The reason is because we can do better! In the world of cutting edge technology solutions are available now that would have given Cota and VTS a much better chance of avoiding the incident. The problem, that I suspect is an industry wide tendency, is two fold. First we are so far behind the technology curve small improvements, like AIS, seem large and exciting. Second, most licensed captains are Luddites (my self included) who want to make sure a new system is reliable before implementing it aboard ships.
I come to this conclusion because, despite my writings on the need to improve shipboard technology (most notably HERE and HERE), I initially had the same reaction as Adm. Bone but quickly changed my mind. Why? Because Capt. Kelly is correct, our systems are antiquated and when new lifesaving improvements become available we must break away from the statement that has been rehearsed by ship captains for centuries; “Only history will tell if this is a good idea”. Exciting changes are happening worldwide and improvements in communications (the number one failure in all good incident chains) are leading the way. We must change with the times and embrace technology as the benefit is a reduction of incidents and a preservation of the environment and human life.
For more information on this topic visit our Archives.
Captain John Konrad is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage currently working aboard an 835′ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Since graduating from SUNY Maritime College he has sailed 4 of the world’s oceans and reports from his ship via satellite.
Above are images of the Cosco Busan and San Francisco Bay Oil Spill Clean-up courtesy of Flickr photographers in the Bay Area. The Official USCG photo slideshow can be found HERE.
At this early stage, just one thing is perfectly clear: the Cosco Busan allision will ultimately help to redefine the role of, and the liabilities facing marine pilots in the United States today. One of the most primary questions asked of any deck cadet at any maritime academy is: What is the role of the pilot? And, the answer, of course, is (c.), “the pilot provides guidance to, but is not in charge of the vessel.” That tenet has been upheld in many venues, for many, many years. In reality, however, the typical marine pilot who guides a vessel in from the sea buoy to the dock is in complete control of that vessel on the inbound leg. He or she better be, because often the captain of a particular vessel may have never transited that restricted waterway.
South Korea’s coast guard sent boats to contain the country’s biggest oil spill in more than a decade after a Hong Kong-registered supertanker collided with a barge.
The leak is almost a third of the 37,000 tons spilled into Prince William Sound, Alaska, by the Exxon Valdez in 1989, according to data on the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation’s Web site. The Taean Coast Guard deployed 12 patrol boats and 3 accident control vessels, Jeong said today.
“.
Guests:
