Reader says personnel proposal is a good one

I’m writing to correct Joel Milton’s misguided article “Personnel proposal would compromise safety” that appeared in the February issue of WorkBoat (On the Water, page 10).

The petition was filed and supported with two main goals: (1) Make it possible for experienced masters of other vessels to transfer to towing vessels and; (2) Not compromise safety.

I feel that the petition and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking address both of these goals. The TSAC (Towing Safety Advisory Committee) subcommittee that was tasked with reviewing this petition also felt that safety issues were addressed and that safety was not compromised. This subcommittee consisted of members of the Coast Guard, industry, labor, and training facility personnel.

If you read the extract from the actual petition that was filed, you can clearly see that the candidate for this alternative path must hold a master’s license and have sea service as a master. Mates do not qualify.

The reason behind the petition is also included in the extract. Prior to the Master of Towing regulations, these masters were allowed to move from other industries to the towing industry with no prior training. The alternate path gives them back the opportunity to do this, but with reassurance that some type of training is required. If you read carefully, you’ll see that the candidate would only qualify as “Mate of Towing” once the requirements are met.
I agree with Mr. Milton’s statement that 30 days is a short time to assess, but if the candidate is a seasoned veteran with years of experience as a master, it can be done.

Lastly, rather than complain about the changes coming to the industry (or the need for changes), why doesn’t Mr. Milton participate in a safety advisory committee such as TSAC or MERPAC where his opinions can be heard by the people responsible for the changes? Committee meetings are usually open to the public and membership is not required to participate.

Extract from the filed petition:

“The rule, as it is written now, requires 36 months of service on a towing vessel, 12 months of which is at an entry-level position on the deck. This makes it impractical for an experienced Master of an inspected vessel to become a Master of a towing vessel.

Our suggestion is that a Master of an inspected vessel of not more than 200 tons, with three years as Master and has either satisfactorily passed the Apprentice Mate Exam given at the REC or has a Completion Certificate from an Approved Apprentice Mate Course, be allowed to work as Mate of Towing on appropriate routes for 18 months and have a completed TOAR described in 46CFR section 10.304 before qualifying as Master of Towing. This would meet the requirements of Table 10.464-1. This should not be viewed as a “short cut” but rather an alternative that allows a master of an inspected vessel less than 200 tons, to become an officer of a towing vessel in a practical and timely manner.”

Capt. Eric Verdin
Galliano, La.

Experienced mariners  assume many roles

As the dynamics aboard workboats have changed, so have the unassigned responsibilities of senior crewmembers.

I am a chief engineer aboard a seagoing tug. Although our job description set forth in the procedure manuals does not change often, here are some practical roles that a chief engineer plays on a daily basis: In a single day you can act as marriage counselor, financial planner and tax adviser for young mariners that have joined the fleet.

Nothing is scarier than walking into the galley and hearing a young man say to me, “Chief, I think I’m going to buy a new house after I get back from vacation in the Dominican Republic.” You may be wondering why this is important and why it affects my job. The answer is simple — longevity. This young mariner will now have to work 280 to 300 days a year to pay his bills with no time left for relaxation or to spend with his family. The longer he remains at work on the boat, frustration levels rise, job performance drops, and inevitably he gets fired for lack of performance or transferred to another boat where he may not fit in well with that crew. So the unassigned responsibility of a chief engineer comes into play. 
As a senior crewmember, I feel you should sit these younger and less experienced mariners down and explain that they need to live within their means in order to have a healthy seagoing career and life off the boat. Anyone who has ever stepped foot on a boat quickly understands that you can learn a lot more about your job if you will just listen.

Dan Broadwater
Chief Engineer
Lisbon Falls, Maine

WorkBoat encourages readers to write us about anything that appears in the magazine or pertains to the marine industry. To be published, letters must include the writer's address and a daytime phone number.

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P.O. Box 1348
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