Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2016)

MARKET INSIGHT: TRAINING & EDUCATION

Photo: South Korean Coast Guard

Not Keeping Watch

As seemingly senseless accidents continue to occur, maritime mandates for improved training and education continue in earnest

BY DENNIS BRYANT ome of the ? rst things that mar- tion sometimes referred to as the Peter quickly and the individual is removed merged Poundstone Rock in the Lynn iners learn are how to keep the Principle. Unfortunately, these situa- from the position. On July 23 2008, Canal of Alaska’s Inside Passage, result- watch and the importance of tions, while fraught with potential mis- the towboat Mel Oliver was pushing ing in no injuries, but signi? cant bottom

Skeeping the watch. The rest of fortune for all involved, can be dif? cult the barge DM932 across the Mississippi damage. The probable cause of the ca- the crew trusts their lives to you keeping to detect. On April 16 2014, the ferry River at New Orleans when it collided sualty was the pilot’s poor performance, a proper watch, as does the ship owner Sewol sank en route from Incheon to with the tanker Tintomara, resulting in which may have been exacerbated by and the cargo owner. Other ships in Jeju, South Korea. Of the 476 passen- a major oil spill. Investigation revealed chronic fatigue caused by sleep apnea.

your vicinity trust that you are keeping a gers and crew on board, only 172 sur- that the individual at the helm of the tow- proper watch. Owners of the waterfront vived. Among the various factors lead- boat was unlicensed and unskilled. On Drug Abuse (legal and illegal) facilities that you call at or pass along ing to this tragedy, it was revealed that March 10 2016, the Department of Jus- On November 7 2007, the container- the voyage trust that you are keeping a the master, who had the proper training tice (DOJ) announced the arrest of the ship Cosco Busan allided with the Delta proper watch. Finally, and perhaps most and knowledge, lacked the temperament master of a dinner cruise vessel in Hous- Tower of the San Francisco-Oakland importantly, the public trusts that you are and skills to perform his duties except ton. The individual is accused of steal- Bay Bridge, spilling 53,500 gallons of keeping a proper watch, because your under the most routine circumstances. ing the identity of a deceased mariner to fuel oil. The primary cause of the ca- failure to do so has the potential to harm obtain, among other things, a merchant sualty was the failure to safely navigate persons, property and the environment. Lack of Training and Knowledge mariner credential and a transportation the vessel in restricted visibility due to,

There are several variations on how worker identi? cation credential. among other things, the degraded cog-

Lack of Skill to keep a proper watch, but all involve nitive performance of the pilot from his

Sometimes, an individual without the training, knowledge, skill and attention Lack of Attention to Detail use of numerous impairing prescription necessary skill is assigned to keep the to detail. On the other hand, there are The most common circumstance in medications. watch. These instances can be more dif- innumerable ways for not keeping the which an individual fails to keep a prop- ? cult to detect as the individual has the watch. On rare occasions, an individual er watch is due to lack of attention to de- Alcohol abuse necessary training and knowledge to do without adequate training and knowl- tail. This can occur and has occurred for The general cargo ship Lysblink Sea- the job, but lacks the skill to meaning- edge comes into the position of keeping many reasons and in a plethora of situa- ways grounded in West Scotland on Feb- fully apply that training and knowledge the watch. This can occur when the indi- tions. A few examples follow. ruary 18 2015. The ship grounded at full to the task at hand. This can occur, for vidual’s training and experience records speed, suffering severe damage, and was example, when a highly capable chief have been falsi? ed or he system has just Health later declared a constructive total loss. mate is promoted to master, but lacks the failed. Fortunately, these situations are On June 23 1995, the passenger ship Investigation revealed that the primary skill set to handle the new job, a situa- generally (but not always) discovered Star Princess grounded on the sub- cause of the grounding was that the of- 28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • JUNE 2016

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