Page 6: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q2 2012)

5 7

Risky Business

EDITOR’S DESK

A cronyms. Sometimes, it seems that these words formed from the initial groups of letters of words defi ne how we talk about our industry. This, combined with the unique nomenclature associated with all things maritime, makes for a steep learning curve for anyone who migrates over to the maritime side of the equation. The glossary of acronyms in this risk-centric edition of Maritime Professional will probably make your head swim. Within these pages, we lay out for you the full gamut of risks facing the commercial maritime sector, while also providing the course line to mitigating those vulnerabilities. “Risk” as it relates to the maritime industry – ocean, inland, offshore oil & gas, Great

Lakes and anywhere else – represents an onion with many layers. No one publication could do the subject justice in a single article. In our second quarter 2012 edition, we defi ne risk in terms of fi nance, operational strategies, environmental compliance, insurance, port security, piracy, logistics, safety, regulatory oversight and a myriad of others that you should be thinking about.

The feature story of this edition provides the insights of the two individuals who arguably comprise the most knowledgeable and experienced risk management team on the planet. Certainly, in the maritime sector, they have few peers. When the honorable Tom Ridge stood up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, he had help from the leader of its largest new component, ADM Tom Collins, the

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Together, they engineered the most ambitious reorganization of government in history. What they learned then and how they apply those lessons on today’s waterfront should be part of your risk mitigation toolbox.

Acronyms. BDN, CBP, DHS, ECA, EEDI, EPA, GAO, ILA, FMC, MEPC, NOX,

P&I, PSC, SEEMP, SOX, WMD – and a dozen more – all have one thing in common:

Risk. And, each has its own special place in your risk equation. You can be forgiven if you don’t yet know what they all mean. After digesting the entire contents of this edition, however, you’ll understand the full breadth of what each entails and more importantly, what to do about them. That’s something you won’t get anywhere else.

Before you move on to the meat of this magazine, there is one more acronym which you should be familiar with. That’s because Maritime Professional, in little more than one year, has achieved its Initial Brand Audit from BPA Worldwide. What does that mean to you? It means that, unlike some publications, you won’t have to risk reliance on unsubstantiated claims of readership, print subscriptions, online presence and/or

WEB metrics. While other publications are downgrading – or even dropping – their qualifi ed audits, MarPro joins the full suite of New Wave Media magazines as its youngest, fully audited vehicle. It doesn’t take 10 years or more to achieve this lofty standard; just the hard work of a quality staff and the backing of the best media group in the business. But, don’t take my word for it. Indeed, you don’t have to.

Joseph Keefe, Editor | [email protected] 6 I Maritime Professional I 2Q 2012

MP #2 1-17NEW STYLES.indd 6 5/8/2012 11:40:11 AM