Page 25: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1999)

oil-board and on-shore systems and procedures. Test each item to determine whether and how it will be impacted. Testing should include changing the date and the number of digits in the date, since applications are often written using different "date lengths," usu- ally four, six or eight digits.

That means you must do more than advancing the date on the ship's master control system to

January 1, 2000, or manually changing the internal clocks on those systems where the clocks are accessible. You must verify that the date change is communicated to each and every subsystem on the ship. Check the engine room.

Check the propulsion system.

Check the control and alarm sys- tems. Check the auxiliary controls.

One of three things will happen:

The systems will stop, they will spit out erroneous data or they will continue to function normally. This will give you an idea of the extent of your Y2K exposure, and help you decide how you're going to minimize it.

As companies proceed with Y2K compliance efforts, some treat a minor glitch as a major failure.

Others believe that as long as they can generate revenue and satisfy customer needs without jeopardiz- ing safety, they are in compliance.

Cruise lines and shipping compa- nies should develop, implement and document a detailed Y2K plan.

Contact the manufacturers and vendors of equipment that has been identified as having potential

Y2K glitches for possible fixes.

Develop contingencies for every possible failure and have back-up operations in place where practi-

Mark These Dates, Too

January 1, 2000 isn't the only day that may impact the shipping industry.

According to the United States Maritime

Administration, some computer programs may use a "99" as an exception code, mean- ing the date is unknown or unidentified.

Consequently, other critical dates include

January 31, 1999 and September 9, 1999 for some PC internal operating systems;

August 22, 1999 for Global Positioning

Systems; and February 29, 2000, since 2000 is a leap year. Test your systems for each of these dates.

Additional information related to Y2K issues and critical dates for the maritime industry may be found on the Maritime

Administration's Year 2000 page on the

World Wide Web at: http://marad.dot.gov/whats_new/y2k.html

January, 1999 19 cal. Don't forget the external sys- tems that your operations are dependent on, such as fuel and food suppliers and freight for- warders you do business with.

It's easy to underestimate poten- tial problems, and the amount of time and money needed to correct them. And as January 1, 2000 approaches, your options decrease considerably.

A Y2K assessment and systems' audit reviews can mitigate busi- ness failures of Titanic propor- tions.

Charles W. Gill is a partner with

KPMG LLP and the national leader of

KPMG's Maritime Industry practice in

New York City; James A. Trautwein is a manager in KPMG's Information

Risk Management practice in Fort

Lauderdale, Fla.

The views and opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KPMG LLP. m Commercial Frequencies

All In On

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