Number 34 September/October 2005 October 4, 2005 I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE “UNITED MARINER” SPEAKS FOR Dear Congressman: East Coast Mariners – ANGRY EAST COAST MARINERS As the Towing Safety Advisory 1 United & Angry Committee (TSAC) prepares to submit Tugboat Mate Imprisoned In the past, “United Mariner” was its recommendations on section 415 of 4 For Oil Spill most prominent in its attempt to improve the Coast Guard and Maritime Breakaway Barge Destroys conditions at the Coast Guard’s Regional Transportation Act of 2004 regarding the 4 Residential Area Exam Center in New York. Countless “Inspection of Towing Vessels” to the mariners faced delays caused by United States Coast Guard, the members Thumbs up for USCG of our organization want to clarify our 6 Katrina Response incredible bureaucratic incompetence that delayed their opportunities for continuing objections about the Elk River Collision Drowns advancement. In a number of cases, operation of this federal advisory 7 Four Mariners these delays, lost paperwork, and lack of committee. 11 Liftboat Cuts Gas Pipeline accountability cost lower-level mariners To ensure an unbiased committee, jobs and pay when the Coast Guard did Congress directed the Secretary in 1980 13 Potable Water not process their credentials in a timely to select a diverse membership. We manner. believe that the spirit of that directive GCMA-The Voice for was not followed because the Secretary 14 Mariners Reflecting the opinions of mariners on the East Coast, Captain Joe Dady allowed the committee to be loaded with USCG Responds to Our joined Gulf Coast Mariners representatives of member companies of 16 Questions on TSAC Association’s Board of Directors last the Coast Guard’s partner, the American Liftboat Sinks in Gulf summer. Joe followed the progress of Waterways Operators (AWO), an 19 the TSAC Towing Vessel Licensing industry-lobbying group located within USCG Seeks Licensing working group’s progress over the past the “beltway.” AWO claims to represent 20 Changes few months, contributed to the a vast majority of the tug and barge The Apprentice preparation of the “123 suggestions” to industry and is funded by towing vessel 23 Mate/Steersman Situation TSAC contained in GCMA Report #R- and barge owners. AWO’s dominant 419. position on the TSAC committee paints Admiralty Lawyer a rosy picture of the industry’s safety 28 Comments on HR 899 Captain Dady prepared the following comments for delivery at the next record while actual Coast Guard data 30 AWO Hijacks TSAC Agenda Towing Safety Advisory Committee in documents a record that is nothing less Washington, DC on October 11-12, than deplorable. We will provide a 34 Mariner Credentials 2005. Joe plans to share these report showing just how deplorable the comments with a number of members of safety record of one towing company 35 “VJ” Rejoins Board Congress as well. really is. We see a crass pro-industry bias UNITED MARINER within this advisory committee. TSAC 3616 HARTLAND DRIVE is manipulated by the AWO and clearly, NEW PORT RICHEY FL, 34655 predictably, and consistently discriminates [email protected] against the interests of all working www.geocities.com/unitedmariner mariners. We do not believe that an Phone: 727-534-4081 advisory committee that does not include a well-rounded group from all parties Newsletter 1 and ramrods its recommendations to federal regulators Although the Responsible Carrier Program (RCP) reflects the intent of Congress. While the Coast Guard can already implemented by AWO can promote and improve accept or reject advisory committee recommendations, the safety aboard a towing vessel if it is followed, it lacks existence of a signed and formal “partnership” between the the teeth that only an inspection program enforced by the Coast Guard and AWO skews the balance. This works Coast Guard can offer. Based on reports from mariner’s against “Labor” (and its approximately 30,000 mariners) presently involved in the RCP, the system fails whenever that plays an important role in the industry. The workers time factors and pressure from the company front office aboard the nation’s 5,200 towing vessels are on the first get in the way of making money. Not only our mariners, line of defense in protecting the environment, public but also the general public, need protection that can only health, and public safety – yet they have been come from adequate enforcement. Based on those systematically are effectively denied a voice. reports, our mariners request in the strongest terms that The Coast Guard’s refusal to provide travel and per- Congress require physical inspection of every towing diem to support TSAC over the years also discouraged vessel by Coast Guard personnel backed by civil licensed mariners within the industry who could not afford penalties that are stiff enough to force compliance – not the cost of participation from attending and actively so small that they can be shrugged off “as