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Course Details:

• Major Emergency Managment
• High Angle Rope Rescue
• Sail Training
• Dynamic Positioning Training
• EMT Medical Trianing
• Advanced Shiphandling

Other: Leave Your Comments Below [Continue Reading →]

Currently all mariners are familiar with the large full mission ship simulators like the one pictured above. Some have even played with either purpose built or recreational PC based simulators but each of these three types have inherent problems. The full mission simulators are very expensive, the purpose built ones lack realism and the recreational games are mostly avoided because, as professionals performing life critical operations in dangerous environments, we need assurance that game play is true to life. Even the slightest differences in maneuvering characteristics between the game and real life ship handling can make simulated practice detrimental to job performance.

Below is a video I found YouTube. It shows a simulated disaster situation played out on the game Ship Simulator 2008. Like a low budget Hollywood movie it contains numerous errors and I doubt it was produced by a licensed mariner but that’s not the point. This video contains realistic images and sound all produced by game that costs less than $40 US. It also lacks any type of technical simulation that might confuse a mariner looking to prepare for a sea watch. What it does contain is a real life threat to vessel safety, the dynamic between watch standers and the master. And the game is fun!

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Until the game makers have funding to obtain regulatory approval or the industry commissions game developers to produce one of their own, Ship Simulator 2008, will not be the replacement for time consuming trips to expensive training facilities. Let’s not let this problem stop us.

Recruitment

Ask the US Navy what has been the best recruiting device of the past 20 years and they will tell you it’s the movie Top Gun. Maritime Academies, Seafarer Organizations and Companies themselves do not have the budget or will to produce a Hollywood blockbuster but they can certainly sponsor game play and interact with young participants. The US Army does this today with great success the NYTimes has endorsed the solution for Tall Ship training, why can’t we? Getting young minds engaged and excited should be our first step in solving the manning crisis. Offering this type of gaming in a regulated and structured environment would have the benefit of assuring that players are learning lessons from the game play.

Non-Technical Training

Full mission simulators and manned ship models are likely the only solution to technical skills like ship handling and dynamic positioning but lack of skill is not the industry’s largest problem. The vast majority of large casualties are attributed to human error and the error chain leading up to the actual incident. The Titanic, Exxon Valdez and more recently the Pasha Bulker, Empress Of The North and Cosco Busan all suffered casualties due to the dynamic of trust between the Master (or pilot) and the watshstanders.  Let’s use this game to promote not just Bridge Team Management but the relationship of power on the bridge and other common pitfalls a mariners experience during the course of their career. Let’s use our collective experience to create real life scenarios mimicking those watches when you had to make a difficult decision then allow our fellow mariner to face your nightmare on the simulator. The best and worst outcomes could easily be shared online for comments and viewing.

What Do You Think?

• Have and idea for creative training opportunities that speak to the problems faced by watchstanders on the Pasha Bulker, Empress Of The North, Cosco Busan or the wide array of other recent incidents? Share them with us in the comments below.
• Purchase Ship Simulator 2008, record your own scenario and post it to our forum. Be sure to ask the hard questions.
• How would you handle the scenario in the video below?

John Konrad is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage currently working as Chief Mate aboard a 865′ ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Since graduating from SUNY Maritime College he has sailed in 4 of the worlds oceans and reports from his ship via satellite.

Painful Rectal Itch

By The Artful Blogger

OK, I’m back from my little “vacation.” Seven months may have been a bit excessive, but what the hell. Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, we were talking about spicing up your fire drills. Yeah I know you’d sooner get a root canal then do a fire drill, but hey, they don’t have to be that painful. I remember a commercial from back in the day about hemorrhoid pads. I know you all want to hear all about it (you know I’m going to tell you anyway, so bear with me). There was this husband and wife in bed asleep. All of a sudden, he sits up in bed screaming. His wife asked, “What’s wrong, honey?’ His response was, “It’s this painful rectal itch!” Now, my father had roids. I consider him the average working Joe. I believe his response would have been more along the line of anything from: “My damn biscuits are burning!” to “Somebody shoved a hot poker up my @$$!” Not, “Gee honey, I have a painful rectal itch.”

