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TM EDITORIAL Servicing the maritime industry since 1996 Incorporating New Zealand Workboats, NZ Professional Skipper & Oceans ISSN 1176-3078 ISSN 1176-8665 is published by: VIP Publications, 4 Prince Regent Drive, Half Moon Bay, Auckland 2012 Ph 09 533 4336 Fax 09 533 4337 Email keith@skipper.co.nz advertising@skipper.co.nz website: www.skipper.co.nz Editor: Keith Ingram Manager: Vivienne Ingram Editorial assistant: Mark Barratt-Boyes Contributors: Baden Pascoe Carol Forsyth Michael Pignéguy Hugh Ware, USA David Ledson Daniel Corbett Stuart Cawker Bruce Duncan Alan Moore R. Lea Clough Lynton Diggle Trevor Coppock Hayley Campbell Louise Deehan-Owen Rod McCullum Sandra Gorter Jeff Cook Barry Thompson Justine Inns Advertising: Designer: Printers: Distribution: Hamish Stewart Rachel Walker GEON Gordon and Gotch Ltd Subscriptions: Professional Skipper is published for the maritime transport industry. It is available on subscription in NZ and overseas. General: Reproduction of articles and materials published in Professional Skipper in whole or part, is permitted provided the source and author(s) are acknowledged. However, all photographic material is copyright and written permission to reproduce in any shape or form is required. Contributions of a nature relevant to the maritime transport industry are welcomed and industry participants are especially encouraged to contribute. Letters to the Editor should be signed and carry the writer's full name and address. Articles and information printed in Professional Skipper do not necessarily reflect the opinions or formal position or the publishers unless otherwise indicated. Material and information of a formal nature provided by the MSA, MoF or TAIC is identified by the use of their logo. All material published in Professional Skipper is done so with all due care as regards to accuracy and factual content. The publishers and editorial staff however cannot accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors and omissions which may occur. Professional Skipper is produced bi-monthly. Finalist 2008 Qantas Media Awards JUDGED HIGHLY COMMENDED EDITOR OF THE YEAR – MPA AWARDS 2009 I Loonies should be SIN-BINNED t's the loony season and I am not just talking about recreational boaties. We now appear have an ample number of loonies in charge of ships in our waters, never mind what's happening overseas. Granted, the master of the Costa Concordia, Captain Francesco Schettino, has just about got to take the cake in the loony bin. Looking from the outside, here was a clear case of where the training was satisfactory, until the point where events started happening so quickly and beyond the level of training the senior officers had been given. This appeared to result in anxiety and then panic as they became unable to cope. This is why, as mariners, we emphasise training, more training and practising all eventualities at sea, no matter how unlikely they might be. To read reports that Schettino tripped and fell into a lifeboat, followed by his first officer, is a story comics are made of if it were not for real. Why did he leave his command centre on the bridge at such an early stage in the sequence of events leading up to the ship being abandoned? Granted, he did make the right decision once he realised the Costa Concordia was mortally wounded and attempt to drive his ship up onto the beach. But to desert his post before ensuring all his passengers and crew were safely off the ship was a sin, and then to refuse to return to coordinate the action to abandon ship is just plain criminal. The 17 lives lost, with 15 more still missing, bears testament to his actions alone. Fortunately, when the Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef it was just a monumental stuff-up from which no lives were lost. Sadly, one is reminded of the comedy of errors which has continued to plague the grounding, as the costs pass $130 million. The bills will be higher following the loss of several temporary portable container-sized generators and compressors that were set up on the aft deck. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of salvage gear was loaded and set up on board on special beds and frames to keep them level, only for us to have to watch them go down with the ship. Who is making these decisions and who is accountable for the subsequent losses? Or has it become the cash cow where all and sundry are scrapping to put their heads in the proverbial salvage trough. Next in line for the loony of the year must be the Norwegian skipper of the lost yacht Berserk II in the Ross Sea with the tragic loss of three lives. Now we read that he is back on Antarctica, having sailed there on the 16m yacht Niliya with a Maori activist on board! A loony in the making! Do we have no immigration or vessel controls at our borders. Of note is this worthy skipper was reportedly deported from Canada. Yep, we are sure attracting the loonies. Then we have the masters of the Oyang 70 and the No.1 Insung, both of which sank in the Southern Ocean, along with further loss of life. They also have to be included, closely followed by the masters of the Sparta and the Jeong Woo 2. They all pushed the limits of both safety and prudent seamanship by taking ships to search for fish well beyond their ship's capabilities in the southern ice-flows. We must add to the list some of our inshore incidents, including the 18m fishing vessel Philip V which motored up the beach north of Gisborne, followed by the capsize of the 37m FV Southern Seas and the fire and subsequent loss of the 18m FV Rebecca May. The list goes on. Is it any wonder we are also seeing a growing number of recreational loonies following big brothers' examples, with the sad loss of the classic C class yacht Gypsy, which was T-boned by another candidate for the loony award. Even the Royal New Zealand Navy, with all its professional seamanship, has had to endure the stiff upper lip when its officer's VIP barge hit the rocks at Tutukaka Harbour while returning to Auckland after official duties on Waitangi Day. Just where will it end? Is it because the staff at Maritime New Zealand have taken their eyes off the safety and qualification ball? Or is it just complacency and a general lack of training that abounds. There is a growing argument and some justification for requiring recreational craft to be registered with some form of marine version of a warrant of fitness, and a minimum qualification for skippers of recreational craft that reflects the size and type of vessel they are operating. Watch any boat ramp and up to half the drivers of fizz boats won't be wearing lifejackets and I would suggest a few don't even carry them. But what about the commercial sector? Our skippers and masters are supposed to be qualified and our vessels fit for purpose for the task they are undertaking. Look at the recent accidents and incidents in the back pages of this magazine and you can see our national safety statistics are taking one hell of a bashing. Speaking of statistics, it is interesting to note that the 500 ton coastal trader Jaguar has created history by being the first ship of substance to enter the Lyttelton drydock, never to come out again. It's a sad end to a torrid saga. Keith Ingram, Editor