06 May

US MERCHANT MARINE VETERANS OF WW II

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
  Public Laws 95-202 & 105-368 provided veteran status to certain merchant seamen if the met particular eligibility criterion. There were 250,000 merchant seamen that served during the WW II timeframe of 06 Dec, 1942 to 31 Dec, 1942. Yet only 80,000 have been recognized as veterans. Why is that?    There were about 16,600,000 members of the military armed services…
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02 Apr

Expired pyro: hot topic

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Hello Captain Sweeney!    I  enjoy your mariner's notebook and I figure you can help me with this "hot" issue.  Who among the commercial mariners out there has not had an experience with expired pyro?   The days of setting off expired rocket parachute flares, handheld flares, lifeboat & bridge wing smokes, and line throwing rockets at sea are over…
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12 Mar

Fighting other navies is part of the mission

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Editor,   The February 2009 Correspondence article by retired Coast Guard Captain Raymond J. Brown was interesting and informative (In fighting pirates, merchant vessels are mostly on their own – pg 30). But I have to dispute one of the Captain’s closing assertions. He states: “The U.S. Navy is in search of credible missions right now – and navies do…
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04 Feb

Great Seafaring Movies

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Three movies made during the 1950s deserve to be included in any list of seafaring movies. All were based on critically acclaimed novels and starred major actors. They are: The Cruel Sea (1953) starring Jack Hawkins An unflinching realistic account of the Royal Navy’s arduous and relentless battle of the Atlantic. Jack Hawkins gives one of his finest performances as…
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04 Feb

Commending “commendation”

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
Dear Sirs: Love the magazine. Really enjoy first person stories and Captn. Sweeney's column at the end of the mag. Noticed something with recent issue #121.  It's a small thing and has to do with English. On page 25, in the "Tidewater Tug..." article, the bravery of crew members resulted in a "citation". One page 53, in the "Mate Injured..."…
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16 Dec

Where was the investigation?

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook
This is in response to your latest issue of Professional Mariner and your article about the death of CAPT Robert G. Cordes.  I have the unique position of being the person who last issued CAPT Cordes his Coast Guard license and worked with him as the Executive Director of the Boston Harbor Pilot Association for a few months before his…
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