As usual, you’re asking, “OK Artful, what’s the point?” (Are you ready, kids? Well, here it is.) Is the way that you’re conducting your fire drills more like a painful rectal itch to your people, or are they like a hot poker up their @$$es? In this multi-part series, I’m going to give you some ways you can spice things up a bit, while making your training a little more meaningful. Along the way, you just might have a little fun.

The key to success of any project starts with organization. If John Wayne didn’t have a script in his movies, all he’d do is go around punching and shooting people (OK, bad example). For the sake of training, fluidity and safety, you need to have an exact script. All of your hands are actors in this movie, and your training team members are the directors. Your Captain, Master or Mate is going to produce the whole she-bang. Let’s see if we can make a Spielberg production. [Continue Reading →]

Training at Sea

by Jeffrey Musk

A few months ago I returned to my rotary job onboard a Roll on/Roll off in the Pacific Ocean. Along with the familiar faces of the crew I had been working with for several years was the even more familiar face of my younger brother. He had just finished the first phase of his training program at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship. As it happened, my ship was sailing foreign the same day that he was to be assigned to his first vessel. He had the good luck to talk to the placement officer at the school and was sent to my ship as soon as he had said that he had a brother who was an officer in the Merchant Marine.

As an apprentice his time would be split evenly between the deck, engine, and stewards department. While working with the deck department he would take his job assignments from the Boson and work alongside the unlicensed crew. To assure that he received ample hands on training beyond needle gunning and cleaning holds, I arranged a training schedule to have each of the two Ordinary Seamen and the Apprentice come to the bridge on a rotating schedule during my watch with the Captain’s permission.

This on the job training was not mandatory for the novice crew, but my brother was eager to learn as much about standing a watch and steering as he could. I strongly encouraged the ordinaries as well. They were more than happy to spend an hour on the bridge once or twice a week and still get their overtime.

First up was one of the ordinaries. English was a second language for him so I went slow being sure he retained what we discussed. We first covered the basics of how a lookout reports objects and how the compass repeaters functioned. Then I began to explain the mechanics of how the ship’s course was controlled. Each time I mentioned the rudder I would find a quizzical look on the ordinaries face.

After some questioning I was surprised to learn that this particular mariner, whom had been at sea for nearly a decade, had never understood how a ship’s heading was changed.

This bothered me for two reasons. First as a hard working ordinary seaman, I felt that he would naturally take an interest in learning anything new about the way a ship worked. Secondly, his lack of knowledge was probably perceived on other ships as a lack of intelligence and this perception likely hindered any encouragement for him to move up the hawse pipe. Fortunately I had a folder of shipyard photos on the bridge computer so we looked at those before going any further.

It was almost an identical situation for the second ordinary. He too spoke English as a second language and was fluent, but when it came to the basic mechanics of ship construction, rudder and propeller interaction for example, he was completely at a loss. [Continue Reading →]

Effective January 1, 2008, mariners sailing in the capacity of Ship Security Officer (SSO) will have to show evidence of being “qualified” to hold that position. The SSO training requirement only applies to STCW vessels 500GT or greater operating on international voyages. Evidence of qualification will include the following:

Course completion certificate (in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act [MTSA] and/or in accordance with the International Maritime Organization [IMO] model course for Ship Security Officer).

Company letter or certificate attesting to the qualifications (in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act [MTSA] regulations and the International Ship and Port Facility [ISPS] Code).

The U.S. Coast Guard has determined that any training completed in accordance with 33 CFR, Part 104.215, is substantially equivalent to the STCW requirements. Therefore, no additional training should be required. The Coast Guard has informed Port State Control worldwide of this arrangement.

Before July 1, 2009, the Coast Guard intends to amend 33 CFR, Part 104.215, to create a “Ship Security Officer” endorsement that will be included on the mariners license or documents.

Continue reading for the FAQ. 

Are the SSO laws in you’re country or flag state changing? Let us know in the comments section.

