Page 6: of Marine News Magazine (December 2014)

SUBSCRIBESubscribe to the print or electronic edition of MarineNews at www.marinelink.com/renewsubscr/Renew04/subscribe.html or e-mail Kathleen Hickey at [email protected] DAILY NEWS via E-MAIL Twice every business day we provide breaking news, tailored to your speciÞ cation, delivered FREE directly to your e-mail. To subscribe visit http://maritimetoday.com/login.aspx POST & SEARCH JOBSJob listings are updated daily and help match employers with qualiÞ ed employees. Post a position or keep abreast of new employment opportunities at http://www.maritimejobs.com ADVERTISE MN offers a number of print and electronic advertising packages. To see our editorial calendar and advertising rates, visit www.marinelink.com/AdvRates/Rates.asp Online Resources EDITOR?S NOTEAs we close out yet another year, I am constantly amazed at how much things change on the waterfront and the boats that ply the adjacent waters. Similarly, I like to tell people that it was Þ ve years ago when, within a narrow six-month window, I purchased my Þ rst Ôsmart phone,Õ a vehicle with global positioning and took out my Þ rst satellite radio subscription. I now wonder how I got along without any of it. Separately, the businesses of SATCOM and software are also combining to efÞ ciently enable workboat operators and seafarers to better manage their businesses. To be sure, the inland and offshore support sectors were, in comparison to their blue water cousins, arguably late to the tech- nology game. This month, we detail two different options for workboat operators to move their op- erational game to a higher level. Both efforts involve the use of different off-the-shelf, customizable software products. Each also relies on ship-to-shore communications to transfer that data back and forth. Workboat operators are catching up (and changing) quickly. Those who donÕt run the risk of being left behind. Turn the page and Þ nd out why. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Yes: I think I have heard that said, once or twice. That adage is especially true when it comes to marine casualties. As part of the headliner for this edition, ÔresponseÕ is just as important, if not more so, than the best salvage that money can buy. ThatÕs because response doesnÕt just mean ÔspillÕ response or picking up the pieces after the damage has been done. It can and should involve preventative measures, robust assets to make that happen, and speedy arrival on-scene at a potential disaster to avert something even worse. As the world of salvage and response continues to evolve, the lines between salvors and responders continue to blur. Not too long ago, the so-called Fi-Fi rules further deÞ ned the responsibilities of those who Þ nd themselves in peril and the people and businesses tasked with trying to solve their problems. The salvage community itself had a big part in moving those rules forward. Salvors the world over continue to up their game, and standardize what was at one time a business that few trusted and nobody really understood. ThatÕs also changing quickly. No one wants to see any casualty. That said; the reality of both response and salvage is that each specialty Ð for some, it is one in the same Ð involves high overhead and expensive assets that some- times can lay idle for weeks or months at a time. What to do with those assets during slow times is sometimes the difference between business failure and a healthy bottom line. In this edition, we bring you not one but two completely different versions of how response providers can operate in todayÕs complicated operating environment. That, combined with savvy advice from senior salvage stakehold- ers, puts the exclamation point on this edition on our Þ nal edition of 2014. See if you donÕt agree. [email protected] Keefe, Editor, [email protected] Download our AppsiPhone & Android6 MNDecember 2014MN Dec14 Layout 1-17.indd 6MN Dec14 Layout 1-17.indd 611/24/2014 3:51:33 PM11/24/2014 3:51:33 PM