Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2015)

MARITIMEPROFESSIONAL.COM

Author Joseph Keefe with his parents in 1980 upon graduation from the Massachu- setts Maritime Academy, just three years before his near run- in with Hurricane Alicia aboard a 600 ft. chemical carrier in the Gulf of Mexico.

career mariner, I am quite sure. the blinking light test and you were good Guard, and on and on. Today’s mariners take the shape of many things, impacted

Circling back on Alicia and our slight- to go. I certainly don’t remember ‘voy- face, in many companies, regular simu- by myriad variables. It might involve ly delayed ballast voyage to Beaumont age planning’ and certainly, the idea of lation “competency assessments.” Those deciding how and when to best transit during the month of August 1983, I was Bridge Resource Management (BRM) in line for promotion to that coveted across pirate-infested waters or perhaps, glad to have missed all the excitement in had never once entered my train of Master’s position are handed an airplane plotting the safest possible course of a the Houston area. That said; the Master thought; at sea or ashore. But, in 1983, ticket and told to travel to a reputable deep draft, 40+ year old vessel in close of that vessel wasn’t in the habit of dis- the risks were largely the same as we maritime training school, where a team proximity of a gathering storm. Dozens cussing his decisions or voyage orders might still encounter in 2015. of consultants will assess their “compe- of other decisions, just like those de- with me. To this day, I honestly don’t At sea in August of 1983, risk manage- tency.” scribed above, are no less important. I know what went into any voyage plan- ment – if there was such a lofty thing at For all the advancements in technol- myself prefer to stay out of the eye of ning in mid-August of 1983. Perhaps the that time within our modest two-ship ogy, the tenfold increase in training re- any storm – real, imagined or metaphori- of? ce folks were pulling the strings, or ? eet – should have factored in the real- quirements and regulatory oversight, the cal. And, that’s just what I intend to do. maybe this guy – an experienced mari- ity that our scruffy coastal tanker was 41 same risks that presented in 1983 still – MarPro ner – decided what to do all on his own. years old. Again, I have no idea if that exist today. And, the same accidents con-

I’ll never know. What I do know is that was the case. My primary job function(s) tinue to happen. Thirty two years from Joseph Keefe is the lead commentator we weren’t anywhere near that storm, consisted of navigational bridge watch- now, I’m pretty sure those risks will look of MaritimeProfessional.com. Addition- and someone made sure we didn’t get es, correcting charts and stripping tanks a lot like the ones we see today. Are we ally, he is Editor of both Maritime Pro- any closer. Good enough. during cargo transfers. I guess they any safer? The recently retired President fessional and MarineNews print maga- didn’t think I needed to know anything of the Massachusetts Maritime Acade- zines. He can be reached at jkeefe@

De? ning Risk: Then, and Now else. my, ADM Rick Gurnon, told me not too maritimeprofessional.com or at Keefe@

In 1983, STCW was merely an abstract Risk management in today’s maritime long ago, “There is no hard evidence that marinelink.com. MaritimeProfessional.

concept that people maybe talked about nomenclature includes so many vari- all the STCW training now required has com is the largest business networking but certainly, it hadn’t (yet) impacted ables. Sophisticated weather routing, resulted in any measurable increases in site devoted to the marine industry. Each shipboard operations. In those days, you voyage planning, top-notch ship-to- safety.” He could well be right. day thousands of industry professionals sat for and passed your license exam, shore communications, the endless train- Risk Management is all about in- around the world log on to network, con- renewed your Radar endorsement, took ing mandated by STCW, the U.S. Coast formed decisions. Today, these decisions nect, and communicate.

20 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2015

MR #11 (18-25).indd 20 10/30/2015 9:53:21 AM