Our friend Peter Mello at Sea-Fever, a must read maritime blog, brings us the model building obsession of William Terra. This one stopped me cold for a number of reasons. First Battleships have been a personal obsession of mine since childhood and were the subject of the weapons presentation during my plebe year at Annapolis. Second, these “manned models” are an excellent (some say superior) alternative to simulators for shiphandling training. Last, if it comes from Sea-Fever it’s bound to be interesting.

In the post titled “The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming! (by pickup and trailer)” Sea-Fever writes;

Four years in the making and a few more needed to “complete” the project, Mr. Terra built a 1:20 scale, 30′, navigating model of the World War II German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. (Wikipedia entry) Per Bizmark & Tirpitz:

• The model is scratch built like a canoe using 2,54 - 10,16 cm (1 - 4 in) bass wood strips and then covered with fiberglass.
• Estimated weight 318 kg (700 lbs).
• The beam is 1,32 meter (52 in).
• The length is about 9,1 meter (30 foot).
• It can carry 2 persons.
• The model is powered by a 15 hp (11,2 kw) outboard engine under rear gun turret.
• It can sail 24 kilometer per hour (15 mph).
• Furthermore the model has a music system build in.
• While William Terra cruise the lakes of Maine he enjoys listening to Wagner.
• The Commander-in-Chief in the photographs is William Terra.
• William Terra would like to see more models build in this scale

Click HERE for photos and related links.

For those who are unaware, Port Revel in France and Massachusetts Maritime Academy both host shiphandling classes aboard diminutive versions of real life vessels. These classes are for Marine Pilots and senior maritime officers. BBC News tells us;

To the casual onlooker, it may look like a group of overgrown children sailing in rather extravagant model boats.

But, in fact, they are some of the shipping industry’s most experienced sea captains on one of the world’s most unusual safety training courses.

The lake in Marchwood, near Southampton, Hampshire, boasts a fleet of seven scaled-down model cargo ships on which veteran captains, pilots and senior deck officers can hone their skills.

The ships, which are big enough for two people to sit in, behave exactly like the real thing as they negotiate the 13-acre lake’s artificial channels and tides.

They range from a scaled version of a 300,000 tonne vessel that itself weighs in at six tonnes to a radio-controlled model tug.

So is this simply an excuse for taking some time off work to muck about on the water?

Having taken the class myself I can honestly say the answer is no.

Upon first arrival at the academy I was skeptical of the ability to learn advanced shiphandling techniques on a model that is a fraction the size and weight of the original, however, during my first “test drive” I quickly realized the value of this class. The reason it’s the best option for this type of training is two fold. First the alternative, bridge simulators, do not give you the “feel” of the water and fail to project the sense of emergency when things start to go wrong. This class however, uses real boats that happen to be very expensive and rare… knock one of these against pier and real damage will occur that you will feel it both in the seat of your pants and in your gut.

Second this training is valuable since, as Captain Clarke tells the BBC: “You cannot turn up at Fawley oil refinery in a ‘150,000-tonner’ and say I just want to do a few practice turns.”

To be honest with our readers I originally took the class because Advanced Shiphandling Training was a U.S. Coast Guard requirement for receiving my Unlimited Master’s (captain of large ships) License and Mass Maritime provided the training in half the time (just 5 days) required by the simulator based schools. I learned to love the class because it provides a unique hands on experience that allows you to test shiphandling theory at in accelerated and valuable way.

John Konrad is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and the captain of this project. Since graduating from SUNY Maritime College he has sailed 4 of the world’s oceans and reports from his ship via satellite.

Related Video:

On a recent story I confused the Norwegian Dawn with the Norwegian Dream. The error itself is small but the implications are large and the reason for the error gives me the opportunity to shed light on the cause of so many maritime incidents. A short explanation might give you a look into the mind of a ship’s captain, so here it is;

Some articles are the result of hours spent researching, writing and editing while other posts are simply excerpts of stories found elsewhere on the web. My Norwegian Dream post was part of a general interest series we run called “Incident Photo of the Week“. These posts are designed to be short, interesting and easy to write and only require one line of explanation but, sufficient to say, I did not put much time into the “easy” job of posting the article.

Aboard ship 90% of the navigational jobs are easy. Some jobs, like departing Valdez Alaska, seem difficult to an outsider but are simple tasks for an experienced mate. This is the very reason Capt. Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez left the 3rd mate in charge of the watch. These simple tasks, however, can result in tragedy caused by an even simpler mistake.

