The Newsletter of the American Pilots’ Association March 15, 2015 Page 1 A MESSAGE FROM constantly changing operating environment. THE PRESIDENT The entities promoting these ideas are mostly The ten year old Northern European government authorities well- e-navigation movement known as unfriendly to pilots. They are joined by a seems finally to have cottage industry of consultants and academics who reached a point, at least have received funding for test-bed projects. The pro- at the IMO, where work jects are showcased at so-called “e-Navigation Un- is beginning on some derway” conferences. The flagship e-Navigation Un- guidelines and standards derway conference is held every winter aboard a pas- for navigation technolo- senger ferry in Scandinavia. Now, satellite versions gy and communication are being held elsewhere, including one last April in systems of value to mar- California and one scheduled in New York this com- iners and ship operators. ing September. I am disappointed that U.S. maritime If all goes well, in the academies agreed to host these conferences, appar- Captain Michael R. Watson, relatively near future ently unaware that the objectives of the conferences APA President reports required by seem to be contrary to the interests of the students shore authorities will be and alumni of the academies. transmitted from ships automatically, data in stand- Objections to, or even questions about, ardized formats will be shared seamlessly among the these ideas are typically met with the response that navigation components on the bridge, and infor- anyone who doesn’t approve must be technologically mation available on the bridge will be more reliable, unsophisticated or simply afraid of new ideas. We accessible and usable. That’s the good news. must not be reluctant to express our disagreement, The bad news is that some foreign shore- however. Pilots know much more than these people based interests working under the cloak of “e- do, not only about navigation, but also about ad- navigation” continue to promote foolhardy schemes vanced navigation technology. The APA and its to change fundamentally the way in which ships are member pilots have always been the leaders in ap- navigated. We have discussed many of these at APA plying new technology and information resources to meetings and in this newsletter: such things as un- the practice of navigation. For example, APA pilots manned ships, route-exchange, sea traffic manage- were primarily responsible for the introduction of ment, and “monitoring” navigators. bridge-to-bridge radiotelephones; we worked closely with NOAA in implementing the Physical Oceano- Whether called MUNIN, MONA LISA, AC- ® CSEAS or some other too-clever acronym, each of graphic Real-Time System (PORTS ); and, of these projects has the goal of significantly reducing course, APA pilots have been in the forefront of the or even eliminating the role of shipboard humans in development of portable electronic navigation units – controlling the movement of the ship. The underly- the most advanced e-navigation tool in use in the ing belief is that navigation should not be left to mar- maritime industry. iners, but instead should be actively conducted by In all of these applications of new technology shoreside bureaucrats in VTS centers connected to and information resources to vessel navigation, we onboard computers. Related to this basic idea is an pilots have been creative and innovative; but we overestimation of the ability of a software-generated, have also been careful and prudent. All segments of predefined voyage plan (now called a “route”) to the e-navigation movement would be wise to follow make safe navigation decisions in a dynamic and the same approach. Page 2 ON STATION March 15, 2015 NCSR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETS The second session of the IMO’s Subcommittee on Naviga- tion, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) was held from The latest e-Navigation Underway confer- March 9 to 13 at the organization’s headquarters in ence was held from January 27-29 aboard the ferry London. APA President Captain Mike Watson par- M/V Pearl Seaways, sailing from Copenhagen to Os- ticipated as a member of the IMPA delegation, and lo and back. The theme for this conference was Executive Director-General Counsel Paul Kirchner “The Implementation Phase?” Paul Kirchner, APA was a member of the U.S. delegation. Executive Director-General Counsel, and Bill Although the e-navigation agenda at the ses- Cairns, APA Navigation Technology Advisor, at- sion was light, the Subcommittee adopted a tended representing the APA and the interests of pi- “Guideline on Software Quality Assurance and Hu- lots, joining 150 other attendees. man Centred Design for e-navigation.” The Guide- The conference’s highlight occurred on the line will be sent to the Maritime Safety Committee first day when Captain Simon Pelletier, President of for its approval in June. As stated in the preface to both IMPA and of the Guideline, the intent is “to ensure that software the Canadian Ma- rine Pilots’ Associa- trustworthiness and users’ needs are met through the tion (CMPA), gave application of Software Quality Assurance and Hu- the conference’s man Centred Design in the development of e- keynote address. navigation systems.” An important component of the The title of Captain Human Centred Design process envisioned in the Pelletier’s speech Guideline will be Usability Testing. was “e-Navigation Implementation: A HTW 2 AGREES TO REVIEW FATIGUE GUIDELINES Practitioner’s Per- spective.” He Captain Simon Pelletier, President The Sub-Committee on Human Element, stressed that the of IMPA and CMPA, addresses Training and Watchkeeping (HTW) held its 2nd ses- the 2015 e-Navigation Underway original intent of e- Conference. sion from February 2 to 6. Clay Diamond, APA navigation was not Deputy Director-Associate General Counsel, was on to encourage the introduction of new technology or the U.S. delegation. Captain Andrew McGovern to usher in a new way to navigate vessels, but rather (New Jersey-Sandy Hook Pilots) was also on the to assist mariners by ensuring that technology is inte- U.S. delegation in his capacity as chairman of the grated in a practical and user-friendly way. Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee. (continued on page 5—see “e-Nav Underway”) HTW2 took a number of actions of interest to pilots, including: (1) revision of the model course on American Pilots’ Association 499 South Capitol Street, S.W., Suite 409 “Maritime English” (a course applicable to foreign Washington, D.C. 20003 vessels visiting U.S. ports), (2) endorsement of a cir- (202) 484-0700 • Fax: (202) 484-9320 cular related to ECDIS training; and (3) agreement Captain Michael R. Watson ·········· President on the need for more emergency situation training Captain Whit Smith ··················· Secretary-Treasurer Captain Eric A. Nielsen ··············· Vice President-North Atlantic States for cruise ship crewmembers. Captain Jorge J. Viso ·················· Vice President-South Atlantic States From the pilots’ perspective, however, a signifi- Captain Michael C. Torjusen ········ Vice President-Gulf States Captain Stephen H. Hathorn ········· Vice President-Gulf States (Louisiana) cant decision taken by HTW2 was the initiation of a Captain Peter McIsaac ················ Vice President-Pacific Coast States review of the IMO guidelines on fatigue. The cur- Captain Danny H. Gallagher ········· Vice President-Great Lakes Paul G. Kirchner ······················· Executive Director-General Counsel rent IMO fatigue guidance is contained in MSC/Circ. Clayton L. Diamond ··················· Deputy Director-Assoc. General Counsel 1014, issued in 2001. This “circular” consists of gen- William R. Cairns ····················· Navigation Technology Advisor Lisa E. Powell ·························· Operations Director eral fatigue information applicable to marine trans- ON STATION is published by the American Pilots’ Association, a non- portation and also contains 9 “modules” each of profit professional association composed of groups of state-licensed pilots which is directed at a particular group of people who operating in each of the coastal states, as well as groups of U.S. registered have vessel safety functions, including pilots. This pilots in the Great Lakes region. Each pilot in APA-member groups receives ON STATION, the costs of which are paid from the member’s dues. Any review is expected to take place over the next two comments, suggestions or questions concerning ON STATION should be years during the meetings of HTW3 and HTW4. directed to the attention of the APA office at the above address. Page 3 ON STATION March 15, 2015 LEADERS OF KEY HOUSE NEW MAJORITY CHANGES SUBCOMMITTEE REMAIN, SHAPE OF KEY SENATE BUT LOTS OF NEW FACES SUBCOMMITTEE While the 2014 mid-term Unlike in the House of Rep- elections resulted in an increased resentatives, the Senate has gone majority for House Republicans, through a significant change as a the chairman and ranking mem- result of the mid-term elections of ber of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Mari- 2014. With the majority changing hands from the time Transportation (CG&MT) will remain in place Democratic party to the Republi- for the 114th Congress. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R- cans, all of the leadership positions CA) is Chairman, and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) of Senate committees and subcom- is Ranking Member. mittees have changed. This, of CG&MT is the House subcom- course, includes the subcommittee mittee generally of most interest to with which the APA has the most the maritime sector, including pilots, interaction, the Subcommittee on not only because this subcommittee Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and oversees the Coast Guard, but also Coast Guard (OAF&CG). Sen. Rubio because most legislation impacting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is the the marine industry new Chairman of OAF&CG, while Sen. Gary Peters and mariners would Rep. Hunter (D-MI) is the Ranking Member. likely originate with, Like CG&MT, its counterpart in the or be reviewed by, CG&MT.