A Mariner’s Notebook – Page 3 – Professional Mariner

31 Mar

Upgrading your license? Check the CFR to get what you’ve earned

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

I had been working as an ordinary seaman with a large West Coast towing company out of Long Beach, Calif., my first job after graduating from the California Maritime Academy. Our old twin-screw tug rode easily en route to San Diego as I was on watch with the captain, a hawsepiper who had been to sea for nearly 40 years.…

03 Mar

Mariners pay the price for being independent contractors at sea

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

I had agreed to take the mate’s position on a 350-foot ship transiting from a shipyard in Bellingham, Wash., to the destination port of Bath, Maine. It was my second week of working long days in port, helping to get the vessel ready for sea, the plan being to get underway in a few days. That morning, I was in…

30 Jan

To save the Jones Act, know your enemies — and fight back

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

Just before graduation from California Maritime Academy, I had the chance to be in the audience for a debate on the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (Jones Act) held during an industry symposium at the school. My blood boiled as I listened to a slick-talking shipping company vice president — attired in what looked like a very expensive Brooks Brothers…

02 Dec

A Christmas sea story: Lessons from the past, present and future

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

I was a senior at the California Maritime Academy and one of only 10 cadets in my class who were chosen to go on a commercial ship for their senior cruise. The week before Christmas, the company’s Seattle office called to let me know that I’d be joining the ship there on Christmas Eve. My holiday spirit dropped like a…

01 Oct

Put accent on respect, courtesy for effective communication at sea

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

I was working on a gasoline tanker running between Tampa, Fla., Lake Charles, La., and Corpus Christi, Texas, when a new third mate joined our ship. He appeared quiet and shy by nature, and had graduated a few weeks earlier from an East Coast maritime academy. From what I observed during his first few days aboard, he was sharp and…

27 Aug

Vulnerable sea mammals deserve our respect and protection

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

It was the end of January, and I was the 4-8 watch officer on an oceanographic ship working near the Hawaiian islands of Kahoolawe and Maui. Listening to a Sean Na’auao CD and enjoying the beautiful sunset, a sudden movement broad on our starboard bow caught my attention. About 200 yards away, a grayish-black behemoth of the deep rose out…

31 Jul

In age of seagoing specialists, plan now — later may be too late

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

It was Saturday, graduation day at California Maritime Academy (CMA), and a warm spring haze was just burning off the Carquinez Strait as we assembled for the ceremony. I was dressed in a formal white uniform like the rest of the graduating class, and my mother and father were in the crowd watching as we filed in one by one…

03 Jun

Time to make nation’s shipyards, merchant marine great again

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

For almost 50 years, beginning in the late 1930s, our government actually helped get U.S.-flag merchant ships built, utilizing the Construction Differential Subsidy (CDS) program. The CDS covered up to 50 percent of the additional cost to build ships in a U.S. shipyard instead of a foreign yard. The money was paid by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) directly to…

02 May

Scheffer: NTSB's role in marine accident investigations

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Industry News

I’m often asked how the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chooses which marine accidents to investigate, and what role the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) plays in our investigations. I had the same question when I first joined the NTSB’s Office of Marine Safety more than 20 years ago. The NTSB has specific authority under the United States Code and Code…

29 Apr

Hurdles abound, but merchant marine can pay off as second career

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

It was a sunny Southern California day, and I had been invited to speak at the Newport Beach Yacht Club, one of a number of engagements scheduled during my two-week visit to the area. I gave a talk about my belief that celestial navigation is something every oceangoing mariner, professional or recreational, should know. A lively discussion followed, and then…