Moving large ships is not the only profession requiring complicated mathematical calculations, little room for error and disastrous consequences but marine navigation differs from professions like structural engineering because we have no brakes. The time is ticking on a large ship and errors are often not seen until after the danger has passed. During the incident you can not stop the job and spend hours reassessing the hazards, Newton’s law of motion doesn’t allow it. This is why my error in reporting the story is significant and had it been made aboard ship would be cause for alarm.

So how does a captain prevent the simplest mistakes from becoming catastrophic incidents?

The first is training. While a brilliant structural engineer could be given the top spot at a young age this is not the case with ship captains. At the minimum regulations require 10 years of sea time in addition to hundreds of hours of course work and multiple levels of testing prior to being allowed by the Coast Guard to sit for the Master Unlimited exam. This method of advancement prevents a shining star from rising quickly but not for his lack of knowledge, rather from his lack of experience. This is required to give an officer the time not only to learn the theory and application of job specific tasks or even to give the time required to actually witness the full gamut of possible situations, although both are important. The primary reason is to a mate the time needed to feel the ship and understand/compensate for his limitations. The ability to master this is the mark of good captain and one reason companies prefer promoting older chief mates and rarely hire someone based solely on his qualifications (note: this is changing).

The best captains can identify instability by the feeling the roll of a ship, correlate the simplest annoyance with a larger problem (e.g. a sticky door caused by hogging) or recognize the tone of an officers voice that masks concern. They not only can identify but also have developed processes for solving problems. Last they know their own shortcomings and have built a system to identify and manage them.

In my case I have the occasional tenancy to correlate similar information so in this case my mind failed to separate the Norwegian Dream from the Norwegian Dawn. Aboard ship I would combat the problem by writing down each name on opposing sides of a yellow note pad and keeping relevant notes separated by space.

Second I am careful to listen for the voice in the back of my head that whispers “Something Is Wrong”. I have found this voice to be present 90% of the time prior to identifying a problem. It is important to note that incidents are not caused by single failures they are always the result of what our industry refers to as an error chain. The clearest example of this chain would be a catastrophic cylinder failure in the main engine. To most this type of failure would be classified as bad luck but mariners are trained to realize this is not the case. I use the following example because I recently read an incident report on a cylinder failure that was ten pages long and took 6 months to complete. The findings were nothing spectacular, rather they described many small problems dating back decades. The findings included an overworked engineering officer in charge of lubrication (days before the incident), the supplier substituting lubricants not ideal for that particular lube oil pump (the previous year) and even the designers failure to relate this seemingly small problem to the manufacturer 15 years prior to the failure. In this case all seemed well but I would bet heavily on the presence of a voice in back of the Chief Engineer’s mind calling out “I can’t identify it but we have a problem” his daily routine simply drowned it out. If he had identified just one of the links (minor causes identified in the report) in the error chain and removed it the incident would not have occurred.

Last I always step back and take a “time out”. This simple and effective technique taught in Major Emergency Management, an optional class in managing nightmare situations, closely resembles something we learn at a young age; step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself “what doesn’t make sense here?”

So putting it all together I could have avoided the mistake by first writing the key points down on a note pad and separating similarities (the ship names). Then I could have actively listened for the voice whispering (or in this case shouting) “something is wrong” and finally, if I had failed to identify the difference in the first step, I should have called a personal time out, stepped back and asked myself “does this make sense.” If I had done this I would have quickly realized the obvious fact that containers do not belong on a cruise ship.

Why didn’t I? …well this is just a blog, right?

Many thanks to our loyal readers for finding the error, especially Perry. Despite my initial annoyance from his repeated corrections a good captain must always smile when a concern is related (even when woken at 0400) and hopes all of his makes are just as diligent and persistent. It’s the “easy” posts, after all, that often results in longest incident reports.

Stay Safe,

John

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John Konrad is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and the editor in chief of gCaptain.com. Since graduating from SUNY Maritime College he has sailed 4 of the world’s oceans and reports from his ship via satellite.

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