09 Sep

Director wanted!

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
I would like to bring to the attention of all U.S. mariners that we still do not have an appointed Director of the U.S. Maritime Administration. President Barack Obama has been in office well over 200 days now without even having submitted a name to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. The Maritime Administration promotes U.S. commerce through the U.S. Merchant…
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28 Jul

Where is the ceremony?

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Captain Sweeney: I very much appreciated your article on the time honored maritime tradition known as the equator crossing ceremony wherein we go from being Pollywogs to Trusty Shellbacks. You see, just a few weeks earlier I'd explained to my wife in great detail how our son, a cadet on the sea training cruise at the California Maritime Academy, would…
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16 Jul

SS American Ranger

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Captain Kelly Sweeney’s “A Mariner’s Notebook,†June/July 2009 issue, brought to mind a long ago incident that still rankles.  It involved the SS American Ranger, the Viet Cong, and the United States Navy. In late January,1968, the SS American Ranger was anchored in the harbor of Danang, South Vietnam,  her cargo of ammunition being unloaded to a barge made up…
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01 Jul

Mariners in wartime

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Captain,              I use to read your articles every month and I like your opinion on differents maritime subjects. But this last one about merchant marine seamen who served at time of conflicts realy touch me emotionnally.  It appears that Canadian and U.S. merchant seamen got the same treatment after the second world war. Not…
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21 May

Sailors, not lawyers, fight pirates

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Dear Sirs,   As a mariner I was mildly sickened by the selection of people you choose to interview for your industry signals article on piracy after the incident on the Maersk Alabama. Really gentlemen…a lawyer and a couple of chair flying CEOs? I’ve been in those waters and sailed on a vessel where the ship has been boarded and…
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19 May

Mariners deserve recognition for risking their lives in wartime

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
I believe that a strong merchant marine, with U.S.-flag ships and boats manned by American merchant mariners, is fundamental not only to the economic security, but also to the national security of our nation. Since 1775, our military has relied on the merchant marine to bring the food, equipment, ammunition, weapons, and troop reinforcements needed at the war fronts. Without…
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