business as engaging the advisory process. Our organization has, at its usual.” This suggestion clearly would serve safety but own expense, attempted to work with the committee in a does not serve the AWO’s agenda. positive manner with our concerns on towing vessel Years of service by lower-level mariner’s are safety, manning, and work hours. As working mariners, documented with death, injury, and hardship. We we are not funded by our employers in the towing witness these incidents first hand while TSAC and AWO industry. Our overall experience leaves a bad taste in our read about them on white sheets of paper. The law mouth about the true workings of the system. requiring the inspection of towing vessels (§415) is our Although the committee acknowledges reports by mariners’ last hope to gain a safe working environment. working mariners and logs their attendance at the Many additional mariners will leave the industry if meetings, the Committee has a well documented history of AWO and its member companies sabotage the inspection destroying, delaying, or dismantling any and all proposals process. We believe that if USCG structures the new made by working mariners. Mariner concerns that could towing vessel inspection regulations based on cost money, or that do not serve the towing industry as recommendation of the current TSAC working group determined by the AWO received no consideration. This report the results will be devastating to our mariners. is true even when there are obvious contradictions and the We are particularly concerned that TSAC’s committee’s working group recommendations and basic recommendations, if implemented by the Coast Guard, International Maritime Organization requirements for ten will burden working mariners with an extensive safety hours rest each 24 hours, six of which must be management system that is an even greater burden than uninterrupted sleep. A footnote to the TSAC report states: the Responsible Carrier Program. Mariners will not be “The working group considered but did not adopt, a able to comply with it because their watchstanding recommendation that all crewmembers receive a minimum mariners are already overworked and their boats lack of six hours of uninterrupted rest in every 24-hour period.” sufficient manning to perform all these tasks of an The AWO advocates a 15-hour workday for unlicensed administrative nature. mariners. We put our foot down on such abuse and We believe that the towing industry’s deplorable urgently ask for help from Congress to address this matter. safety record stems from a lack of qualified and trained Our mariners, working with the Gulf Coast Mariners mariners who are overworked as they serve on Association (GCMA), documented our objections to the undermanned and often sub-standard equipment. We Committee on their recommendation to the Coast Guard feel the self-serving TSAC report sidesteps the obvious that virtually substitutes a “Safety Management System” and proven solution of Coast Guard inspection in favor for a thorough physical inspection of towing vessels of creating a more easily managed and profitable envisioned by Congress in §415 last year. Earlier this year environment for the large corporate boat owners. Their the Coast Guard docket posted a clear and informative report will burden up to one thousand unrepresented letter from Congressman James Oberstar explaining small owner-operators with regulations they do not Congress’ intent to require a physical inspection of towing understand and cannot afford to comply with. These vessels. Although §415 authorizes the Secretary to small owner-operators are not AWO members, do not implement a safety management system (SMS), the TSAC participate in TSAC, and may be forced out of business licensing working group continues to ramrod a Safety with complex paper programs they may not understand. Management System that AWO can control and We suggest a real solution to these problems would manipulate and downplays Coast Guard physical be to license each company to do business the same way inspection of their vessels as “old ideas” about the nature the Coast Guard licenses its towing officers. “Civil and scope of Coast Guard inspection. These so-called penalties” have become just another “cost of doing “old ideas” were successful for the last 50 years and are business.” They are no longer effective in promoting constantly updated. safety and deterring accidents. It is clear from the Newsletter 2 attached report that covers only one towing company’s spills, such benign neglect casts a blind eye to the injury misdeeds that safety management systems like the and death of our mariners rather then a protector of their existing Responsible Carrier Program and civil penalties workplace. simply do not work. The ineffectiveness of this process It is for all the foregoing reasons that we object to the has made the Coast Guard more of a partner then an TSAC towing vessel inspection report as much as we enforcer.