December 7th, 2007 ·
In a well written article published by The San Francisco Chronicle Captain Peter McIsaac, president of the San Francisco Bar Pilots, lays out the reasons why federal control of shipping is a bad idea. He tells us;
One much-discussed measure we are not recommending is the implementation of a vessel management system similar to an air traffic control. Our members believe and 150 years of maritime experience show the impracticality of taking an aviation approach to managing maritime traffic. Unlike aircraft, ships operate in only two dimensions. A complex number of forces acting upon a ship’s movement, including vessel hydrodynamics, wind, current and water depth, make remote control of a large ship impossible. Also, in an air-traffic system, most if not all, small craft participate in the system. On any given summer weekend, 95 percent of the small craft on San Francisco Bay are not checked into the vessel management system. The wide range of vessel classes, sizes and abilities further argues against a uniform approach to shipping traffic control.
We recognize the important work the U.S. Coast Guard performs in maintaining an advisory Vessel Traffic Service. While our bar pilots rely on this service, they bear the primary responsibility for communicating with other vessels in close proximity, for communicating with bridge and harbor operators, and for knowing at all times their own position on the water. It is the acceptance of this responsibility and authority which helps maintain safe shipping in Northern California.
As stated in our previous article, we agree completely with the assessment and are encouraged to see a partnership between The Chronicle and maritime professionals. Hopefully there will be more to come!
Read Captain Peter’s full article HERE.
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Also in an official press release San Francisco’s pilot commission announces their decision to formally charge the Cosco Busan’s pilot Captain John Cota. They write;
Captain Cota is charged with having reason to doubt whether the ship could safely proceed under the prevailing circumstances and proceeding on his course with insufficient information about the level of visibility along his intended route. He is also charged with proceeding at a speed that was excessive for the circumstances and failing to make full use of all available resources, including a tugboat, the Vessel Traffic Service of the Coast Guard, and his ship’s lookout. The tug remained tethered to the ship’s stern; the Vessel Traffic Service of the Coast Guard could have provided more information if Captain Cota had requested it; and the ship’s lookout could have been better instructed. The charges allege that Captain Cota’s conduct warrants the suspension or revocation of his state pilot license.
Download the full press release HERE.
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Tags: · cosco-busan, cosco_busan, john-cota, pilots, San Francisco, san-francisco-pilots
December 4th, 2007 ·
(Photo by PA2 Prentice Danner, USCG)
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Tags: · cosco-busan, cosco_busan, john_cota, MARPOL Incidents, Master Mariner, oil_spill, pilots, Regulations, San Francisco, san_francisco_pilots, san_fransico_bay, USCG
November 8th, 2007 ·
“At 8:30 am this morning, the Cosco Busan, an 810-foot container ship, collided with the base of one of the towers of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while the ship was under the control of a Bar Pilot. The crash created a huge gash in the side of the ship and triggered an oil leak that created an environmental mess in San Francisco Bay.” More to come but Telstar Logistics has the full story from a local perspective LINK.
In related news New York’s Ambrose Light experienced an allision earlier this week but this one seems to be part of a trend. I don’t have specifics on this particular incident but the previous ones we’ve heard of were due to failed crash astern tests, a requirement of the port, that were conducted too close to the pilot station. Gothamist has the details on this one LINK.
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For a look at the worst case scenario for pilots read our post titled: May 9, 1980, Tampa - Skyway Bridge Disaster
[Continue Reading →]
Tags: · ambrose_light, bar_pilots, container_ship, Incidents, maritime_pilots, MARPOL Incidents, oakland_bay_bridge, oil_leak, pilots, San Francisco, san_francisco_bay, san_francisco_pilots
